There are many types of pre-employment background checks or tests available to employers. These checks can assist employers in hiring applicants that are well-qualified and skilled for the positions for which they are applying. Some of these checks will also assist employers in identifying "red flags" and thus mitigating against certain risks – such as hiring an applicant that may pose a risk of fraud or theft to the organization. Other types of checks will help employers obtain a sense of who the applicant is as a person, so that they can better assess whether the applicant will "fit" within the organization.
In recent years, employers have begun to check references with greater frequency and thoroughness. This book has been designed to help employers understand what types of checks are legally permissible, and how to conduct these checks in a way that minimizes risk to employers. The authors advise that interviews and reference checks be conducted before the employer extends a conditional offer of employment to the job applicant, but all other background checks and tests discussed in this book should be performed afterwards. The following types of background checks are reviewed in this book: personal interviews, reference checks ,education and professional certification checks, credit checks, psychometric tests, medical and fitness tests, police records checks, drug and alcohol tests, and immigration, terrorism and industry-specific security checks.
New in this edition:
• Completely revised chapter on police records checks
• Expanded coverage of the use of the internet and social networks for background-checking
• New chapter on court searches
• Discussion of developments in the law and science of drug and alcohol testing
Adrian Miedema, LL.B., is a partner in the Employment and Labour Group of the national law firm, Fraser Milner Casgrain LLP in Toronto. He represents employers in employment, health and safety and human rights matters. Adrian is recognized by The Best Lawyers in Canada 2012 as a leading lawyer in Labour and Employment Law. He is also co-editor of Occupationalhealthandsafetylaw.com and Employmentandlabour.com. He is the coauthor of a dictionary of labour and employment law terms, as well as the HR Manager's Guide to Non-Competition and Non-Solicitation Agreements (Carswell, 2005). He has been an adjunct professor of Employment Law at the Faculty of Law, University of Western Ontario. He is a frequent speaker and the author of numerous articles. Adrian obtained his law degree from the University of Western Ontario. He also holds a B. Math in Actuarial Science from the University of Waterloo.
Christina Hall, B.A.(Hons), LL.B., is a partner in the Employment and Labour Group of the national law firm, Fraser Milner Casgrain LLP in Toronto. She writes frequently on employment law topics and has contributed articles to Lexpert, Workplace News, Legal Alert and other publications. Christina is also an adjunct professor of Employment Law at the Faculty of Law, University of Western Ontario. She holds a B.A. (Hons.) in History from Queen's University and obtained her LL.B. from the University of Western Ontario.