How should criminal background checks affect hiring?

HR departments are partially responsible for recruiting and maintain sensitive personnel documents for workforce management purposes. This often includes the information from background checks, which can sometimes affect whether someone is hired.

In 2012, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission planned to stop employers from discriminating against people with criminal records, according to The New York Times. Some experts were surprised by the initiative, including Laurence Stuart, a labor lawyer who frequently works with small businesses.

"Many companies that size don't have an HR person and get minimal education about compliance issues. We have tests that all of our managers take that keep them up to date on labor rules. But I was not aware of that one," Stuart said.

However, it seems that the EEOC's efforts have stalled. HR Morning reports that the federal agency has lost some key legal battles in this regard in recent months. In a case against the Freeman Companies, U.S. District Court Judge Roger Titus decided that the EEOC didn't provide sufficient evidence that the defendant discriminated against former felons.

Titus also went on to point out that employers who don't consider criminal records in background checks may be opening themselves up to the increased liability of workers committing illegal acts. The judge said that the EEOC was essentially offering enterprises a "Hobson's choice" in ignoring arrest records "or incurring the wrath of the EEOC for having utilized information deemed fundamental by most employers."

Still laws to consider
Just because the EEOC's initiative seems to be losing momentum in court, there are still laws that employers have to comply with when recruiting new personnel. Many states have regulations in place regarding criminal background checks. Further, Mondaq explains that failure to research an applicant's history can be considered negligence on the part of the company.

However, Texas has enacted a law to eliminate that potential charge. The news source notes that the Lone Star State implemented legislation that'll prevent employers from being held responsible for the action of their staff members.

Ultimately, the best way HR departments can deal with balancing background checks and potential discrimination charges is to develop a clear policy puts business interests first, according to Mondaq. Companies should also be careful to only make hiring decisions based on how the new additions will affect operations.