As an employer, there are a number of things that you can do now to protect you and your company from hiring a criminal, a liar, a cheat, or a drug abuser.

1. Place prominent signs around your company that state you conduct background checks and drug testing. Having a sign is very similar to the security alarm sign you might have at your home or office that deters unlawful individuals from entering. Promoting the fact that you pre-screen new hires is a great way to deter unwanted individuals from applying for employment. Many individuals (not all) with criminal convictions and falsified resumes will not waste your time because they know that they will be screened out in the hiring process. Your employees and the public will also feel safe when they are on company premises.
2. Place a notice on your web site that you perform background checks and drug testing. Just as a sign on company premises will deter unwanted individuals from applying for a job, so too will a notice on your website. Clients who have placed such a link on their web sites have found it a very useful way to discourage undesirable applicants from applying. Applicants who visit your web site for employment information will see that you promote a safe working environment, which is excellent public relations and an employee benefit!
3. Create ominous disclosure and authorization forms requiring authorization for a background check and drug test. Hand it to every applicant with the employment application not after they have completed the application. Create thorough documents that encompass all federal and state laws. If the applicant has something to hide, your disclosures will make unwanted applicants think twice about completing the application process.
4. Advise all employees that your company performs background checks and obtain their authorization in advance. Write a background screening policy and distribute it to all employees. In your policy list the required searches for each job position inferring that promotions are based on the satisfactory response from a background check. It is important that employees know that you conduct background checks and may perform post-hire searches.
5. Insist that your temporary employment agency perform background checks and get a copy of the background screening report prior to employing any temp. It is very common for applicants with criminal records to work through temporary agencies since many agencies only perform reference checking and do not conduct criminal background checks. It is important that you protect your company by having the agency screen the candidates they send you so you can have piece of mind.
6. Require every vendor and independent contractors who come on to your premises to first background check their employee. This requirement costs you nothing and protects your employees, customers, and the public. Create a policy indicating what they should check. Insist that your vendor sign off that each background check was completed and reviewed before they sent the person to your location.
7. Have a complete employment application that asks all the questions you can legally ask. Have a large notice at the top of your application that you perform background checks and drug testing. Use your application form as a deterrent reminding everyone that they will have a background check. The federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has listed several questions which can be legally asked prior to making an offer of employment. Employers should include all those relevant on their application.

I recommend the following language placed prominently at the top of an application:

BACKGROUND CHECKS
(“Company”) is concerned about violence in the workplace, falsified employment applications, and employee theft.
We will conduct a full background check on all candidates for employment.

DRUG SCREENING
(“Company”) is committed to maintaining a DRUG-FREE workplace.
All offers of employment are contingent upon successful completion of a pre-employment drug screen.

About Barry J. Nadell:

Barry J. Nadell is the Senior Vice President of the background screening division of Kroll and the former President and co-founder of InfoLink Screening Services, now a Kroll company. He is a founding member and on the board of directors of the National Association of Professional Background Screeners, where he was co-chairman of the board in 2006. As the established industry expert, Barry has spoken at numerous national and regional human resources, security and other industry specific conventions. He is widely quoted, has had several articles published, has been featured on television including The Bloomberg Report and ABC News, and has been interviewed on more than 175 live talk radio programs. Barry is a licensed private investigator in California and the author of the only book solely relating to background screening: "Sleuthing 101, Background Checks and The Law." Contact: bnadell@kroll.com; www.kroll.com.