Reference Checking: A Minefield or a Sound Defensive Strategy for Employers.

• Author: Goughnour, Robert Clark

A Miami International Airport security firm was charged ... with failing to do adequate background checks on at least 22 employees and then lying about it to federal regulators. The charges against the company raise "serious implications" about the safety of the flying public, authorities say, although there's no evidence in this case any flights were endangered. The company faces up to $500,000 in fines and five years probation. The company's former manager is now serving more than five years in federal prison after pleading guilty to 22 felony counts of giving false statements about background checks to the FAA. Authorities believe that the manager hired whomever he pleased, didn't do the required and sometimes costly background checks, and then said he did. An airport supervisor said that the company's employees were routinely given airport security badges and limitless access to secure areas of the airport without proper background or criminal checks.

One of the most dreaded tasks for professionals who make hiring decisions is reference checking. However, this synopsis of an article from the Miami Herald of Dec. 1, 1999 illustrates what can happen to an organization that does not take employee background investigations seriously. The consequences were very serious in 1999. Imagine what they might be in today's environment.

Some of the reasons that the task of reference checking has such a bad reputation is that the employee responsible does not:

* Know what information to obtain on candidates.

* Know what questions to ask sources once contact is made.

* Know what to do with some of the information once it is received.

* Have the time to verify all the information that should be verified.

* Have access to, or the money for, the resources necessary to complete thorough background checks.

One other major obstruction employers face in trying to complete background checks on prospective employees is that some employers just do not respond to requests for information. With so many problems associated with checking references, some organizations ask "why do it?" The reason is because for years state courts, including those in Alaska, have recognized the tenet of "Negligent Hiring."

NEGLIGENT HIRING

In the article "Background Checks: Prudent Practice or Legal Requirement?" by Brian T. McMillan and Marlene Muraco, we are given the following definition of negligent hiring:

"In essence, negligent hiring is a legal theory used to hold employers liable if and when the person they hire later commits a crime or intentional tort against a coworker or third...