Random Criminal Background Checks?

Crout

Has anyone ever heard of this being done? My company is obligated by law to do pre-employment Crim Checks for every new employee. We then exceed the law by renewing the Crim Checks every two years. Now one of my Directors is proposing to start renewing randomly, which I think is a very bad idea. I think we should either renew for everyone or renew for no one. What say my esteemed colleagues? Thank you kindly.

Don D

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 05-06-04 AT 03:53PM (CST)[/font][br][br]I would be interested in hearing him explain what the point is. Is it to save money? Is he fond of a crap shoot? Is he a bluegill fisherman....likes to toss his cork at random, hoping, hoping? What's the point? Makes no sense to me.

Random drug screens are done randomly as a deterrent. People don't hesitate to commit a crime based on some presumption of their being netted in the future by a random criminal check. If you re-run your checks on the basis you say, that would be enough caution that they will red-flag. But again, I don't imagine that anybody reins in criminal behaviors based on the employer finding out. Rather they rein in criminal behavior based on a fear of the cops catching their ass.

Cinderella

Eh. I'm with you Crout. Sounds like a lot of WORK. I don't like doing anything that causes more work for me! x;)
Seriously, I've heard of places doing it but what a pain in the patella it must be. Unless your employee population is so out of hand (having a lot of problems with them selling drugs at work, physical violence on the premises, etc.) then I say nay.

SMace

What if the random check misses the convicted felon with a violent criminal history? Then they commit a violent act. Your response in court that you randomly checked your ee's to save $500 a year will be followed with gasps from the jurors.



Please note, scene slightly embellished for effect.

Crout

This was proposed as a way to save some money. As I said earlier, we are mandated by law to perform criminal background checks on every new employee. Those laws carry a list of convictions that can bar an individual from employment. The law also carries a protection from employment liability in the event that we have to deny a job to someone who was convicted. By renewing the Crim Checks every two years we are actually exceeding the mandate of the law. If we adopt this proposal and randomly do Crim Checks I am very concerned that we will lose the liability protection we now enjoy.

stilldazed

We're in Florida and are legally required to perform criminal background checks on all new employees because of the nature of our business, which we do. Several years back, the particular statute changed and a background check for employees after hire no longer became necessary. However, the substitute in its place was a character statement (basically listing all the disqualifying convictions in the statute) and an agreement that the employee report any convictions that might occur after hire, plus employers had to implement policies requiring employees to self report criminal convictions after hire. That's our current practice, and it works for us in Florida. Not sure if your regs would be different, but it might be a consideration. We have had a couple of instances where employees were arrested/convicted, and we have found that getting information in those circumstances is quite easy: Criminal background history is considered private in the hiring process and can only be obtained within specific parameters, but it is basically public everywhere else. Stories/arrest records hit the newspapers, or employees called in for absence due to incarceration in the local jail. We had signed statements in place and were able to act on a policy violation rather than an arrest or conviction. My personal advice would be to tread carefully and act conservatively. This is one area where the costs of checking everyone may far outweigh the risk of a tragedy slipping through the process. As for me, I picture the local TV news crew standing before me, a microphone and a camcorder record light in my face after there has been a serious workplace tragedy; the reporter is waiting for me to explain why we didn't check someone's background, and the victim's loved ones are approaching in the distance. It gets real easy to make a decision on what is the right thing to do at that point.

Good luck.

Pork

CROUT: I lean with "Dandy Don", what a waste of money. As I read it, your company is only required by law to pre-employment criminal record check, one time. If the company feels there is a need to re-do criminal record checks, like "fishing for bluegills, hoping to catch one when they are not bedding, is a crap shoot". Why do "all" or "none, at all"????? Put up your confessional, and don't hold your breath until you get someone to confess; unless, in your policy and procedures handbook there is a written provision to confess or after the fact we discover an added criminal history, we will send you "straight to the gallows without so much as a trial". Random or all is not going to give you any changed history unless there has been one. I would seriously doubt a changed criminal record which differs from your original pre-employment check will be unknown by no one in the chain of authority over this person. Criminal record convictions do not happen over night and in a void space. My truck drivers are my biggest head problem, their speeding tickets must be reported to me before they are judicated, otherwise, "termination for violation of company policy" will happen. Truck drivers are an insurable item, our insurance company will allow 4 speeding tickets each valued as 3 driver points or 12 points, a 13 point and higher rating means our insurance company will not cover the company. When the driver hits 12 points, I have to MVR check every quarter, until the points decrease over time to 9 and less.

Hope this is of interest to you, your post is of interest to me, what is the nature of the business that more than one pre-employment criminal record check is recommended?

PORK