www.fueloilnews.com | FUEL OIL NEWS | MAY 2014 25
questions related to employment screening.
New laws and regulations ranging from
legalized marijuana to regulatory guidance
and limitations on criminal background
checks may be impacting how employers
are conducting employment screening.
Nearly one third (31% of respondents)
revised their criminal history check policies
within the past year. This is likely, at least
in part, in response to new and evolving
EEOC actions and guidance on the use of
criminal background checks in hiring.
Confirming most employers conduct
background checks, the survey results indi-
cate the vast majority of organizations have
gaps in their screening programs and policies
that can lead to significant security and liabil-
ity risks. Only 32% of respondents reported
their organizations screened their contingent
and extended workforce, which includes
temporary or contract workers, volunteers
and vendor employees who have access to a
company's facilities, systems,
The lack of a contingent workforce
screening program has the potential to lead
to workplace violence or fraud and can result
in negligence claims. Negligent hiring cases
have had verdicts of up to $45 million1, and
the average negligent hiring lawsuit settle-
ment is nearly $1 million.
The study also found only 20 % of
employers conduct recurring screen-
ing, where employees are re-screened on a
periodic basis. This demonstrates that the
majority of employers are leaving themselves
vulnerable to new security or liability issues
that may crop up over the span of an employ-
ee's tenure. As negligent retention lawsuits
are also prevalent in today's employment
environment, re-screening can help reduce
an organization's long-term risk by enabling
employers to stay well-informed through the
life of the employment relationship.
Increased security, risk mitigation, and
improved quality of hires are critical benefits
of background checks. This is reflected by 88
% of respondents who reported screening
revealed the person in question lied on their
resume. Further, 72 % of respondents indi-
cated running a background check uncovered
an issue that would not have been found oth-
erwise. Screening also helps protect employers
against security risks and the risk of a bad hire,
which can be costly for businesses.
The following are the top benefits of
screening reported by respondents:
• Better quality of hires (56 %)
• More consistent safety and security
(52 %)
• Improved regulatory compliance
(48 %)
• Better company reputation (22 %)
• Greater employee retention (17 %)
The full report can be downloaded at
www.hireright.com/benchmarking.
