Most HR professionals know that reference checking and work history verification are fundamental steps in applicant screening. What many may not realize is that these simple steps not only weed out bad candidates but also may help protect you down the road from negligent hiring exposure if you have an incident of workplace misconduct or violence later.

Unfortunately, you may be tempted to skip these checks in order to make a quick hiring decision (free model policy download). However, the consequences of omitting them can be devastating and range from huge monetary settlements and bad publicity to, in the worst-case scenarios, loss of life. You can help prevent these problems and limit your organization’s exposureby taking a few basic precautions in checking candidate backgrounds. 

What is Negligent Hiring?

The legal theory of negligent hiring is based on the premise that an employer can be liable for the violent acts or wrongdoing of its employees if you do not properly investigate their backgrounds or qualifications. Negligent hiring claims often involve employees who are in a position to pose a threat of injury to the public (such as a driver or eliveryperson), or who attack another employee or an outside third party (such as a client or customer). The claims also can result from employees’ criminal use of financial or confidential information, such as when an employee embezzles money or engages in identity theft.

To establish negligent hiring, the harmed person generally must show:

(1) That the employer did not exercise reasonable care in hiring the eployee (for example, by talking to former employers);

(2) That the employee had dangerous tendencies which should have been apparent if the employer had exercised reasonable care (such as by conducting an adequate preemployment investigation); and

(3) That the employer placed the employee in a position where others could be injured.