Background Checks in Hiring
Using Background Checks in the Hiring Process
Keather Cofield
MAN4320
November 2nd, 2012
Practice Article
The practice article I read was Criminal Background Policy Checkup by Gary Siniscalo, Erin M. Connell, and Alexandra Stathopoulos. The authors discuss the matter of a catch-22 within the hiring process of using background checks as a selection method. Being unemployed and staying unemployed is a revolving door for most applicants who have a past criminal record. Often employers see the record on the background check and choose not to hire the applicant. The people being affected most by this backwards policy are the blacks and Hispanics who simultaneously comprise the highest percentage of unemployed and who hold criminal records. The article further reviews the new federal guidance passed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission stating that the use of criminal records on a background check as a selection tool is illegal if the decision not to hire is not specifically linked to a business/job-related necessity. This new federal guidance was created to help the unemployed with criminal backgrounds to still get jobs that in turn would decrease the steeply rising unemployment numbers. Though the new guidance solves the rising unemployment issues this country is facing, it causes a heavier burden for companies who have to now try and find particular reasons for needing to complete background checks on applicants. Before the EEOC’s regulation on background checks, companies used the criminal history information as an indicator of future behaviors whether or not the crime would be relevant to the task of the new job. The new guidance now asks companies to evaluate their policies on the use of background checks. Decisions should be made on multiple points within a background check, and more investigation into each issue should be made before the choice not to hire is made. Each human resource department or hiring manager of a company should
Keather Cofield
MAN4320
November 2nd, 2012
Practice Article
The practice article I read was Criminal Background Policy Checkup by Gary Siniscalo, Erin M. Connell, and Alexandra Stathopoulos. The authors discuss the matter of a catch-22 within the hiring process of using background checks as a selection method. Being unemployed and staying unemployed is a revolving door for most applicants who have a past criminal record. Often employers see the record on the background check and choose not to hire the applicant. The people being affected most by this backwards policy are the blacks and Hispanics who simultaneously comprise the highest percentage of unemployed and who hold criminal records. The article further reviews the new federal guidance passed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission stating that the use of criminal records on a background check as a selection tool is illegal if the decision not to hire is not specifically linked to a business/job-related necessity. This new federal guidance was created to help the unemployed with criminal backgrounds to still get jobs that in turn would decrease the steeply rising unemployment numbers. Though the new guidance solves the rising unemployment issues this country is facing, it causes a heavier burden for companies who have to now try and find particular reasons for needing to complete background checks on applicants. Before the EEOC’s regulation on background checks, companies used the criminal history information as an indicator of future behaviors whether or not the crime would be relevant to the task of the new job. The new guidance now asks companies to evaluate their policies on the use of background checks. Decisions should be made on multiple points within a background check, and more investigation into each issue should be made before the choice not to hire is made. Each human resource department or hiring manager of a company should
References: Bernerth, J. (2012). Demographic variables and credit scores: An empirical study of a controversial selection tool. International Journal of Selection and Assessment, 20(2), 242-246. Siniscalco, G., Connell, M. & Stathopoulos, A. (2012, July). Criminal background policy checkup; Recent federal guidance poses challenge for employers. HR Magazine, 61-63.