About This Course:
An ever-increasing number of employers are recognizing the benefits of conducting background checks on current and prospective employees. While background checks can be an effective tool for weeding out questionable employees, legal limitations on how such checks can be performed (and how the resulting data discovered can be used) must be understood or, otherwise, an employer will find itself defending against its illegal actions.
Review the kinds of background checks that can be conducted by employers, address the various legal restrictions (primarily under federal and state law) applicable to performing background checks, and the related limitations placed on how acquired background information can be legally used for the benefit of the employer.
Much of these latter discussions will be focused on the guidelines for conducting criminal background checks issued by the EEOC and on the recent trend in many states of placing limits on when criminal background information can be obtained from candidates for employment through enacted Ban the Box laws.
Finally, the increasing use of social media outlets to conduct background checks will also be examined, along with the potential legal risks and pitfalls of utilizing such media outlets to perform background checks.
What You'll Learn:Legal Limitations on Background Checks- The Federal Fair Credit Reporting Act
- Common-Law Privacy Restrictions and Other State Statutory Limitations on the Use of Criminal Conviction and Arrest Records
- The Civil Rights Acts of 1964 and 1991 and Other Anti-Discrimination Laws
- EEOC Guidelines on Conducting Background Checks
- The Ever-Increasing Use of Ban the Box Laws
The Downside of Not Performing Background Checks- Claims of Negligent Hiring of Employees
- Claims of Negligent Retention of Employees
- Other Possible Common-Law Tort Actions
Use of Social Media Sites to Conduct Background Checks- Privacy Issues and Other Legal Restrictions on Use
- Risks of Use, and Best Practices and Policies to Minimize Risk
