Top 4 things employers can’t check in a background screening
We all know what are the things which are included in Background screening but in this blog, we will learn about the Top 4 things employers can’t check in a background screening
Let us first understand, What is Background Screening?
Background screening is a check of the individual’s background to see how suitable is the person for the job and if he or she did something unethical. It is a process that a company uses to verify if the individual is the same person who he or she claims to be in an interview or on the documents. It happens when the person is applying for the job or can happen anytime the employer feels the need for it. It provides an opportunity for the companies to check and confirm the validity of the documents the person is providing at the time of hiring. The document includes education, employment history, criminal records, and many other things from the past.
Now, let’s see what are the Top 4 things employers can’t check in a background screening.
Just like any other processes, there are some set of rules that has to be followed while doing a background check on a person in order to get the result in an ethical manner. There is some information that can not be disclosed under any circumstances. However, the restrictions don’t apply if the salary is over $75,000 or more. Here are the Top 4 things employers can’t check in a background screening
1. School and Military records
There are some ethics and code of conduct that is required while doing background checks. The first thing an employer can not check is school and military records. The school records can only be made available with the consent of the student and if he or she has allowed the employer to have the data from school or is providing the school records on its own. Similarly, in the case of military records, the employer can not get the required data until the person has given its consent to access that particular data. However, the military can still provide some data to the employer which includes the person’s name, rank, salary, assignments and awards. These are data that do not require the consent of the person and can be accessed by the employer at any time. School and military records are considered confidential document and not anyone can have it jut like that so even for the background checks, it is very important for the employer to have the consent of the person.
2. Bankruptcy
A person can not be discriminated against in the job just because the person has the past record of bankruptcy. After 10 years, the record is confidential however the bankruptcies are usually public records so it is easy for employers to get the information. The details related to statements of the bank are otherwise very confidential record and no bank can provide such data of its customer under any circumstances. Bankruptcy is considered to be a flaw in a person’s financial management and is a public record that is why one can obtain that information otherwise anything else which is related to the bank is very sacred information. Bankruptcy is a legal proceeding involving a person or business that is unable to repay their outstanding debts. Even though it’s a public record, after 10 years it is not easily accessible, especially, if the person has applied for the low-income job. The low-income job even sometimes provides the opportunity to the individual to not have the background check is done which is an honestly unethical practice to follow and not advisable.
3. Criminal records
The laws of background checks also vary from state to state. In some states, in case of criminal records, the questioning related to arrests or convictions is not allowed beyond a certain point while in some states, they allow only consideration of criminal history for certain positions. Civil suits and civil judgements and records of arrest after 7 years is confidential and can not be accessed by the employer till he or she has the consent of the person he or she aims to hire. Criminal records are usually considered a very important part of background checks, but without the consent of the individual, it can not b done no matter how important it is.
4. Medical records
It is considered very unethical to make the decision of providing the job on the basis of a person’s disability than the ability. A person on the wheelchair might perform well in the job compared to the person who walks on his 2 legs. In some states, medical records are also confidential because of this reason. Usually, it has been observed that the employers are biased towards are people with no disabilities maybe because with diable people comes to a lot of daily challenges that they think they are not prepared for so in these cases, they give a chance of doing a job for them to the person who has no disability, even after knowing the person with a disability will be able to do the same work more effectively and efficiently.
Here we end our blog of Top 4 things employers can’t check in a background screening. The things that we mentioned in the blogs are only a few items that are not included in the background checks without the consent of the person. However, if the person agrees the employer can have access to these data. And a person can provide these data on its own as well. Background screening is essential for the company before hiring anyone, so it is advisable to do these practices keeping in mind all the practices which are ethical and eliminate those practices which are considered unethical.
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