The ongoing labor shortage has many businesses rethinking their approaches to background checks.
An article in the summer 2022 issue of HR Magazine reported that “some [companies] have reduced or eliminated requirements for pre-employment screening with the goal of speeding up the hiring process and tapping a wider talent pool.”
While this approach is understandable given the current hiring environment, companies need to wade carefully into these waters, particularly if they are conducting their own background checks.
Should you choose to go it alone, it’s important to understand which resources are publicly accessible, which are not, and the limitations of the information that is available.
For the purposes of this blog, we will focus on three areas most commonly of interest to employers when conducting background screenings: misdemeanors and felonies; sexual offenses; and education.
Misdemeanors and Felonies
