backgroung checks

6396208

Does any one have an opinion about legalities of a background checks on old employees when a new Senior Manager takes over the department.

Most of the employees have been here for a while.  We are in Texas if it matters.

SFbay

We don't have an office in Texas, so I can't attest to the legality of it.  But ... I  wouldn't want to do it at my company. I think background checks on current employees are usually limited to transfers to a new position where security is especially important and investigations. Think out every scenario and look into your state laws before deciding to go forward with it. The decision should be made for solid business reasons and not because a senior manager just wants the background checks.

IT HR

I agree that you really need to think this through - or more likely - give the new manager some food for thought.  What is the reason behind doing this?  What are you going to do with the information?  Do you have a policy that requires employees to notify you if they are convicted of something (i.e. - if you have drivers are they required to notify you when they are found guilty of a traffic citation, in some states these citations can be misdemeaners or felonies depending on the severity, do you work around children and require your employees to notify you of a conviction that may bar them from continuing employment based on state law)?  What is the manager looking for? Is he/she going to fire someone if they have a conviction in the past?  There are a bunch on here who can talk about TX state law regarding this, but I don't think that pulling background checks just because there is a new manager is a legal leg to stand on.  I don't think there is a legitimate reason for doing this.