The Value of On-Going Screening Throughout the Employment Lifecycle

A new consideration in the background screening industry is whether employers should conduct ongoing or periodic background checks on their current workforce. Although a comprehensive background screen may have validated and confirmed a clear record on the way into an organization, something you may need to know may have occurred since that time.

While pre-employment screening refers to the process of investigating the background of a potential employee, post-employment screening refers to the investigation of an existing employee’s activity. Ongoing post-hire searches may be one way to demonstrate due diligence, support workplace safety, and even minimize exposure to risk.

The Facts 

• Every year, approximately two million people fall victim to workplace violence in the US.¹
• The rate of violent victimization is 22.6 per 1,000 persons age 12 or older.²
• Total victimization, including acts of abusive language or threats, threat with a weapon, physical assault, sexual harassment, attempted rape, and rape against employees equals 16.2 incidents per 10,000 full time employees.³
• Most recent estimates from the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners’ “Report to the Nation” indicate that a typical organization loses 5% of its revenues each year to occupational fraud and the longer a perpetrator has worked for an organization, the higher the fraud losses tend to be.⁴
• Workplace crime costs about half a million employees 1,751,100 days of work each year, an average of 3.5 days per crime. This missed work resulted in over $55 million in lost wages annually, not including days covered by sick and annual leave.⁵

Sixty-nine percent of organizations report they conduct criminal background checks on all of their job candidates. Eighteen percent of organizations conduct criminal checks on select job candidates, and 14% do not conduct criminal checks at all.⁶

While pre-employment screening plays a critical role in helping to protect companies from hiring mistakes, studies indicate that few realize the importance of conducting screening at regular intervals throughout an employee’s tenure. Despite the fact that corporate fraud is increasing, with 70% of companies reporting suffering from at least one type of fraud in the past year, few have cultivated a program to combat it.⁷ Seventy-two percent of organizations do not conduct any form of post-hire background screens on their employees. Eleven percent perform background checks after one year of employment or only when an employee is being considered for a promotion.⁸

Post-hire screening has been a staple in many industries for years, due to federal, state, insurance, and industry specific guidelines and regulations. For example, the Department of Transportation requires that truck drivers who hold a commercial driver’s license undergo an annual audit of their driving record and submit to periodic random drug test. The childcare, elder care, security, and law enforcement communities also require reoccurring background screening. There are laws requiring health care workers to submit to a complete review of education history, licensing, hospital privileges, and possible sanctions.

Although many companies are not mandated to perform post-employment screening, HR professionals should be aware that there are potential risks from “negligent retention”. The legal verbiage can be complicated and varies by state, along with the fact negligent retention can fall under a broad spectrum of definitions and can encompass a variety of topics. The National Criminal Justice Reference Service advises, “negligent retention can be charged when an employer knew, or should have known, that an employee was unqualified to be in the position he was working in, allowed him to stay in the position anyway, and an injury or violation of rights was caused by the employee in the normal scope of duty. The negligence issue arises when an organization can be shown to have allowed a behavior to continue, even when the supervisor or administrator knew it was negligent.”⁹

“Companies are actively adopting ongoing screening policies to regularly monitor and check their employees to keep collateral damages at bay. Our customers have reported that ongoing screening has been a wise and prudent decision,” said Ben Goldberg, President of Aurico Reports, Inc. “The practice supports risk management initiatives and reduces potential negligent retention liability.”

Some recommend that a post-hire screening program be developed and implemented on a job by job basis:

• Employees with access to highly sensitive information (financial assets, personally identifiable information, client data, and other intellectual property) may be subject to a specific type of background screen on an annual basis.
• Team members being considered for a promotion may have been screened differently for the current position they hold than what is required for a higher level in the organization. Every candidate should submit to a background screening that is consistent with the package used for a new hire in that higher position.
• All jobs are not created equal. Employers often tailor the screening package to the position. Upon making a move to a different business unit or transferring to another role within an organization, a screening may be needed to align with the new job duties.
• When a significant amount of time has passed since an initial background check, it may be appropriate to check records and perform drug screens, since behaviors change over time.
• Heavy equipment operators may be subject to screening laws or regulations. If they are not, such as a sales person who drives a company vehicle, a motor vehicle record {MVR) check might be considered.
• Some employees obtain an advanced degree or license that may be needed as part of their job duties. An academic validation that the degree was granted from an accredited institution can ensure qualifications are legitimate.
• Some employers may choose to periodically review all employees to identify areas of potential concern.

“An organization’s post-employment screening policy should include the same procedures and processes as its pre-employment policy,” said Laura Randazzo, Aurico’s VP of Compliance. “Any post-hire screening program should always comply with the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and not discriminate against individuals as defined by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).”

¹https://www.public-health.uiowa.edu/iprc/resources/workplace-violence-report.pdf

²http://222.bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=pbdetail&iid=4781#sthash.pCyWC4g5.dpuf

³http://www.bls.gov/news.release/osh2.nr0.htm

⁴http://www.acfe.com/rttn-highlights.aspx

⁵http://justice.uaa.alaska.edu/forum/11/2summer1994/c_work.html

⁶http://www.shrm.org/research/surveyfindings/articles/pages/criminalbackgroundcheck.aspx

⁷http://www.slideshare.net/Management-Thinking/krl-fraud-report201213-finalpdf

⁸https://www.shrm.org/Research/SurveyFindings/Documents/Does_20your_20organization_20conduct_20post-hire_20background_20checks_20of_20your_20employees_.ppt

⁹https://www.ncjrs.gov/App/Publications/abstract.aspx?ID=252187