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 We live in a litigious society;
companies and the general public must take preventive measures to
protect themselves, their companies and their families against legal
and other attacks. This is especially true in the business
area concerning hiring practices. To assist our corporate clients,
and prospective clients, we have touched here on some questions that
arise regarding negligent hiring, positions requiring background verifications, establishing a
policy, thoroughness of searches, and cost associates with background searches.
Companies must be concerned with the
consequences of not conducting adequate background searches on new
and current employees alike. As the number and severity of negligent
hiring judgments rise, it becomes incumbent on each Human Resource
Manager or Loss Prevention Manager to take all steps necessary to
protect the company and its assets. A comprehensive background
verification conducted by Bauer Risk Management will eliminate many of the
uncertainties when it is important for you to know about the people
and businesses that you are, or may be, associating with and
increase your confidence in making important decisions.
A Personal Background Investigation can help to determine the
character and level of trust to be placed on a person. This
information contained in our website was not written by attorneys
and does not represent legal opinions, but instead is intended to
help those in the decision making process in the area of negligent
hiring and offers guidelines for protecting companies from
successfully being sued.
A recent study by U.S. firm AON Consulting Inc.
underlines the importance of thorough background checks. The survey
found that 7% of employees have a criminal record, 37% have
falsified their educational experience and 30% have lied about their
work experience. These statistics are staggering. The
rising costs associated with employee turn over are estimated to be
costing you and your company hundreds of thousands of dollars per
year, and businesses failing to check the backgrounds of their
employees open themselves up to very serious legal, financial and
customer service risks.
The theory of negligent hiring holds that employers are
responsible for their employees while the employee is working at the
direction of the company. Lawsuits required the victim to prove that
the employee was acting within the scope of his / her employment
when the harmful act occurred. This theory holds that an employer
holds an obligation to protect customers, co-workers and the general
"public at large". Any of these groups may sue an employer
for the harmful acts of an employee if the company failed to
adequately research an employee's background. This theory
also assumes that if the company had investigated an employee's past
they would have learned that the person had a history of anti-social
conduct. Consequently, the company would not (or should not) have
placed such a person in a position to harm anyone.
You should also be aware that Court cases have held that the
employer may be liable for acts committed by the employee even
when the conduct is clearly beyond the scope of the person's
employment. In such cases, the plaintiff must show that the
company failed to adequately determine that the employee had
demonstrated a past history of similar behavior. This
obligation is particularly strong when an employee is allowed access
to a customer's home or business. (NOTE: the term home is
not limited to someone's residence. It would include such temporary
housing as a motel or hospital room.)
-
An employee with a criminal record forces
a child to perform oral sex; $175 million awarded for negligent
hiring and retention; Doe v. MCLO.
- Nursing home liable for $235,000 for negligent hiring of an
unlicensed nurse, with 56 prior criminal convictions, who
assaulted an 80 year old visitor; Deerings West Nursing Home V.
Scott.
- Furniture store liable for $2.5 Million for negligent hiring
and retention of a deliveryman who savagely attacked a woman
customer in her home; Tallahassee Furniture Company., Inc. V.
Harrison.
- Employer settles for $2.5 Million suit seeking to hold it
liable for negligent hiring and entrustment of intoxicated
security guard who had on-duty traffic accident in company car
that killed himself and another motorist; Butler V. Hertz Corp.
- Vacuum cleaner manufacturer liable for $45,000 because on of
it's distributors hired a door-to-door sales person with a
criminal record who raped a female customer in her home:
manufacturer should have required it's distributors to do
pre-hiring screening of door-to-door salespersons to prevent
hiring of persons with a criminal histories; McLean V. Kerby Co.
- $5 Million settlement in suit by family of deceased female
tenant against complex owner and management; suit claimed that
tenant was killed by brother of complex's assistant manager and
that it was negligent hiring to hire the assist manager without a
criminal background check; Lieman V. Hall Fin Group.
The question then arises on whom should a
background investigation be performed on? At Bauer Risk Management
we
strongly believe that every employee should have a
Background search conducted. The greater the contact with
the public the greater the intensity of the background required. An
employer has the duty to exercise extra-ordinary care in hiring a person who,
because of the nature of their employment, could present a
threat of injury to members of the public.
Our Judicial system states that the scope of an employer's
pre-selection investigation is related to the degree of risk a
potential employee poses to the third party. The greater the risk of
harm (to third parties) the higher the degree of care necessary to
constitute ordinary care (in conducting the background
investigation). Bauer Risk Management strongly feel that
positions requiring more extensive searches would include outside
sales persons, installers, repair or service technicians, delivery
drivers and other employees with exposure in your particular
organization that allow the employee to work away from the company
facility and in an unsupervised capacity.
The courts have observed that where one is employed may
endanger the life and persons, of coworkers, upon the plainest
principles of justice and good faith, the employer should be
required to make a reasonable investigation into the potential hire's
character, skill and habits of life. The courts have gone
on to say that ordinary care in the employment of servants, requires
a degree of diligence and caution proportionate to the duties of the
particular service to be performed. The care required is what a
reasonably prudent person would exercise in view of the consequences
that might reasonably be expected if an incompetent or reckless
person was employed.
How much is turn over and poor hiring
practices costing you? Starting immediately, Bauer Risk Management will determine where
you are having issues with hiring quality employees, redefine the
corporate interviewing process, define weaknesses and loop holes in
your current employment structure and offer suggestions to enhance
your current structure. We will also provide consulting and insight
into your current corporate Investigative & Background policies.
At all levels, a pre-employment investigation performed by Bauer Risk Management will determine the credibility,
integrity and history of each potential candidate. Upon reviewing
your current policies and procedures, Bauer Risk Management will
conduct a thorough background check on all new employees with the
applicant's permission.
We have the capabilities of searching billions of records
nationwide to create a detailed comprehensive background
check. Our agents will sit down with you at our office or yours to
determine the specifics you organization needs, what information IS
NOT to be used in an employment decision, who should be interviewed,
the questions legally allowed in an interview and the cost structure
associated with all types of verifications. This will ensure you are
dating, hiring and continuing to employ the best candidate possible.
CALL TODAY FOR A FREE NO OBLIGATION CONSULTATION. An initial
consultation implies no commitment to proceed and our discretion is
assured.
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