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2009 Best Employee Screening Posts

Is It Legal For An Employer To Charge A Potential Employee For A Background Check?

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question_valerie_everett

I recently checked out Quora which is getting a lot of buzz lately (with mixed reviews). What is Quora you ask? The best way to describe it is it’s a Q&A social networking site. I’m not sure if Quora is going to be social media’s newest “it” platform, but I did find some questions on employee background screening that you might find helpful.

Here’s one question that I recently answered:

Q – Is it legal for an employer to charge a potential employee for a background check? If a business requires employees to be screened for past criminal behavior, is it acceptable to charge potential employees for the cost of the screening?

A- There is no federal law that prohibits employers charging a potential employee for a background check but the following states (and Washington, DC) have laws that limit this practice:

  • California, Minnesota, Washington,DC – the employee cannot be required to pay for a background check as a condition of employment.
  • Vermont – limits an employer charging a potential employee for a background check if they are using specific sources.
  • Kansas – employers can’t require potential employees to obtain their own records and give them to the employer.

What questions do you have about background checks?

Photo credit: Valerie Everett

Social Media And Employee Background Screening

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I just read another excellent article on the red hot topic of social media and employee background screening. It’s titled “Social Networking Sites: Savvy Screening Tool or Legal Trap?” written by Christa Richer Cook, an employment law attorney with the law firm Bond, Schoeneck & King, PLLC.

For more information, read these related blog posts:

Do you have questions about your employee background screening program?

Our experts are here to help. Ask a background screening expert.

Photo credit: dann solo

Q&A On Using Social Networks For Background Screening

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I found an excellent Q&A regarding employee background screening on Human Resource Executive Online.

Question:

Can you provide the parameters for HR in the use of information discovered on the Web, such as Facebook, as it applies to job applicants?

Answer:

Social networks and blogging sites can provide an inexpensive and easy way for employers to gather a plethora of information about potential job applicants. However, employers should think twice about using information found on social-networking sites to make employment decisions because the use of such information could lead to the potential risk of employer liability.

This is because these sites contain information about job applicants that employers would not be permitted to ask about during any job interview. Therefore, using, and in some cases, simply accessing these pages for employment purposes can result in violations of various anti-discrimination statutes, privacy laws, state “off-duty” conduct statutes, and federal and state Fair Credit Reporting Acts.

For the complete article click here.

Related Posts From FYI Screening:

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The Best Of FYI Screening 2009

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nye2010

2009 was a year that social media surged and the use of social networks for employee background screening was frequently debated. We saw resume fraud, diploma mills and fake employment websites flourish.  During this time we’ve used our blog to keep you informed of these trends, best practices and legal compliance issues.  Look to FYI Screening for more of this in 2010.

Below you’ll find our most widely-read posts of the year:

  1. The Importance Of Post-Hire Background Checks
  2. 4 Tips On How To Use Social Networks For Employee Screening
  3. The Dangers of Using Social Networks for Employee Screening
  4. Diploma Mills: Degrees of Deception
  5. 5 Legal Reasons Why Your Company Should Have a Social Networking Policy
  6. The Other Background Check: What Does Google Have To Say About You?
  7. Resume Fraud A Growing Concern
  8. Twitter and Employment Law Issues
  9. Job Applicants Are More Likely To Lie As The Recession Grows
  10. The Pitfalls Of Using Social Networking To Screen Potential Employees

Happy New Year!

Photo credit: berk2804