Updated on March 29, 2012
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Many employers have a “one and done” attitude about background checks for employees. They conduct what they deem to be a thorough pre-employment screening before someone is hired, and that’s it. There’s never any follow-up background screening, or random drug testing, or periodic driver’s license check.
Is that the safest way to run a business? While it’s a great business practice to conduct pre-employment screening, the wise business owner understands that people change, circumstances change and unless you’re periodically checking into things, your staff might have changed – and not for the better.
Employers should follow up their wise hiring practices by implementing safeguards against current employees who could be breaking the law. The most obvious step is to institute a Drug and Alcohol policy that includes random periodic drug testing, if you don’t have one already. And it’s not a bad idea to conduct periodic background checks for current employees and implement pre-hire and periodic screening for temporary or contingent workers as well .
