Backgrounds Online's Knowledge Bank

Hire an individual at face value and you could be bringing someone onboard whose criminal or negligent behavior could potentially sink your business.

Employer liability is one of the most important reasons to conduct background checks on applicants and employees. Crimes committed on the job by an employee who was not properly background checked can have legal ramifications for the employer.

For example, there would be employer liability should a driver for a company, with a history of reckless driving, cause an accident while on company time or while in a company vehicle if the company failed to check out his driving record prior to placing him in a position.

Another example where employer liability could come into play would be if a cashier short-changed a customer. That employee, without having been properly background checked for a previous criminal record could cause the company to face legal liability.

Yet another instance where a company could face employer liability is if they placed a registered sex offender in a job with children or the elderly. Should the safety of either group be compromised and the employee had not been properly background checked, the company could be considered liable.

There are many other examples of employer liability; therefore, it would be in a company’s best interest to background check all of their employees to avoid any legal liability completely due to their employees’ potentially criminal actions or behavior.