Employer free background check is becoming more common, but do you know what is being looked for? Did you know that if your company uses certain bits of knowledge to deny you employment, they could be held liable? You’ll need to know these ten secrets to defend yourself, whether you’re being checked or checking others. Poor credit may or may not disqualify you, and if it does, your employer is required to disclose it. Only around half of businesses conduct credit checks. The majority of them work in the finance sector. Some states have put very tight restrictions on the practice. It’s just like any other check if they run the report. Only the previous 5-7 years are considered, and if there is a discrepancy, they must submit a copy and explain why.
On applications and registrations, people frequently lie. According to the Society of Human Resources Management, 53 percent of all job applications contain inaccuracies. According to the Wall Street Journal in 2003, 34% of all job applications included outright lies. One of the reasons why background checks are so important these days is because of this.
Even if an employer has negative things to say about you, they will usually keep it to a minimum to avoid responsibility. It’s very easy for an employer to get themselves into legal trouble if they say something derogatory about a former employee. If word reaches the employee and the information isn’t accurate, a lawsuit may ensue. To keep liability to a bare minimum, a standard set of questions is asked. These usually consist of a check of the person’s name, position, income, reason for leaving, and whether or not they would hire them again.
In rare situations, an employer can require an employee for data that a background check cannot legally obtain. What an employer can ask about in a job application varies from state to state. The most common inquiry you’ll encounter is not whether you’ve yet been imprisoned. Background checks are only done for the last 7-10 years.
It is against the law to request social media passwords. Looking through another person’s stored data on a computer system is unlawful under the Stored Communications Act. Some employers have sought to test the waters by requesting passwords from job candidates as a condition of membership. Several lawsuits have been filed and are on their way to the Supreme Court.
It’s no longer a secret if it was once a secret before you made it public. In today’s socially linked society, this is something that might catch people off guard. If you post something publicly on a social media site like Facebook, say about your health, and an employer can find it through a standard internet search, it is considered a public record that they can utilize. Assume that an employer will be able to find everything you post on social media. Adjust the privacy controls on postings you don’t would like them to see or delete it.
Following the Enron scandal, it is now standard practice to do extensive background checks on new executive recruits. If you work at this level, you might expect your personal life to become less private. Employers in some places can examine further back into your history once your income reaches a certain level.
