Another Way to Look At It

Another Way to Look At It

The EEOC released its long-awaited, much discussed “Guidance” on how criminal records should be used in the employment process. (See our Review at link) From the headlines last summer, (“EEOC Proposal Bans Employee Background Checks” was one) we all had reason to be nervous. Fortunately, the final product was what some would call “legislating common sense” – just a reminder that when things start to become too extreme, the government will step in. Since I’m a free market guy, I’d rather see the market police itself but, as we saw with recent financial events, that doesn’t always work.

How did we get here? The industry is not that old – at least in its current form. What put this on Big Brother’s radar? Well, to quote the great cartoon philosopher Pogo, “we have met the enemy and he is us”. Not “us” the background check guys. “Us” meaning everyone who provides or uses public record information.

Us – we all did it.

The EEOC report did an amazingly accurate job of breaking down the different levels of data currently available. They went to (what I thought were) great lengths to list the good and bad points of each. Then they proceeded to say, essentially, “okay folks, if you’re going to use this type of information in your hiring process, you’d better do it wisely or it’s going to cost you.”

The New York Times repeated a statistic last week that claims “90% of companies use background checks”. I wish. But truly, the proliferation of data providers, facilitated by their access via the web, has made it almost impossible for any employer to say “It takes too long” and/or “It costs too much” to run a background check. But the employer who thinks paying $10.00 or less for a background check and then using it as the sole reason to accept or reject someone’s application for employment is completely missing the point about the role of background checks in the hiring process.

A background check is only one piece of the hiring process. I would argue that the single riskiest thing an employer does is allow someone new into their company. But we’ll talk about that some other time. What’s important now is that you hear the message from the EEOC: Use the information carefully or pay the price.

And it is about the money. That’s why there are thousands of pre-employment screening companies. The data provider’s model can be very lucrative: Buy data one time and sell it, sell it again and then sell it again and again…. And believe me, I want to make money too. But I’d like to think I worked hard to learn the industry and brought 25 years of experience in HR and business with me. Now, all that’s needed is a computer and the Internet.

But, like Reality TV, those guys wouldn’t be there if people didn’t buy their products. Some of it can be chalked up to just not knowing any better but that only goes so far. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve talked to senior HR leaders of large companies only to learn they were getting arrest records in their background checks. And I still compete for business where the prospect thinks they can get a “national background check” for $3.99 and it will be as good as a county search.

Reality check: A county record is the most reliable record available. That’s not me talking – the EEOC says it very clearly in their Guidance. And you cannot, under any circumstances, order and receive a true county record in seconds – the laws of physics won’t allow it.

I told one Client this was a “shot across the bow” of those employers who, just because they can, continue to do things like run credit reports on people whose only job is to sweep the floor. Like my parents used to say, “just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should.”

What’s the answer? At a minimum, you should pay attention to what’s being said. Then do your homework. Look at your process and make changes where needed. It’s just not that hard. Because if we don’t correct our collective behavior, the next step may be to redact identifiers like dates of birth from available records or, worse, make it illegal to run background checks altogether. And we think we have problems now.

Regards – John

PS – Before I forget, I also want to thank the EEOC for providing a great topic with which to kick off our Client Exchange. This type of event was just what we’d hoped the Exchange would be: A place to discuss important topics. Please share your thoughts or post questions or, if you’re already sick of us, unsubscribe. Coming soon: FantasticHR.com.