Checklist: Screening and Background Checking 

This checklist is designed to help you avoid mistakes in hiring employees. The procedures outlined can help you reduce the chance that hiring decisions could lead to allegations of mismanagement, unwanted negative publicity, and potentially unlimited liability. 

SCREENING & BACKGROUND CHECKING 

I. INITIAL MEETING

• Provide application, which has been reviewed by legal counsel, to prospective employee.
• Meet applicant face-to-face in private area.
• Review the blank application to explain information required and answer applicant’s questions.
• Tell prospect to answer all questions and provide complete information.
• Carefully review completed application.
• Confirm accuracy of spelling and addresses concerning past employment, references, educational institutions, etc.
• Determine applicant’s residence and how long he/she has lived there.
• Ask the applicant about any gaps in his/her employment history.
• Ask the applicant if you will need additional information from him/her concerning any change of name, nickname, or use of an assumed name to allow you to check references and work record.
• Review the applicant’s educational training if it has a bearing on the job for which he/she is applying.
• Ask if the applicant has been convicted of a crime. (You may not ask if an applicant has been arrested.) You should explain to the applicant that a conviction of a crime will not automatically bar employment. In determining whether or not to deny employment based on an applicant’s conviction of a crime, you must consider the following facts:
  • a. the relationship of the crime to the job duties;
  • b. the nature, number and circumstances of the offense(s) for which the individual was convicted;
  • c. the length of time intervening between the conviction(s) and the employment decision;
  • d. the individual’s employment history; and,
  • e. the individual's efforts at rehabilitation.
• If the applicant’s duties will require driving, ask him/her for a valid driver’s license and the driving record. (In many states, you can obtain a driving abstract for an applicant from the state Department of Motor Vehicles. You should call the local DMV to determine what information is available and how you can get it.)
• Ask the applicant to sign a statement on the application form giving you permission to check all references and obtain information from previous employers. The statement should also release previous employers and others from liability for any information that is provided.

II. AFTER THE INITIAL MEETING

• Check all personal/character references of the applicant. If you discover the references are generally family members, for example, ask the applicant for other references.
  • a. How do they know the applicant?
  • b. How long have they known him/her?
  • c. Upon what is the reference based (personal observation/secondhand information)?
  • d. Do you need to ask the applicant for more current references?
  • e. Document all comments you receive.
• Check all professional/employment references.
  • a. Determine job duties. (Do they coincide with those on the application?)
  • b. Determine length of employment.
  • c. Determine reason(s) applicant left previous job.
  • d. Determine if former employer was satisfied with applicant’s performance.
  • e. Document all comments you receive.
• Confirm educational information provided by applicant.
• Order a copy of the applicant’s driving record, if driving is required for the job.
• If you are concerned about the applicant’s criminal past and its effect on fitness for the job, you may want to obtain a copy of the applicant’s criminal record. Each state has different rules concerning the availability of these public records. Some possible sources of information are: the State Police, the Office of the State Attorney General, offices of the County Clerk in counties throughout the state, District Attorneys offices, and your attorney.
• Request a consumer credit report from a consumer credit reporting agency, if necessary. (However, you must comply with the Fair Credit Reporting Act and similar State Acts.)
• Speak with the applicant again if you need clarification or additional information.
• Review the application and the information about the applicant with other decision-makers within the organization. Caution: Only those individuals within the organization who have a reason to know the information should be included in this review.
• Discuss the applicant in detail. Discussion should be limited to the requirements of the position and the applicant’s suitability for that position.
• Make a decision based on relevant and job-related factors as to which candidate is best qualified for the job. 

Reprinted with permission. © CCH