Negligent Hiring Liability And Background Checks

Choosing and hiring the right employees can be a difficult and even a risky task. If you inadvertently hire a candidate who is unsuitable, the best-case scenario is a loss in productivity. However, in some cases, selecting the wrong employee can result in injury to customers or other employees which can lead to expensive lawsuits.

Here’s some basics you need to know about negligent hiring liability and how to avoid it.

What is Negligent Hiring?

As an employer, you have a legal responsibility to ensure that any employees you hire are safe and trustworthy. This comes down to a question of foreseeability: if you knew, or should have known, that an employee was a threat to the public, the burden of liability comes to rest with you.

If an employee is found to be incompetent, and if this incompetence results in an injury that brings a lawsuit, you may be found guilty of negligent hiring. You can be found liable in the event of active or constructive knowledge of the employee’s incompetence.

Costly negligent hiring claims are completely avoidable if you, as the employer, exercise due diligence.

Differences across States

Negligent hiring claims are enforced on a state-by-state basis. While each state may differ slightly in their definition of negligent hiring, they are all alike in that they define it as damaging to a business, to its customers and/or its employees.

The state of Kansas defines negligent hiring as the hiring of candidates who are incompetent or unfit for their position. In New York, negligent hiring is where an injury to a third party occurs as a result of an employer hiring or retaining an employee who is unfit for his or her position, with knowledge of the employee’s unfitness.

How To Minimize the Risk of Negligent Hiring?

There are a number of precautions you can take as an employer to reduce the risk of a negligent hiring suit. Consider placing notices on your job postings or signs in your front lobby or entrance informing the public that you perform criminal background checks on all applicants. This may deter unsuitable candidates from applying, and potentially save you the time and money of performing background checks on them. Of course, the best way to mitigate your risk is by conducting background checks that are FCRA-compliant on all applicants.

Be wary of the company you choose to perform such background checks. Make sure that you understand what information is being searched (e.g. databases or court records). You can always trust Veriswift to validate any criminal history we report with the court of record so that you are provided with the most accurate, up-to-date information in any background checks that we perform for your company.

Background Checks

It’s in the best interest of your company to carefully formulate a policy regarding background checks. Such policies, besides reducing the risk of costly lawsuits, also protect your business from fraud, theft, and injury. Background checks are an essential piece of the puzzle in keeping your workplace safe, productive, and trustworthy.

Running a thorough background check helps to shield you from liability, since it proves that you as the employer have done your due diligence in hiring employees that are fit and competent for the job.

Contact Veriswift today to find out how we can help you reduce the risk of negligent hiring liability.