Background Checks

We live in a litigious society; companies and the general public must take preventive measures to protect themselves, their companies and their families against legal and other attacks. This is especially true in the business area concerning hiring practices. To assist our corporate clients, and prospective clients, we have touched here on some questions that arise regarding negligent hiring, positions requiring background verifications, establishing a policy, thoroughness of searches, and cost associates with background searches.

Companies must be concerned with the consequences of not conducting adequate background searches on new and current employees alike. As the number and severity of negligent hiring judgments rise, it becomes incumbent on each Human Resource Manager or Loss Prevention Manager to take all steps necessary to protect the company and its assets. A comprehensive background verification conducted by Bauer Risk Management will eliminate many of the uncertainties when it is important for you to know about the people and businesses that you are, or may be, associating with and increase your confidence in making important decisions.

A Personal Background Investigation can help to determine the character and level of trust to be placed on a person. This information contained in our website was not written by attorneys and does not represent legal opinions, but instead is intended to help those in the decision making process in the area of negligent hiring and offers guidelines for protecting companies from successfully being sued.

A recent study by U.S. firm AON Consulting Inc. underlines the importance of thorough background checks. The survey found that 7% of employees have a criminal record, 37% have falsified their educational experience and 30% have lied about their work experience. These statistics are staggering. The rising costs associated with employee turn over are estimated to be costing you and your company hundreds of thousands of dollars per year, and businesses failing to check the backgrounds of their employees open themselves up to very serious legal, financial and customer service risks.
The theory of negligent hiring holds that employers are responsible for their employees while the employee is working at the direction of the company. Lawsuits required the victim to prove that the employee was acting within the scope of his / her employment when the harmful act occurred. This theory holds that an employer holds an obligation to protect customers, co-workers and the general "public at large". Any of these groups may sue an employer for the harmful acts of an employee if the company failed to adequately research an employee's background. This theory also assumes that if the company had investigated an employee's past they would have learned that the person had a history of anti-social conduct. Consequently, the company would not (or should not) have placed such a person in a position to harm anyone.

You should also be aware that Court cases have held that the employer may be liable for acts committed by the employee even when the conduct is clearly beyond the scope of the person's employment. In such cases, the plaintiff must show that the company failed to adequately determine that the employee had demonstrated a past history of similar behavior. This obligation is particularly strong when an employee is allowed access to a customer's home or business. (NOTE: the term home is not limited to someone's residence. It would include such temporary housing as a motel or hospital room.)

Real Life Findings
  • An employee with a criminal record forces a child to perform oral sex; $175 million awarded for negligent hiring and retention; Doe v. MCLO.
  • Nursing home liable for $235,000 for negligent hiring of an unlicensed nurse, with 56 prior criminal convictions, who assaulted an 80 year old visitor; Deerings West Nursing Home V. Scott.
  • Furniture store liable for $2.5 Million for negligent hiring and retention of a deliveryman who savagely attacked a woman customer in her home; Tallahassee Furniture Company., Inc. V. Harrison.
  • Employer settles for $2.5 Million suit seeking to hold it liable for negligent hiring and entrustment of intoxicated security guard who had on-duty traffic accident in company car that killed himself and another motorist; Butler V. Hertz Corp.
  • Vacuum cleaner manufacturer liable for $45,000 because on of it's distributors hired a door-to-door sales person with a criminal record who raped a female customer in her home: manufacturer should have required it's distributors to do pre-hiring screening of door-to-door salespersons to prevent hiring of persons with a criminal histories; McLean V. Kerby Co.
  • $5 Million settlement in suit by family of deceased female tenant against complex owner and management; suit claimed that tenant was killed by brother of complex's assistant manager and that it was negligent hiring to hire the assist manager without a criminal background check; Lieman V. Hall Fin Group.
The question then arises on whom should a background investigation be performed on? At Bauer Risk Management we strongly believe that every employee should have a Background search conducted. The greater the contact with the public the greater the intensity of the background required. An employer has the duty to exercise extra-ordinary care in hiring a person who, because of the nature of their employment, could present a threat of injury to members of the public.

Our Judicial system states that the scope of an employer's pre-selection investigation is related to the degree of risk a potential employee poses to the third party. The greater the risk of harm (to third parties) the higher the degree of care necessary to constitute ordinary care (in conducting the background investigation). Bauer Risk Management strongly feel that positions requiring more extensive searches would include outside sales persons, installers, repair or service technicians, delivery drivers and other employees with exposure in your particular organization that allow the employee to work away from the company facility and in an unsupervised capacity.

The courts have observed that where one is employed may endanger the life and persons, of coworkers, upon the plainest principles of justice and good faith, the employer should be required to make a reasonable investigation into the potential hire's character, skill and habits of life. The courts have gone on to say that ordinary care in the employment of servants, requires a degree of diligence and caution proportionate to the duties of the particular service to be performed. The care required is what a reasonably prudent person would exercise in view of the consequences that might reasonably be expected if an incompetent or reckless person was employed.

How much is turn over and poor hiring practices costing you? Starting immediately, Bauer Risk Management will determine where you are having issues with hiring quality employees, redefine the corporate interviewing process, define weaknesses and loop holes in your current employment structure and offer suggestions to enhance your current structure. We will also provide consulting and insight into your current corporate Investigative & Background policies.

At all levels, a pre-employment investigation performed by Bauer Risk Management will determine the credibility, integrity and history of each potential candidate. Upon reviewing your current policies and procedures, Bauer Risk Management will conduct a thorough background check on all new employees with the applicant's permission.

We have the capabilities of searching billions of records nationwide to create a detailed comprehensive background check. Our agents will sit down with you at our office or yours to determine the specifics you organization needs, what information IS NOT to be used in an employment decision, who should be interviewed, the questions legally allowed in an interview and the cost structure associated with all types of verifications. This will ensure you are dating, hiring and continuing to employ the best candidate possible. CALL TODAY FOR A FREE NO OBLIGATION CONSULTATION. An initial consultation implies no commitment to proceed and our discretion is assured.

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