Fifty-three percent of employers say they do not use background checks during the hiring process, which is a jump from 40 percent in 2010 and 39 percent in 2004, according to new research by the Society for Human Resource Management.

"Human resources professionals are looking more closely at the job-relatedness of these practices," says Mark Schmit, SHRM's vice president of research. "As a result, fewer employers are using background checks, and checks are often done for specific jobs or to comply with the law."

According to the research, respondents use criminal background checks to reduce legal liability for negligent hiring at 52 percent and to ensure a safe work environment for employees at 49 percent. Respondents using credit check report the reasons being to cut or prevent theft at 45 percent and to reduce liability for negligent hiring at 22 percent.

Complete your profile to continue reading and get FREE access to BenefitsPRO, part of your ALM digital membership.

Your access to unlimited BenefitsPRO content isn’t changing.
Once you are an ALM digital member, you’ll receive:

  • Breaking benefits news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
  • Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
  • Critical converage of the property casualty insurance and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
NOT FOR REPRINT

© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.