The Importance of Background Checks
By Randall Barker, Vice President of Human Resources, A Plus Benefits
In dealing with HR issues, one issue we run into on a fairly regular basis is employee theft. There are two different types of theft that are most prevalent: When an employee steals from their employer and when an employee steals from customers. In this blog entry I’ll specifically address employees stealing from customers.
In my experience, this most commonly happens when your business requires employees to go into a client’s home to provide services. One example that sticks out to me and demonstrates this is an example that happened with one of our clients a couple of years ago.
Employers often don’t know what their employees have been up to until the employee leaves the organization. In this instance, our client employs a number of service employees and had one particular employee that was discharged for cause. The service employee had a company truck he used to perform his job and this particular employee made a big deal about being able to clean out his truck before he left and was very agitated when this was not allowed.
During the cleanout process it became very evident why he was so agitated. In the process of cleaning his truck, other employees found several pairs of women’s underwear in a hidden compartment. It seems the employee was stealing these when doing service in customers’ homes.
Often service employees like this have a shady criminal history but continue to work in the service industry because employers don’t conduct background checks.
We recommend to all our clients that they do background checks on employees, especially the ones that are service employees and will be visiting customers in their homes. Background checks are easy to do and should be a part of the company policy. The Fair Credit and Reporting Act gives an employer the right to perform a background check and there are a number of company’s that can provide a reliable third party background check.
Often our clients are nervous about asking a potential employee to do a background check for fear of privacy issues. When we begin working with a new client we include an employee handbook that specifically states that employees don’t have privacy of a company car or vehicle, locker or desk. If a potential employee has an issue with a background check that is usually a good indicator that they’re trying to hide something. If the background check is part of the company policy and a potential employee does not consent to one they can legally be disqualified from consideration for the job.
The other key factor we advise our clients to do is to conduct yearly background checks. An employee may initially pass a background check but over the course of their employment may commit a crime and more than likely won’t report it to their employer. As an employer you have the right to know these things and to protect yourself and your business. If an employee fails a background check that is grounds for termination.
As a business owner, knowing who your employees are will give you piece of mind as they interact with and visit customers. It can also be used in marketing your business and letting your customers know that you’ve conducted background checks and have ensured that your employees are trustworthy.
About the Author
Randall Barker is Vice President of Human Resources at A Plus Benefits and has been with the company for over 14 years. He has been involved in human resources for over 20 years and is a certified Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) and Certified Employment Law Specialist (CELS). He received his master’s degree from the University of Phoenix and has taught Human Resource classes at a local college. He has extensive experience with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and has successfully managed more than 80 discrimination claims for A Plus Benefits clients during the past 14 years in Utah, Nevada, Wyoming, and Colorado.
The content of this blog reflects the views and opinions of the author, and not necessarily those of Utah Business.
Tags: Business Management, employee background check, Fair Credit and Reporting Act, firing, hiring, HR, Human Resources, service employee hiriring, termination, yearly background checks