Common employee management logic suggests background checks are a crucial way employers can safeguard company safety, as well as that of customers and employees who interact with potential new employees. As some companies relax hiring restrictions, others are looking at new ways to vet their employees, even after a background check is completed before hiring. In these situations, employers will not have to seek consent from employees every time they choose to run a background check once they have hired them. If an employee agrees to the background check as part of their recruitment process, that agreement can be open-ended, or, in some states, the employee might have to sign a new agreement before every background check.

Some employers require prospective employees to sign the consent form when they are hired. In cases where a consent form states the employee is allowed by the employer to perform background checks just once, or where a local law requires the employee be informed every time he is subjected to a background check, it is necessary to do so again in order to obtain consent. Depending on the kind of work employers are hiring, they may request more information from their candidates and request additional background information about them in order to be hired. Background checks for employment usually occur when someone applies or is hired to work at a new job, but employers generally may conduct a background check whenever they feel it is needed.

Once the hiring decision has been made, the employer may conduct a background check to review a new employees arrest records, criminal history, history of employment, educational history, and other background information that may be found on public records. A background check of an existing employee can yield valuable information that can help the employer make critical decisions that affect the entire business, such as whether to keep, promote, or dismiss employees. When considering the dangers of overlooking a background check for a new employee, you can best protect your company — and your employees — from potential threats by making an employment screening routine as part of the hiring process. Even if laws do not force businesses to conduct these types of checks, they can help employers make educated hiring decisions and avoid future headaches.

When making staffing decisions — including hiring, retention, promotions, and redeployment — employers sometimes want to look at candidates and employees backgrounds. Not every mismatch is deliberate, but employers will make recruiting decisions based on information provided. If the recruitment process has been outsourced to a third party agency (that can usually be found with a search for “local recruitment agency near me“), then the employer may find the necessary information about the candidate(s) through them. Further, some agencies may perform background checks too, while some may not. In any case, employers may choose to do it again. The employer needs to know the individual that is being hired is being truthful with the information provided in order to get that job. Negligent hiring claims almost always turn on details the employer would know (or could predict) had they conducted a proper background check.

Because of regional (state) laws, the idea of on-going Vermont background checks is a contentious, overly sensitive subject, and employers need to carefully consider the economic arguments in favour of conducting such increased screening on their own workforce once hired.