What if the bus driver who takes your children to school was found with cocaine while on the job? It's a scary thought, isn't it? Well, recently this nightmare became a reality at a city district school. One of the bus drivers was caught with possession of cocaine and it then came to light that he had a previous record of DUI and had been charged with possession of drugs.
How did this go unnoticed? Why didn't the school authorities look into his past history? Well, they had contracted the job of providing drivers to a company who was supposed to verify the drivers' history. But they obviously weren't too thorough.
Verify the past
This makes a strong case for digging into a prospective employee's past to ensure that no unpleasant revelations come up later. It's always better to know now than to regret later. Most established companies in the USA conduct regular checks before employing anyone. These include a scrutiny of financial records, credit scores, past employment verification and criminal history. There are some jobs in the banking, medical care, governance, aviation, military, law and education sectors, where detailed verification is a must.
On record
Some information is freely available on the Internet such as marriage, divorce, birth, death, property and criminal records. Even the US government becomes increasingly open to sharing its records databases. Then there are always social networking sites that divulge more about people's personal lives and the communities they belong to. Once you put the pieces of the information together, it can be quite revealing.
Hire an agency
Of course, one can always hire a private or government agency to check a prospective employee's background. But under the Fair Credit Reporting Act the employer would first need to get the applicant's permission before they hire an agency to do the job. Once a background check has been done, if the applicant has a previous criminal record, the employer is legally bound to inform him/her the reason behind their rejection.
Past imperfect
Some applicants are averse to the idea of their past being probed. They find it too intrusive and draconian. But let's turn the tables around. What would the prospective employee do if he/she were to employ someone? Would he/she just rely on gut instinct and word of mouth? Would he/she leave classified information or a child alone with a new employee without knowing what their past is all about?
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