From this case, there are three simple reminders here for employers who
rely on criminal records for employment screening purposes:
Not exact matches
The sheriff
relied on his interpretation of a San Francisco ordinance barring cooperation with immigration officers unless an inmate in local custody has a serious
criminal record or the agents have a warrant.
Currently,
criminal record disclosure in England and Wales
relies on self - reporting, and it's the genuinely contrite who would do it.
Traditional background checks,
on the other hand, are targeted for lower - volume (typically HR) applications and
rely on human beings to sort through the
records and properly match a
criminal record to an individual.
Without the knowledge of the plaintiff or her counsel, the defendant and accused in the case had shared the plaintiff's documents produced in the civil case with his
criminal defence counsel, who then
relied on these
records at trial.
At the
criminal trial, the accused's lawyer, in turn,
relied on information in the plaintiff's medical
records to cross-examine the plaintiff / complainant.
Organizations that
rely on local police services for police and
criminal record checks know that there can be challenges associated with this approach.
Relying solely
on a national
criminal background check to determine an employee's
criminal history may lead you to make a hiring decision based
on inaccurate, incomplete, or outdated
criminal records.
The EEOC's April 2012 guidance document, which is still the single best source for this policy, says employers may devise a «targeted
criminal records screen» that
relies only
on the Green factors (see below) but that it must show that the
criminal conduct in question has a «demonstrably tight nexus to the position in question.»
The updated Enforcement Guidance
on the Consideration of Arrest and Conviction
Records in Employment Decisions has caused quite a stir among background screening companies and employers who
rely on criminal background checks.
Finally, employers should be cautions when background screening services seem to be emphasizing or
relying primarily or solely
on a «National
Criminal Record Search» or promise a same day or instant turnaround times.
Finally, employers should be skeptical if a background screening service seems to be emphasizing or
relying primarily or solely
on a «National
Criminal Record Search» or promise a «same day» or instant turnaround times.