Catherine writes:
I enjoy your blog. I don’t think I have ever seen either of my questions (or problem) in your blog postings. Both deal with background checks.
Recently I was terminated from a position I had held for only a month. They claimed to have received information from a law-enforcement agency showing that I had committed a crime. After checking with the agency mentioned, I learned they had no such information. I suspect that a former employer or someone in his office where I worked previously made the false accusations. Can I take legal action?
My second question now that I am back in the job market is that some of the places I have applied to are requiring that I sign a release to allow them to get my credit report. I feel this is an invasion of my privacy since none of positions I have applied for have any connection to money or finances. Is this something new?
The Career Doctor responds:
Background checks are here to stay, I am afraid. And I don’t want to get angry emails from hiring managers, but I hate how far we’ve gone with them. I can certainly understand clearance and background checks for jobs that involve the nation’s security, but what really does a person’s credit score say about their trustworthiness?
When I was an employer, we checked references and that was about it. And we rarely called all the references. For a more sensitive position, maybe a drug test. Other employers conducted a battery of psychological and other personality assessments.
I also believe your very brief former employer was in the wrong in even hiring you before finishing the background check, and wrong again in the over-reaction to the false information. Whether what they did was a violation of your rights, I can’t answer, but recommend you consult with an employment lawyer to gather more information. You can find one by going to the National Employment Lawyers Association.
As for credit reports, the group of job-seekers this screening hurts the most are low-wage job-seekers who perhaps do not even have credit. And I agree with you — unless it’s a job that involves handling money, what business is it of employers?
Leave a comment