Background Checks: Best Practices....................

Background Checks:
Best Practices & Legal Compliance

Does your application or hiring process include background checks? Have you heard about the EEOC's guidance on the use of criminal background checks, but you don't understand how they fit into your background-check process?

After years of debate, the EEOC published controversial new guidance on employers' use of background-check policies and practices. Then, it used those guidelines to file a series of important lawsuits alleging violation of federal discrimination law.

Every employer needs to be in compliance.

Pepsi thought it was. The company believed it was using background checks in a nondiscriminatory way. But the EEOC saw things differently. The result: Pepsi paid $3.2 million to settle an EEOC race-bias charge. Kmart also thought it was in compliance, but it was hit with a class-action lawsuit alleging violations of background-check laws including the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act. The result: Kmart paid a $3 million settlement.

The list of well-reported companies continues to grow… will you be next?

Don't wait for a lawsuit or EEOC charge to make sure you're in compliance. It's vital — for your company and your career — to get in line now with the EEOC's Enforcement Guidance on the Consideration of Arrests and Conviction Records.