January 29, 2010
Many organizations find themselves embroiled in costly employment lawsuits that could have been avoided had the proper background screening program been in place. Recent research of personnel files of plaintiffs compiled by Tiffanny Brosnan, partner at Snell & Wilmer LLP, reveals common tactics used by applicants to hide information from employers during the background check and provides key tips on how to help avoid hiring a future plaintiff.
Scrutinizing the employment application is a good place to start in confirming the information provided by applicants. Brosnan highlights the most important details to examine on the application and provides proven strategies to reveal the complete account of ones work history. One such verification strategy is to call the applicant at the “current employer” they’ve listed on the job application. Applicants have been known to lie about their current employment situation counting on the fact that the prospective employer won’t attempt to contact a current employer by policy, in order to protect the privacy of the applicant.
Learn more about Brosnan’s findings in the OC Metro blog posting: Don’t hire a future plaintiff