Social network background check pitfalls: Candidates and employers beware

Microsoft Corporation published an extensive study last year about data privacy. Included in the study were some fascinating statistics regarding the way a person’s online reputation affects their real life. For example, “70% of surveyed HR professionals in U.S. have rejected a candidate based on online reputation information.” Job seekers should digest this information carefully – photos from last weekend’s drunken exploits should not be the first things a stranger sees when looking up your Facebook page.

Job seekers are (finally) becoming aware that employers know how to use social networks. They increase the privacy settings on their profiles and make sure that their profile picture isn’t too unflattering. Some of the job seekers who haven’t learned this yet, however, are unknowingly compromising their own employment efforts and posting photos, opinions, and experiences that would make Charlie Sheen blush.

Employers should also use caution, however, when they begin their background check at Google.com. Facebook, Twitter, and even LinkedIn background checks open the door to unique new liabilities that every background screening industry veteran knows to avoid.

· Protected class violations: During an interview you would never ask about a person’s age, religion, or physical disability. But what if you uncovered these items in a Facebook search? A rejected applicant could claim that you discriminated against them based on this information. This sounds like a far-fetched discrimination claim, but if you end up in a deposition it would be very difficult to explain that you didn’t uncover this type of protected class information.
· Positive identification: Facebook does its best to delete fake profiles, but fake profiles exist. There is no immediate way to know if a person’s raunchy online identity was created by that person, or by somebody else. A scorned ex-lover, for example, can create a fake Facebook page that isn’t remotely indicative of whom his or her ex really is. And if you don’t know what the person looks like, you may be learning about a completely different person with the same name. PT Research Inc. uses identifying information like date of birth or SSN to verify the accuracy of a court record, but an online identity cannot be verified.
· Information privacy: Even your best employees have a personal life that may include partying or drinking. They keep their personal lives entirely separate from their professional lives. A person’s Twitter account is meant for his friends, family, and other associates from his personal life. An employer’s perusal of his personal life may be considered an invasion of privacy regardless of the content the employer uncovers.

Other aspects of a job hunter’s personal life can speak volumes. Drug use, a violent criminal past, or a history of theft, are all immediate red flags that an employer can and should use when making a hiring decision. A reputable employment screening firm like PT Research can uncover these indiscretions without risking any of the above liability pitfalls.

Resources:

http://blogs.technet.com/b/privacyimperative/archive/2010/01/27/microsoft-releases-a-study-on-data-privacy-day.aspx

7 Things You Must Do Before Hiring

As you probably know, Human Resources is an imperative component of any business. Naturally, we want to find the best and most qualified person for the job. This is why pre-employment screening is so important. Not only do you want an employee who has all of the skills and working drive that the company needs, but you also need this kind of evaluation to ensure the company reduces its risks, as well as builds a safer, positive and constructive workplace.

So you find the perfect applicant. He/she appears to have all of the qualifications for the job you were looking for. Before you go ahead and hire anyone to work for you, make sure you do these types of pre-employment screenings:


1.  Criminal Background Checks

This kind of background check is the most common and is increasingly getting more popularized. You hear those news reports all of the time; the ones where an employee endangered a workplace or was using detrimental practices. These actions could possibly harm the company, its workers, and/or give it a bad brand value. These actions can be avoided.

Here are some of the criminal background checks you should perform on an employee candidate to ensure your business is secure:

· County record search
· State record search
· Federal record search
· Sex offender registries
· International criminal records
· SSN Trace

These searches can be quite difficult to find and understand. It is a good idea to take your time and find a quality background and pre-employment company to do these searches for you. You should be weary of online background screening databases. These often look over or miss very important information and are not very detailed. It is not a good idea to use these databases for important HR decisions.

2. Employment Verification

In most every case, when a candidate is looking to get hired, he or she will hand in a resume, and/or fill out an application. Now that you have seen their impressive list of skills, accomplishments, and experiences, it is time you validate this as a trustworthy resource. According to CNNMoney.com, "10 percent to 30 percent of job seekers shade the truth or flat-out lie on their resumes." The most common lies include their job title, compensation, reason for leaving and accomplishments.

Employment screening services typically will to in-depth analysis in these areas; keeping a look out for any inaccurate information. They may also perform supervisor interviews, I-9 Right to Work Verification, professional license verification, and (very important and sometimes underrated) employment reference checks.

3. Education Verification

It may come as a surprise but lying about to a prospective employer about his/her education history is actually not that unusual. Most typically, these lies may be the institution they did or did not attend, or that the degree they listed or mentioned was never actually earned. Though these lies or exaggerations may be small or unsubstantial it is important to verify this kind of information to really have a better understanding of his or her skills.

4. Drug Testing

Often over-looked or underestimated, executing a pre-employment drug screening program and/or a random drug-testing program is a great way to improve workplace productivity.

Not only does this usually avert those who may abuse substances, but it can also save you in insurance costs and prevent simple mistakes from occurring, slacking on the job, no-shows, possibly theft, and employee turnover too.


5. Driving Records

Driving Record checks are a vital part of hiring anyone who will be operating a vehicle on the job. Even if they are driving on company time to do a simple errand for the office and get involved in an accident, your business could be liable. These checks are most critical, if the person you hope to employ is responsible for driving other individuals. Just this simple step could prevent serious future damage, not only to equipment, but also the lives of others.

6. Credit Reports

Credit reporting is becoming more common for those looking to hire. Many believe that if you are not reliable on paying your bill then you may not be reliable on the job. This type of screening can be extremely useful if you are looking to hire in the financial industry.

7. Find The Right Employment Screening Service

As I mentioned before, online databases are not usually the most reliable sources for background screening purposes. The goal is to reduce your company's risk as much as possible and increase workplace safety and productivity. It is a good idea to find an employment screening service with a track record of being trustworthy and very detailed oriented.

One example of this is PT Research Inc.; they have been around since 1998 and pride themselves on their quality and accuracy. The employment screening agency performs over 25,000 criminal record searches a month in New England alone. PT Research will also customize to each individual client and has a very fast turn around time. For more information go to http://www.ptresearchinc.com/


Resources:

http://www.ptresearchinc.com/

"4 Key Pre-Employment Screening Components"- Posted by Michael Gaul
http://www.recruitingblogs.com/profiles/blogs/4-key-preemployment-screening

"Top 5 Resume Lies" CNN Money By Jeanne Sahadi http://money.cnn.com/2004/11/22/pf/resume_lies/index.htm

By Kasey Andrew
Marketing Director at PT Research Inc.

Criminal Record Databases: Defer Liability Or Deliver A False Sense Of Security?

In October 2004, an employee of a New York grocery delivery company was charged with aggravated harassment and stalking for making obscene phone calls to women to whom he had delivered groceries. An in-depth search into the harasser’s background would have turned up at least two felony and six misdemeanor convictions. His employer’s vice president of human resources has been quoted as saying “for a delivery personnel with a burglary

conviction, we certainly wouldn’t hire them if we found that.”

In this particular case, and unlike the majority of negligent hiring cases, the harasser’s employer did, in

fact, run a criminal background check on the man. The background check came up clear, with no record

of a felony conviction or his release from prison last year after a bribery conviction. So how could an excon,

and a repeat offender, show a clear criminal record a year after his prison release?

The pre-employment screening firm who ran the search offers several screening options. The package

chosen by the employer in this case is referred to as a “database search,” or a list of names and criminal

convictions that are either purchased or acquired through public records. One such source of records is

New York’s Department of Correctional Services, who reports crimes for which a criminal served time in a

state prison; this list does not include city correctional facilities like Riker’s Island, where the harasser was

sentenced for his conviction last spring. The information New York provides also does not include

misdemeanors; the employee was convicted of six misdemeanors in the 1990’s.

The employer has since terminated their relationship with the employment screening company citing an

unsatisfactory explanation as to why they did not flag the employee for his extensive criminal history. They

hired a new firm and will be requiring secondary background checks for their 270 delivery people, and

will be paying more money for a more extensive level of search this time.