BEST PRACTICE #13 FOR PROPER USE OF CRIMINAL BACKGROUND CHECKS IN HIRING
Earlier this summer, a group of consultants got together with representatives from the National H.I.R.E. Network, the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and the National Workrights Institute to publish their recommendations for staying within the lines of the 2012 EEOC guidance on the use of criminal history checks in the course of background screening. Their publication, called Best Practice Standards: The Proper Use of Criminal Records in Hiring, is gaining attention from the industry not so much for being original, but for their conscious effort to deliver the advice that many HR are looking for.
Yet with 15 points of instruction detailed across 30 pages of content, some are still struggling to find time to review this consolidated viewpoint, instead choosing to ring our office for advice. Because Barada is already addressing many of their recommendations in the services we’re delivering to our clients, we thought it prudent to weigh in with our opinion as well point out just how we’re addressing the issue.
Here’s point #13: CONSIDER EVIDENCE OF REHABILITATION
The “Best Practice Standards” include ten different points for the individualized assessment of rehabilitation of candidates for employment who have a criminal history. Among those points we feel that overall job performance since the most recent conviction is easily the most important for employers to consider. The best way to evaluate job performance is to ask the candidate for a list of at least three people with whom he or she has worked within the last five to seven years.
In many instances, however, it may not be advisable for the employer to undertake the evaluation of the seriousness of an offense without good legal advice.