As more and more businesses reopen and employees return to work, it is important to address the issue of workplace violence. According to the National Safety Council, approximately 2 million American workers are victims of workplace violence each year. Just two weeks...
It’s unavoidable. If you run background checks, eventually you’re going to be on the receiving end of a report which you find questionable if not unacceptable. So what do you do? Let’s start with the fact that there’s a process outlined under the Fair Credit...
On April 1, 2015, Steven Young shot and killed co-worker Jacob Matthew Cadriel with a 38-caliber handgun while working at a fabrication factory in Texas. Following investigations and an eventual conviction, a lawsuit, claiming that the employer “had failed...
Confirmation Bias Imagine this…you’re running into the corner coffee shop to pick up a coffee on your way to work. You meet a stranger at random only to discover they went to the same university. Within minutes you find yourself reminiscing about places you both...
Thirty-five states, Colorado among them, have instated the “ban the box” legislation. In simple terms, private employers are prohibited from asking about an applicant’s criminal history on the initial application. The intent is to allow all applicants to be considered without the pre-conceived notions that might otherwise arise if the interviewer is aware of the crime or conviction prior to the interview.
So what does that mean in relation to background checks? Nothing really. If your organization runs regular background screens, you can continue to do so. If you’re ready to start running applicant checks, you can do so without consequence.
No, the employer can no longer ask the question prior to a potential interview but if the person passes the interview process and the next step prior to hire is a background screen, his or her history will still come to light. The big difference is simply that you’ll learn of the behavior or conviction further down the line.