Background Checks on Existing Employees

jhtnc

We currently do background checks on applicants. However, we have not gone back and conducted background checks on our existing employees. We want to do this, but need to know what to do if an employee refuses to sign allowing us to perform the check. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Whatever

Need more information.
1. Why do you want to do background checks on current employees (particularly if they have been with the company a long time and never done anything wrong)?

2. What does the company plan to do if they found out something about a loyal ee who has been with the company a long time?

jhtnc

Not sure what we'll do if we find something. One of the companies with which we do business has asked us to have a background check on the employees who deal with their business. We are trying to accommodate them.

E Wart

When you say "deal with their company" do you mean go on their site? If this is it, why do you have to do everyone, just the ones that visit that particular client. If it is just "dealing with them", why are they requesting this?
E Wart

Skylyon

When someone is hired in, they have to sign an acknowlegment form for background checks(which is open ended). I process background checks once a year on all ee's who are on the payroll at that time. The reason that I do this is that we are a museum and we deal with the public.

jhtnc

Do you have any employees who have worked there for a long period of time and didn't sign any such document when they were hired? I am comfortable with all the newer employees who completed an application -- my issue is we didn't have that on our form 10 years ago.

hhaynal

Just a thought....

If your customer is requiring that your employees have "successfully passed" a background check before being permitted onto their company premises, then I would think all you would need to provide to this customer is a list of those employees with a "pass" for status of background check. I would not believe that a new check would need to be conducted.

This is what we are requiring for vendors/contractors and their employees who access our facility. If a check has not been done, then obviously a check must be completed. However, if the check has previously been conducted, then all we require is notification that the person has successfully passed the check.

P.S. The check must be in accordance with our company standards which are of high standard.

hrdir03nafcu

First thing, before you run a background check on existing EEs who were not checked when hired, or take any action on the findings from such a check, you should be sure that your policy clearly states how you would handle such an issue. We don't normally do background checks on EEs already hired-- but our Pesonnel Policy Manual clearly states that conviction (not arrest or accusation) of serious crimes may be grounds for termination (at ER's discretion). And you must be consistent in how you apply such a policy-- i.e., you shouldn't fire one EE and retain another if they've both committeed the same offense with the same degree of seriousness.

Second, you, the ER, have a right to run background checks on all your EEs who were not checked at hire, particularly if your business does "sensitive" work, like health care or handling money, where failing to do so might put your customers/clients at some risk.

While you would be within your rights as far as I can see (unless laws of your state prohibit it) to fire an EE for refusing to authorize a bacground check-- you should be careful to either require background checks of ALL EEs, or be careful to establish clear criteria as to which EEs must undergo background checks because of the sensitivity of their job, and apply those criteria consistently across all of your work force.

Third, in terms of predicting future behavior, it seems to me that several years of honest and faithful service is probably a better predictor of an EE's future behavior than a background check. So I would be reluctant to terminate an EE of several years because a background check turned up a conviction some years ago.

Good luck!

jhtnc

Thanks for the advice. I'm not sure how it figured into my question that we go on site to this company. We don't do that at all.

We handle business in our corporate offices for many companies and this one company has made this request of those individuals who handle their business.

HRLASS

As a utility (electric, gas, nuclear), we are coming under more scrutiny for security against potential terrorist actions and in anticipation of further requirements, are already looking at changing our background check policy. We do currently check backgrounds for new employees, however, we are looking at having to institute new forms for current employees to sign to permit periodic background checks. We are currently only discussing the changes and how to present them, particularly to long term employees, and we have discussed the possibility of termination if they refuse to sign. A few of our folks working with nuclear power already have to be fingerprinted and on record with the FBI.

We have had some incidents come up in the last few years - employee forgot to mention conviction for third degree felony manslaughter on her employment application until annonymous letter writter saw her on the front page of the local paper - and in those cases it was a matter of falsifying an application and termination.