Background Checks: Best Practices, Trends, and Legal Compliance

In this introductory webinar, attendees will learn the basics of pre-employment background checks for employers.  To avoid bad hiring decisions, employers are utilizing pre-employment background screening as a risk management tool.  Just one bad hire can create a significant and financial nightmare, including lawsuits for negligent hiring, theft, workplace violence, and having unqualified workers on the job.  However, background checks are increasingly subject to litigation, legislation, and regulation.  There has been an explosion of class action lawsuits as well as actions by federal agencies based on allegations that employers failed to follow the law.  

This course will first review the fundamentals of background checks and negligent hiring.  It will then audit ten key areas of legal compliance and current best practices designed to help employers hire the best while avoiding legal fallout.  It will also review the mechanics of how a background screening program should work, as well as frequently asked questions by employers.  Finally, the course will review best practices when it comes to application forms, interviews and past employment checks that occur before an offer is made and a background check ordered. 

Employee problems are caused by problem employees, and this course will help HR professionals avoid bad hires in the first place by practicing due diligence in their hiring programs. Employers will get updated on federal and state laws, lawsuits, and regulations controlling pre-employment screening background checks and audit their current practices for legal compliance.

Areas Covered in the Session:

• Learn why background checks and due diligence have become mission critical for employers.
• Understand the basics of a negligent hiring lawsuit and defenses that work and do not work.
• Learn the basics of background check including why and how it is done.
• Learn steps your organization can take today to implement a legally compliant program and to hire the best employees.
• Learn how the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and state laws impacts screening and legal requirements for a background checks.
• Understand the current explosion in class action lawsuits related to background checks.
• Be introduced to the screening industry and how it operates.
• Understand the rights or consumers and the obligations of employers and screening firms. 
• Audit your current practices for legal compliance.