Background Record Check Essay

In this new era of modernization and globalization, employers have become increasingly concerned about knowing if an applicant has a criminal record or mental illness. More employers are conducting pre-employment background checks for these kind of drawbacks. Employers have been the subject of large jury verdicts for negligent hiring in cases where they hire a person with a criminal record or a mental illness that might harm others or cause difficulties for the company, and it could have been avoided by a background record check. That is because employers have a legal duty to exercise due diligence in the hiring process, and that duty can be violated if an employer hires someone that they either knew or should have known in the exercise of reasonable care was dangerous or unfit for a job. The concern from the employer's point of view is that a person with a criminal past may have a propensity to re-offend in the future. Referring to people with criminal backgrounds, society also has a vested interest in helping people with a past criminal record obtain
and maintain employment. It is difficult for an ex-offender to become a law abiding, tax-paying citizen without a job. Unless society wants to continue to spend its tax dollars on building more and more jails and prisons, ex-offenders need the opportunity to rejoin the workforce. For an ex-offender, a job search can become a frustrating. Nearly every employment application will ask in some fashion if a person has a criminal record. If a person lies, then they are always at risk of being terminated upon such a criminal record being discovered. If a person is honest and admits the past misconduct, there is a risk of not getting the job. There is no perfect answer. A person with a criminal record is going to face greater challenges in getting employment. There are certain jobs where an employer will justifiably not hire an ex-offender. However, challenging is not the same as impossible. The key is the right attitude and getting and keeping that first job, so that as time goes by, a person has developed a successful job history that outweighs past problems. Same goes to people with mental illness. Moreover, there is no law that prohibits employers from discriminating against people with disabilities, including people with mental illness. The only employers who are not covered by a law are private employers with less than 15 employees who get no federal money. The law prohibiting discrimination says that an employer must not treat you differently because of a prejudiced view of people with mental illness or a history of mental illness. The law also states that employers must provide you with a reasonable accommodation if you need one in order to do your job. It means that your current or past mental illness should not keep you from getting or keeping a job. If you happen to be in a situation like mentioned, a job applicant that years ago, in another state, were hospitalized briefly for depression or jailed briefly for possession of illegal drugs. To make things worse, you need the job very badly not only for yourself but also for the sake of supporting your own family. Will you lie or be honest about those hindrance? You are pretty sure, given what you know of the company and the attitude of its personnel office, that if you tell the truth you won’t get the job. As for me, I will choose to be totally honest. It can be tempting to lie when an application asks if you’ve been arrested or convicted of a crime or if you have any mental illness. Avoid the temptation. Not only is this dishonest, chances are the lie will be discovered. Although it might slam doors closed in the short term, but will likely open them in the long term. Naturally, this is up to our own personal decision. Most employers now conduct some sort of background check, and if they find that you have been dishonest on the application you will almost certainly not be hired. If you’ve already been hired and the lie is discovered later, you can be fired for it. In addition, lying on some applications is a criminal offense. That'll make it even tougher to land the next job. Won’t that just make things worse? We have to know that in applying for a job, honestly is always the best policy. A criminal matter honestly explained during an interview may have much less negative impact than hiding it and having an employer discover it later.
If an employer discovers an applicant was dishonest, the denial of a job could be based upon a lack of honesty, regardless of the nature of the offense. However, a person who has made a mistake and is now motivated to do well at a job may be of great interest to some employers. Nevertheless, a person who has a criminal record or mental illness and is looking for employment must understand their rights and limits. For instance, you have to have the basic requirements and qualifications, or is capable to carry the job. Honestly evaluating your qualifications is important for all job seekers. You need to find something that fits you and your skill level, and if you consistently apply for jobs for which you don’t have the right skills, you’ll quickly become
discouraged. On the other hand, I will also not cry over spilt milk. Accept what has happened . It is a lot more difficult to move forward unencumbered by the past jetsam if you haven't worked it through. Whether or not you were at fault or not, you need to be ready to move on and find a positive way forward. It is also important to have worked out any issues concerning wrongful termination because this can prevent you from moving on. Do not get discouraged. You will find work eventually. And remember, when hunting for a job, batting average isn't important. If you get that job on the 51st try, the 50 previous rejections will not matter. Understand that when a person sees your record, he or she may be reluctant to hire you for a position with a lot of responsibility. That same person, however, may be more than willing to give you a chance in another usually lower-paid position. In addition, it’s important to understand that the biggest obstacle may be the gap in your employment history, not simply your conviction. If you want to return to your previous career, it’s likely that business processes and tools may have changed substantially since you left your last position, so you’ll probably need to take a step down to gain more training. Get your foot in the door, especially with a company or in a field that can lead to better opportunities in the future. Lastly, I would also say that lying is ethically wrong. Lying on a job application is dishonest and disrespectful to prospective employers and co-workers. Employers are now becoming more savvy about detecting lies and there is a good chance of being found out if applicants are dishonest about their qualifications and experience. Things might get even uglier and of cause we don’t want to add oil onto fire. All you have to do is to find one decent job, start small and work your way back up.

Reference : http://www.disabilityrightsnc.org/pages/169/mental-illness/ http://www.mentalhealthworks.ca/employees/faq/question13.asp http://www.legalmomentum.org/assets/pdfs/answeringcrquestions.pdf http://www.ehow.com/facts_6880373_ethical-issues-lying-job-applications.html http://www.wikihow.com/Get-a-Job-with-a-Criminal-Record http://www.wikihow.com/Get-a-Job-After-You%27ve-Been-Fired http://www.privacyrights.org/ar/rosencrim.htm http://www.privacyrights.org/fs/fs8-med.htm