Background checks designed to protect workers, employers

By Linda Lerner, 10/2/05

When I apply for jobs and fill out applications, I am sometimes asked to sign a series of releases and consent forms. I never read them all and just sign them so that I can be passed on to the next person for an interview. I know that one was a request for a credit report and they also asked for references. Should I be signing these things, and what exactly does the company do with them?

Employers today want to know much more about applicants than what appears on their resumes. Background checks of potential employees have become common in recent years.

All of us have read in the news about employees who have become violent, stolen money, or committed fraud. Employers are required to use reasonable care in their hiring decisions. They have needed to find ways to protect their companies, customers, and employees from the potential harm to the employee and the company that can arise from a poor hiring decision. All of this and more has led employers from a variety of industries and professions to do background checks on candidates for jobs.

The federal Fair Credit Reporting Act provides detailed guidelines and an explanation of the rights of employers and the rights of employees when a consumer report is done. State laws also address these matters extensively.

One form that most employers ask you to sign is an authorization to obtain a consumer report. This report may contain information about your educational history including graduation from high school, college, graduate schools, certificate programs, and verification of courses completed and degrees earned. The report often contains data on your creditworthiness or a copy of your credit report, and criminal conviction information.

Your signature may also give the employer the right to learn about your past job performance and authorization to check references of previous employers. They may also check personal references and your military record, if any.

Another document you may be asked to sign is a drug testing consent form that asks that you voluntarily agree to have a test, often urinalysis, to determine whether your results are positive or negative. This test is usually performed at an authorized medical facility and if you are tested positive, you have a right to a copy of that report.

One important goal of these background checks is to see whether a job candidate has a record of criminal convictions. For more specific information on this serious aspect of the background check, I have consulted with employment law attorney Sally Adams of the Boston firm Seyfarth Shaw. She says, ''Many employers reasonably believe that information in an applicant's background is a good indication of what to expect in the future employment (or volunteer) relationship. It can be essential �?or even mandatory �?for an employer to determine whether an individual has a criminal history that makes him or her unsuitable for the position in question. This is especially true when the individual will be working with vulnerable populations such as children, elderly and disabled persons.''

It also can be reasonable to believe that an applicant who lies about or conceals something on their resume or application will continue being dishonest and pose other problems on the job.

It is helpful to know that if an employer does background checks, it should do them on either all potential employees or all potential employees in a certain job category or department. For example, an employer probably will want to check the motor vehicle record of all drivers of the company's trucks and vans.

Companies will sometimes make you a job offer that is conditional on the receipt of an acceptable background check. If unacceptable information is obtained by the company, you have the right to receive a copy of the report and the right to dispute or correct any part of it that is incorrect.