§ 6.7.9 INVESTIGATION AND REASONABLENESS.

• Jurisdiction: Arizona

§ 6.7.9 Investigation and Reasonableness. The essence of liability for negligent hiring or supervision stems from hiring, supervising, or retaining an individual who is incompetent and/or poses an unreasonable risk to others. The primary way to avoid such liability is to conduct proper screening and investigation of prospective employees, and to discipline or discharge an employee who has been hired but is clearly incompetent or poses a danger to others.⁶⁷ To the difficult question of what constitutes a reasonable investigation, Arizona courts have offered little guidance except in Kassman,⁶⁸ where it is clear that the employer's obligation at a minimum means checking references.

A number of jurisdictions have expressly defined the scope of an employer's duty of reasonable care in hiring as largely dependent on the type of responsibilities associated with the particular job.⁶⁹

Interestingly...