Conducting criminal background checks has become very important in the hiring process, especially with the current emphasis on security and safety we are experiencing around the world. Pre-employment screening is designed to help employers decide who NOT to hire. A criminal record investigation can help employers prevent the statistical certainty that a person with a serious criminal record will be hired and commit a crime against the employer, a fellow employee or a client. According to the Department of Justice, one in every 37 adults, have been incarcerated at one time and the recidivism rate is 67 percent within three years of release from prison.

Negligent hiring lawsuits continue to rise each year. If the actions of an employee cause harm to someone while on the job, the employer can be held liable. With child abuse and child abductions frequently showing up on the news, most states have passed laws requiring companies who work with children to check a potential employee’s criminal background as a condition of employment.

Hiring a professional background screening company can help avoid dangerous and costly hiring mistakes. It can help avoid some these scenarios:

• Sue Weaver contacted a major department store to have her air ducts cleaned. The store sent a twice convicted sex offender into her home. The man later raped and murdered the woman. No background check was performed on the employee.

• When David Taitte was convicted of raping a woman whom he had delivered a pizza, jurors in Omaha, NE, decide that the TK Pizza (owned by Domino’s Pizza) where he worked was negligent and awarded the victim $175,000. The employee was jailed just 4 months before he was hired for allegedly stalking another woman. Domino’s hired Taitte despite the criminal record because a criminal records check was never conducted.

According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, 33 percent of businesses fail due to employee theft. The Bureau of Justice states that workplace violence accounts for 18 percent of all violent crimes. Under the legal umbrella of negligent hiring an employer has a duty to protect their employees, clients and the public from injuries caused by employees whom the employer “should have known” pose a risk of harm to other people.

Employers will probably find that conducting pre-employment criminal background checks will enable them to hire employees who are trustworthy and have better attendance and productivity, making their company a better overall place to work.