Background checks: Sometimes, the less you find out, the better.

If you outsource your applicant background checks, consider having the vendor limit the information it passes along to brief summaries, rather than exhaustive details about applicants' backgrounds.

For example, you might ask the background check vendor to review workers' compensation claims but only forward basic information. That could prevent an allegation that you didn't hire someone because you believed he was disabled.

Recent case: As part of its hiring process, a maintenance company outsourced its basic background investigations to a contractor. It requested, among other things, to receive a history of applicants' workers' compensation claims.

When Miguel applied for a janitor job at the company, the check revealed that he had filed a workers' comp claim in 2012 involving an accident. The report didn't provide any details.

Miguel didn't get the job. He sued, alleging the company must have discriminated against him because of perceived disability. He argued that the workers' comp records would have revealed a...