U.S. employers face special challenges when conducting international background screening on job applicants who have lived, worked, or studied in foreign countries due to the increasing mobility of workers across international borders in a global economy, according to a new white paper released by Employment Screening Resources (ESR), a San Francisco, CA-area background screening provider accredited by the National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS).  

The white paper – ‘Introduction to International Background Screening,’ which is available for download at no cost at http://www.esrcheck.com/Download/ – also outlines the many difficulties U.S. employers face with international criminal background checks, international education verifications, and international employment and reference checks, such as:
* Differences in courts and legal systems.
* Name variations and unique alphabets.
* Time and Calendar differences.
* Different forms.
* Risk of fraud such as “diploma mills.”
* Higher costs and payments in foreign currency.

“Every country is different when it comes to international background screening and each foreign country has its own laws, customs, and procedures for background screening,” explains Lester Rosen, founder and President of Employment Screening Resources (ESR) and author of ‘The Safe Hiring Manual,’ the first comprehensive guide for employment screening. “Techniques, information, and availability of public records usually taken for granted here in the United States are often times not available abroad.”

The white paper also cites recent U.S. government statistics that show why international background screening is so necessary, including a report from the U.S. Census showing that there were 38.5 million foreign-born U.S. residents in 2009 that represented 12.5 percent of the population, and a report from the Office of Immigration Statistics (OIS) that showed 1,130,818 persons became Legal Permanent Residents (LPRs) of the U.S. in 2009.
 
To help U.S. employers in their efforts to conduct international background screening, the white paper offers tips on performing criminal searches, education verifications, and employment and reference checks abroad while providing in-depth focus on screening practices in countries such as the United Kingdom (U.K.), Canada, and Japan. The white paper also offers recommendations for International Background Screening programs.

“While international background screening is challenging, the mere fact that information is more difficult to obtain from outside of the U.S. does not relieve employers from their due diligence obligation associated with hiring,” adds Rosen, an Attorney at Law who founded Employment Screening Resources to help both employers and employees maintain safe workplaces. “Although international background screening can be challenging, it is not impossible,” he says.

The white paper ‘Introduction to International Background Screening’ from Employment Screening Resources (ESR) is available for download at no cost at http://www.esrcheck.com/Download/.