Background Checks: Handling a Touchy Situation
By Nick at 14 April, 2007, 1:39 pm
I’m interested in knowing if any of you have policies or just your own practices in regard to evaluating information from background and reference checks. In particular, what do you do when you see spotty attendance, unpaid debt history (if you get into that part of a background check), or an address that is not the residence address.
The reason that I ask is because these are some of the symptoms of a survivor of domestic/financial abuse and they may not have disclosed that information to you at this time.
As HR we have to be careful how we interpret background checks. I can understand the apprehension of spotty attendance because that is directly related to the person’s work performance and will impact you the prospective employer. However, I am leary about evaluating financial history because research has shown that financial problems are mostly associated with certain demographics (minorities). There was a report published lately that spoke of the same issue. Employers have to be careful when using background checks because it could come back and hurt them.
A person’s financial history has NO bearing on whether they can do the job. Whether a person has an unpaid debt history is irrelevant and NOT job related. Remember, candidates are applying for a job, not a loan. Another thing to keep in mind is that with the economy being the way it is now and foreclosures being prevalent, you are apt to find a lot of people going through financial problems.
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