Can An Employer Conduct Background Checks On Current Employees? Most employers consider conducting background checks as an essential part of the hiring procedure. A background check on a current employee can provide valuable information that can help an employer make an important decision that will influence the entire organization, regardless of whether to retain, to promote, or to terminate an employee. Conducting background checks on current employees can improve workplace security by allowing an employer to remove employees who have a criminal background. It can likewise reveal insight into why an employee’s job performance has started to suffer. Conducting a background check can help the employer prevent harm to the business, such as robbery or violence or felony or misconduct. They may also require background checks for endorsing purposes if an employee uses a company vehicle. A truly smart business employer understands that there are valid reasons for conducting background checks on current employees even though a background check was conducted at the time of hiring.
Reasons to Conduct Background Checks on Current Employees: There are various reasons to conduct a background check on current employees. It is essential to maintain current records of your company’s employees. According to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), you can screen current employees on a periodic basis. Whether they have been with your association for one year or a decade. It is important to maintain self-confidence in your employees. Below are a few examples of instances in which an employer may decide to do so: 1. Promote: If an employer wants to promote an employee to a new position, then the employer may want to conduct another background check. The new position may have different types of responsibilities that were not covered by previous background checks. 2. Termination: Some employers will conduct background checks on current employees as part of a decision procedure. Before you decide which employees will remain at your company, consider a background check. 3. Security: When an employer feels that an employee is putting other staff at risk based upon reports of that employee’s conduct or other reasonable suspicions such as theft or violence. 4. Insurance Reasons: Insurance carriers may require an annual Driver License Motor Vehicle Report (MVR) check on employees who operate company vehicles.
Employer Should Not Discriminate:
Whenever an employer uses an employee’s background information to make an employment decision, regardless of how they got the data, the employer must consent to government laws, imposed by the EEOC, that protect applicants and employees from discrimination. To comply with the EEOC, an employer must apply the same rules to everyone, regardless of their race, national origin, color, sex, religion, disability, genetic information including family medical history, or age 40 or older. The EEOC also advises that employers should take special care when making employment decision on background problems that may be more common among people of those protected groups. Moreover, when an employer runs a background check through a company in the business of compiling background information, the employer must comply with the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), enforced by The Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Eventually, if an employer plans to run a credit report, it must comply with the FCRA regardless of whether it is carried out by the employer or a third party.
Getting Consent for Background Checks. Before an employer requests the background check, the employer must obtain consent from either the prospective or current employee. Technically, if an employee signed a consent form to allow background check when the employer hired them, it may be written in a way that the consent is valid, unless it is revoked by the employee. Notwithstanding, a few states necessitates that consent is obtained every time there is a background check performed. South Carolina does not have such a law. If an employer is going to run ongoing background checks on its employees, the best practice is to make this known from the initial hire date.
An Employer should have a Policy. The employer should have a clear policy on what types of searches and records will be grounds for termination of an employee. Always provide the employee with a notice that includes a copy of the consumer report the company relied on to make that employment decision and allow them with an opportunity to review the report and explain any negative information about the data. While a current employee’s criminal record will not necessarily be grounds for termination, the employer will need to decide whether the searches are relevant to their business’s needs and the employee’s ability to perform a job.
Securecheck360 Can Help Employers with Employee Background Checks. Securecheck360 has helped many employers globally conduct background checks on both job applicants and current employees. Conducting background checks on current employees can help you have a secure and productive workforce. If employers like to check the backgrounds of your current employees, contact Securecheck360 today to get started and elevate your business productivity. For more information, please call 855-955-4777 Or mail us on info@securecheck360.com