Contingent Workers on the Increase
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 4 out of 5 employers now use some form of non-traditional staffing, either individually contracted, or contracted through a staffing firm. These numbers continue to increase dramatically, especially during a down economy. Although contingent workers are commonly employed in today’s business climate, they are very often overlooked by HR Professionals and Hiring Managers within the context of an enterprise-wide due diligence strategy. Employers who do not include temporary and contingent workers as part of an overall employee screening protocol significantly increase their chances of an unsafe workplace situation and potential financial exposure.

A Realistic Scenario
Your IT employee requires administrative leave and an IT project deadline is looming for a key client. To keep the project on track, you contact a local staffing firm to rush over their best and brightest software engineer to assist with the project. With no time to contact security for a temporary password and a low level security clearance, the temporary programmer is seated in an open cubicle and provided with a current employee’s credentials. The next day, security discovers a breach and sensitive client credit card information has been compromised. Further investigation into the temporary employee's past uncovers previous criminal convictions for credit card theft within the past three years.
Time constraints should never be an excuse when conducting background checks. Many background screening firms offer a variety of instant criminal searches that can help fortify your due diligence strategy and close the screening gap across all levels of your workforce.

Best Practices When Using Contingent Workers
A background check should never be over looked because a worker is not a direct employee. Establishing a policy and protocol for temporary and contingent workers is a must to insure closure of the liability gap. If using a staffing firm, employers should have a formal understanding of the type and content of background checks conducted on each applicant. The term “background check” can mean something very different to the staffing company in comparison to your view from the perspective of your due diligence screening program. Many staffing firms conduct a very cursory search of a national criminal database without verification, which will provide limited information and will not give you the full story. A national criminal database search is only a small piece of the puzzle, and doesn’t provide an overall picture of comprehensive screening nor does it provide you with an FCRA compliant set of information on which you can legally base a hiring decision.

In today’s economy, many employers use the temp-to-hire scenario to provide the flexibility of engaging a worker on a temporary basis and then bringing them on permanently as business and budgets allow. Having a better understanding of your candidate’s credentials and skill sets up front will shorten the learning curve, decrease cost, and ensure you have the right person for the job. You should always verify the candidate’s skills, past employment credentials, and verification of prior education and licenses.
Documentation is essential in the screening due diligence process. Whether you are contracting directly with the applicant, or using a staffing firm, you need to outline what level of screening is conducted on each potential hire. Be sure that you, or the staffing firm, has acquired “disclosure, consent and authorization” from each applicant prior to receiving any results. An employer should review screening notification, consent and authorization documentation periodically to help ensure proper FCRA compliance. It is also essential employers keep access of background screening information secure and down to a need to know basis. For example, a consumer report or background check should only be viewed by individuals directly involved in the decision making or evaluation process for both the employer and the staffing firm.

The Anatomy Of A Criminal Background Check
At a minimum, you should conduct a social security number trace on every applicant within your organization, along with a county criminal or statewide criminal search that includes all jurisdictions (counties) where an applicant has resided within the past seven years. Counties searched should include any residence listed on the applicant’s employment application and any additional counties "developed" independently from the social number security trace. A national criminal database search should also be conducted and include a search of a national sex offender database, along with a national and international terrorist watch list. Any additional names, such as aliases, AKA’s, or other names used by the applicant, should also be searched. Criminal searches will only uncover a worker’s criminal past, and won’t address education credentials, work experience or performance issues as they relate to the candidate.

Consistency In Screening Is Key
The best way to achieve consistency across all screening protocols, both directly and through your staffing agency, is to outsource the entire screening process. The National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS) is comprised of reputable screening firms that can help develop a secure and compliant flow of information from your staffing agency, potential candidate, and your hiring manager.
Temporary and contingent workers play a vital role in our workforce, and the use of staffing firms are a great resource to that end. But before you bring a temporary worker into your office, take the proper steps in background screening and due diligence. Only by fully understanding the potential exposure a candidate brings to your organization, can you truly know if an individual is an asset or a liability to your workforce.

Robert Capwell
rcapwell@ebiinc.com
Chief Knowledge Officer
Employment Background Investigations