Is salary history part of your screening process?

Are you an employer who asks for salary history as part of your hiring process? If so, do you use that information to make your decision on whether or not to hire someone? It seems like such a small detail, but could bring legal problems, depending on how that kind of information is gathered and used. 

Asking for salary history is definitely within an employer’s legal rights, and most job applicants are happy to provide such information. If you are using a third party employment screening service to gather such information, however, you must have written pre-approval by the applicant. And if the figures you find come into play when deciding not to hire that person, you are required to let them know, as according to the Fair Credit Reporting Act they have a legal right to explain or correct any errors or information you’ve found. 

While a job applicant is not required to share salary history, some employers have found that asking for it ends up serving as one way to judge character, because lying about one’s salary history is an easy one to catch. 

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Not All Drug Tests Are Created Equal

Everyone knows what drug testing is, but not everyone understands that term does not mean one specific test. There are two main types of drug tests, the 5 panel and the 10 panel, and the one you choose depends on how many different kinds of drugs you want to test for. 

5-Panel Test: This is the standard test with which most employers are familiar. It tests for five drugs: Amphetamine, Cannabinoids (Marijuana), Cocaine, Opiates, and Phencyclidine (PCP). The 5-panel is all that is permitted by the Department of Transportation (DOT) in its mandatory testing program. 

10-Panel Test: For most non-regulated employers, a 10-panel drug test typically will work better than a 5-panel test. However, because employers know some prescription drugs have the potential to become addictive, the 10-panel drug test also screens for several legal drugs that are also known to be drugs of abuse. The test screens for tricyclic antidepressants, benzodiazepines, opiates, methadone, barbiturates and methamphetamine.

In addition to the drugs, the 10-panel drug test can also measure characteristics of the urine sample, such as the pH level. Testing the characteristics of the sample can show if the urine has been altered to cheat the test.

Alcohol testing: Regulated breathalyzer testing is used to determine an individual’s breath alcohol level. It can be conducted with certified results through a medical professional.

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DIY employment screening doesn’t save money

Times are tight for just about everyone, and that means smart businesses are finding large and small ways to cut corners. If you are an employer who has decided to conduct your own pre-employment screening rather than hire a professional employment screening service, have you considered all that the do-it-yourself process entails?

First, it’s important to realize how much work is involved with pre-employment screening. First there is the education verification, to ensure the applicant hasn’t padded his or her resume with a degree that wasn’t earned or a learning institution that is not accredited. Then there’s the tedious process of delving into public records to find out what you can about the applicant’s criminal background. The information kept in public records vary from state to state, so multiple searches must be conducted to get the most thorough results. Also the information in a public criminal record varies based on the offense and how many years have gone by since the arrest or conviction.

It’s easy enough to pull an applicant’s credit report, but wading through the pages of information to get a general sense of the person’s financial standing and fiscal responsibility can be difficult if you’re not trained to know what to look for and how to interpret credit score numbers and notes.

Finally, checking references, both professional and personal, can become a full-time job, leaving voicemails, setting up time to call, and keeping track of who you’ve talked to and what they said.

Conducting the entire process yourself might seem like it’s saving you money, but if you added up the hours you lost from your regular duties in order to gather and decipher information about a single candidate, you’d realize your time is much better spent hiring a professional employment screening service, and getting back to whatever it is you do best.

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Dickinson State University audit results show importance of education verification

Diploma mills and degree mills sound like fiction, but they are a very real threat to an employer’s workforce. A recently released audit of Dickinson State University in North Dakota underscores that fact. The audit examined foreign students who have taken part in a special program since 2003 allowing them to earn degrees both from DSU and a university in their home country.

Out of 410 degrees issued through the program in question, 400 of them failed to meet standards for required coursework or credits. DSU had 127 agreements with international schools to have their students study in North Dakota, but of those 127 agreements only four met the requirements to be valid as part of this program.

Such astounding lapses in the collegiate level of academics suggest it is imperative for employers to include education verification as part of the vetting process for all job applicants. The college should be able to produce full transcripts of the student’s time at the college, including all grades and degrees or certifications earned. No pre-employment screening is complete without this important step.

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Not every job is the same, so not every background check should be the same

Any good businessperson knows that you can’t pigeon-hole your employees to fit whatever job happens to be open. It takes certain skill sets, experience and even personality to suit certain jobs.

The same is true for employment screening. Putting every employee through the exact same screening process regardless of the job they’d be performing for your company is not efficient or all that useful. Instituting a policy of having every prospective employee undergo a background check is definitely a step in the right direction. But don’t just put everyone through the exact same background check. Think about the various roles your employees perform for your company, and tailor the screenings to their jobs. For example, it might not be all that helpful to make employees who don’t do any driving or delivering for your company undergo a driver’s license check. Also, save the credit checks for just those employees who will be handling funds or be responsible for the company’s (or fellow employees’) money.

There are, however, some types of background checks that are wise to use across the board for all employees. This includes taking a look at everyone’s criminal record and verifying previous employment.

As an employer, you’re expected to take the necessary precautions to keep your employees and your company’s goods, services and reputation safe. To do this effectively, you must implement some background screening processes. Just don’t put everyone through the same cookie cutter process. It’s a waste of time, money and resources.

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O’Hare airport starts background check program for passengers

Background checks are making their way into airports, but not for airport and airline employees – for travelers!

We all know it’s been a hassle – but a largely necessary one – to be subjected to a higher level of airport security in the last decade. Now frequent fliers of American Airlines through O’Hare International Airport and nine other airports across the country have instituted Transportation Security Administration’s PreCheck program, which allows travelers to go through a special background check process before they fly.

If they pass the pre-screening, a special bar code is printed on their boarding passes, allowing them to go through a special security line at the airport whenever they travel. That security line allows them to keep on their shoes, hats, jackets and belts, and allows them to leave their laptops in cases and liquid toiletries packed safely away.

The use of background checks have been increasing across just about all industries in recent years. This is an example of how they can be used to increase not only safety but convenience for people.

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PA background check law for schools being challenged

A Pennsylvania law that’s been revised to protect children has some school employees filing suits trying to keep their jobs.

According to the Associated Press, at least four lawsuits have been filed around the commonwealth challenging the state Department of Education’s application of new rules about criminal records to current employees. Under the law that took effect last fall, school employees must report any arrests or convictions of serious crimes in their past and must also report any future arrest or conviction within three days. The requirement applies to crimes such as homicide, kidnapping, sexual assault or aggravated assault and applies to teachers, administrators, support staff and contractors.

The department has told administrators to fire any employee who comes into contact with children and has been convicted of any of the 28 listed offenses. The lawsuits, filed in Allegheny, Dauphin, Delaware and York counties, argue that the law should be interpreted to only pertain to future employees, not current ones. They further argue that the law is unconstitutional because it violates the due process rights of employees since it essentially penalizes them for crimes for which they’ve already been punished.

Time will tell whether the courts find any merit in these lawsuits, but we’ll certainly keep tabs on this issue. 

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