This Is a Test

The ways of screening job candidates today run the gamut from background investigations to gene tests. And unless they're used with care, they can land you in court

You mean you don't know the genetic makeup of your work force?

Believe it or not, some big companies are using gene testing to screen out job applicants vulnerable to expensive and debilitating diseases. Although the practice is unusual, extreme, and legally dubious, it indicates the lengths to which some employers will go before hiring a new employee, and the range of screening methods available. It's now possible to know almost everything about job applicants, and consultants peddling background checks, drug tests, psychological profiles, medical exams, and more insist you should know everything.

None of those tests can take the place of a good interview. But some, used carefully, can supplement an interview and give you more complete information. In some instances, you may have a strong legal justification -- even a duty -- to use a particular type of screening method. In others, to do so could set you up for a lawsuit. Before you buy a test or hire a firm to conduct background checks, examine the common screening options and the questions -- legal, practical, and ethical -- that surround them.

Reference Checks
Everyone understands the importance of checking identity, education, employment history, and references against information the job applicant provides. But some companies, pressured for time, drop their guard. Witness Hatteras Hammocks.

In October 1991 the $10-million Greenville, N.C., company abruptly lost its controller. Executive vice-president Jay Branch interviewed several candidates for the position, but one man distinguished himself from the others. Recommended by someone Branch knew, the candidate came with a great rÉsumÉ -- B.A. in accounting, M.B.A. from Indiana University, CPA, and several years as controller at a big local corporation. The following March, Branch hired him after a quick call to the previous employer. After a few months it became obvious that the new controller couldn't do the job, and by October Branch had fired him.

His replacement quickly saw something wrong with the company's books. The man with the fancy rÉsumÉ had embezzled $60,000 from Hatteras Hammocks. A quick background check turned up no record of either of his degrees or his CPA credentials. The police arrested him and he confessed. Now his former employer, the large corporation, is scrutinizing its books. Branch, who saw his own name forged on several checks, says, "The whole episode taught me the necessity of checking thoroughly, no matter how good a recommendation is."

The threat of lawsuits, however, has changed the nature of the response to reference checks. Take the manager who, uncomfortable confronting an employee with a job poorly done, indicates satisfaction with the employee's work in reviews and in raises but later gives a negative reference to prospective employers. A court may consider those reviews and pay hikes proof that the manager was happy with the employee's work, and conclude that the bad reference was false and damaging. To protect against defamation suits, many companies stonewall any reference seekers. Some prospective employers try to wheedle information by promising to keep it "off the record." That may work, but only with the foolhardy or misinformed. "Off the record" won't protect a respondent against a defamation claim.

Voca Corp., a $70-million company based in Columbus, Ohio, with 2,500 employees in six states, has wide experience in screening job applicants. Hilary Franklin, director of human resources, says Voca asks references to suggest further references and asks those for still others. "As you get two or three times removed," Franklin explains, "you get more detailed, honest information."

Background Checks
What if a repairman you hired were to burglarize a customer's home? If you hadn't checked his background to be sure he had no criminal record, you could be guilty of negligent hiring. If you hire a receptionist, however, you probably don't need to run such a check -- and probably shouldn't. You should always measure what's appropriate to know for the job instead of dwelling on the abstract.

Many of Voca's employees, for example, work closely with vulnerable clients -- the company provides care to people with mental retardation and developmental disabilities. To ensure the safety of its residents, the company wants to know about any incident of abuse in an applicant's history. Because Voca's care givers drive clients to appointments, they must have a clean driving record as well. The company informs all applicants that any job offer it makes is contingent upon a satisfactory background check.

Before Voca staff members run the check, they ask applicants if there is anything they would like the company to know about and give them an opportunity to explain. Then they fingerprint the applicants. Voca does not use those fingerprints in the background check. Rather, "it's our way of announcing the check, of demonstrating we're serious," Franklin says. "And it's pretty darn effective."

By running the check only after making a job offer, Voca protects itself from charges of discrimination. The company has set unambiguous standards for the information background checks turn up, and it sticks to those standards. For instance, no one convicted of a felony and no one with a history of abuse, neglect, or mistreatment will be hired to work with clients. Finally, Voca keeps specific findings confidential to protect against defamation. If, at your company, one person handles both the background checks and the hiring, that individual must be careful to consider only job-related information when hiring.

To facilitate background checks, you should get complete information from applicants -- full name, social-security number, driver's license number, address, employment history with no unexplained gaps -- and ask them to sign a release giving you permission to confirm it all.

If you're too shorthanded to do extensive background checks internally, you can hire outside investigation firms, which can pry into every imaginable area of an applicant's past. Companies usually order extensive checks only for sensitive, high-level positions -- top managers or people who will handle large amounts of money. More common checks include those of the applicant's workers' compensation, credit, and criminal records. But even those checks raise legal questions.