Few employers use rolling background checks

Excerpted from HR Dive By Valerie Bolden-Barrett

Dive Brief:

• While some employers choose to screen employees continuously, checking that nothing has changed since they hired workers, their numbers remain small. Just 4% of 6,500 HR professionals in a recent Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) survey said they regularly conduct rolling checks.

• According to the survey results, the transportation industry performs continuous background checks most often; utilities, accommodation and food services, government agencies and construction were included in the top five.

• SHRM said it found that 92% of employers conduct background checks, with most occurring at the pre-employment stage. Additionally, 15% said they rescreen workers annually; 13% perform checks after certain events; and 10% do so when an employee changes position.

Dive Insight:

While continuous screenings have obvious benefits, they come with time and financial costs as well. Employers also need to consider compliance with applicable laws. The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), for example, requires that employers provide certain notices and obtain certain permissions before conducting checks. Employers also must properly dispose of information obtained.

Employers often run afoul of the law when notices contain extraneous information, experts previously told HR Dive. Delta Air Lines, for example, agreed earlier this year to pay $2.3 million to settle a class-action lawsuit alleging it failed to provide approximately 44,000 applicants with a stand-alone background check disclosure, in violation of FCRA and California law. A federal court also recently certified a class of approximately 5 million people who once applied to Walmart in a suit alleging similar claims.

Employers also need to train their managers and supervisors on FCRA compliance, Matthew Simpson, a partner with Fisher Phillips told HR Dive in a previous interview.