Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/708036
LEGAL LANE • Be able to prove that you are only banning criminal conduct that is di- rectly related to the job requirements; and • Do one-on-one interactions with the potential employee and consider that individual's specific information about the nature of the crime, the time elapsed and the nature of the job. If you do have the question on your application asking if a person has had a felony, it is recommended that you have a statement that "answering yes is not necessarily grounds for denial, all criminal records are considered on a case by case basis." So we've entered the day when a company can't have a blanket policy regarding not hiring a person with a criminal record. Since you have to hire a person with a criminal record wouldn't it be nice to take the subjec- tivity out of the hiring decision and be at least fairly certain you are hiring a good person that will do the right thing - a person that will be safe, compliant, listen to and follow instructions. With this in mind I highly recommend JoBe- haviors. JoBehaviors is a behavioral assessment tool that takes the subjec- tivity out of the hiring decision. It tests a person on their behavior – and their score gives you an indication of whether they have the right behavior for your company. So if you have to hire people with criminal records I recommend knowing if they have the right behavior to be on your fleet. As long as you test every applicant you're considering, this is completely legal and EEOC compliant. If you only test applicants with criminal records you'll be guilty of "disparate treatment" and then EEOC will call again. The next area is the FCRA. Again, the laws haven't changed, but in this case enforcement has been stepped up. Recruiting departments order MVR's, Employment Records, Crimi- nal Records, and PSP Reports. All of these are considered consumer reports and are regulated by the FCRA. Most recruiters know we have to have a signed release to order the PSP and any other consumer report when we have met the applicant in person. However, the FCRA section 604 para- graph B has a provision for trucking companies to order the MVR (from most states), criminal record, and em- ployment record with verbal permis- sion as long as we have notified the applicant of their consumer rights and our only interaction has been over the phone or some other electronic means. However, where I see a lot of com- panies failing is in the adverse action letters and this is where we are seeing increased enforcement. When you make a decision in whole or in part based on information contained in a consumer report on an applicant whom you've never met face to face you must send an adverse ac- tion letter. If you have met them face to face you have to send a pre-adverse 58 August 2016 BestDriverJOBS www.bestdriverjobs.com legallane 0816.indd 4 7/12/16 2:15 PM