The time has come to hire a new employee and of course you are probably planning to run a criminal record check. While your intention may be to only hire candidates with a great records, the EEOC has established that only criminal records that are related to the job duties can be used to deny employment. The idea behind this act (“Consideration of Arrest and Conviction Records in Employment Decisions Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964”) is to provide an equal opportunity for employment, including for people with a criminal conviction. This may get a little confusing at times and sometimes an employment decision must be made on a case by case basis. Here are my top recommendations for properly screening employees:

1. Relevance Screen:

Before even interviewing a candidate, put together a list of requirements for the job and think of what factors would cause you to deny employment. This involves outlining the risks associated with the job and what criminal convictions would be relevant to the job, if any. By setting up your list of deal breakers before starting the hiring process, you’ll be more likely to consider only background report information that is relevant for the job and it’ll reduce discrimination based on gender, race, or religion.

Consider the following questions:

• What are the risks involved with the job duties?
• What level of supervision will the employee have?
• Where does the job take place?

For instance, in the cannabis industry a relevant criminal conviction may be drug dealing or theft, but a DUI record may not be relevant if the employee won’t be driving on the job.  By law, only convictions and pending prosecutions should be considered. Employers may not consider arrests not subject to prosecution, as it could be the case that the person is innocent and was wrongly accused.

2. Look-Back Period:

Some states limit how far back employers can look into criminal records. In states where there is no limitation, use your judgment to establish a policy on how many years of history to take into consideration.

A Good Employee automatically provides a 7 year history, which we’ve found is a reasonable amount of time in most cases. Recommended for serious crimes of violence or dishonesty is 5-10 years and less serious crimes is 2-3 years. Periods are calculated from the date of conviction or date of release from incarceration or parole. In most cases, a crime committed 10 or more years ago, even if relevant to the job position, does not pose as much of a risk as a crime committed within the last few years.

3. Consider Rehabilitation:

A person with a troubled past may have had the opportunity to improve their lifestyle and choices over time. While there is no law that requires employers to consider specific aspects of rehabilitation to make an employment decision, it is recommended that you consider the following before issuing an adverse decision:

• How long has it been since the candidate was convicted? Studies have found that most repeat arrests occur within 3 years of the first conviction.
• What are the facts and circumstances surrounding the conviction?
• How many times has the person been convicted of a crime?
• How old was the candidate when the crime was committed?
• Did the candidate have a good employment history after the conviction?
• Has the candidate experienced problems with previous employers?
• Has the candidate taken steps to improve their life?
• Does the candidate have a family or dependents now?

If you take the three points above into consideration, you’ll be proactively taking steps towards reducing discrimination and making a balanced employment decision. Regardless of which policy you choose, the best way to verify your candidate is to make run a criminal record check with a reliable background screening company.