John Christoffersen from the Associated Press has written an article on some problems with information provided to employers by criminal background check providers. Lawsuits are resulting from errors in criminal records that show people with criminal and felony convictions in cases where none exist and show convicted criminals and sex offenders with a clean record. As a result, negligent hiring lawsuits are rising.
According to the article, there are no best practice standards in the industry for criminal background check providers to adhere to.
From the article —
“It’s very important and it’s getting more important,” said Robert Belair, a privacy attorney in Washington and editor of the Privacy and American Business newsletter. “The incidence of negligent hiring lawsuits is way up.”
But the burgeoning field lacks consistent standards, causing errors that can disqualify reputable job applicants, some industry experts and consumer advocates say. When criminals slip through with clean records, the consequences are more severe.
…
“There are no standards for what is a background check,” said Tal Moise, chief executive of Verified Person, a New-York based company that performs background checks. “This is an industry that has delivered historically a very low quality product.”
A national task force funded by the Justice Department last month recommended national standards for screening companies.
“The nation’s security, as well as on-the-job efficiency, and certainly civil liberties and privacy interests, all demand the development of a blueprint,” the task force concluded.
You can read the entire article @ Background-check policies can create major problems.