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Defining questionable “employment gaps”

Questionable employment gaps are periods on a resume or job application that can’t be verified. Some of the most popular false claims used to cover employment gaps are:

– Freelancing
– Business Owner
– Fictitious Out Of Business Company

A clever and sneaky employee can get these lies past an employer who is not conducting a careful and thorough employee background screening. Most employers do not have the in-house resources to verify these claims. When an employer conducts a background check on their own they will usually only get information on the position held, dates of employment and if the candidate is eligible for rehire.

Fortunately, even for freelance and closed businesses, there is a paper trail. Genuine freelancers and business owners must apply for a fictitious business name and a business license. This is a requirement for most cities regardless of where the work will be performed. For a freelancer, a business license is required even if he or she works from home.

Unfortunately, tracking this information can be confusing and time consuming for most personnel departments and small business owners. Getting the most accurate information is usually best left to a professional pre-employment screening firm, such as Accu-Screen, Inc. They have the resources and experience to readily search and provide the most up to date and accurate information.

Questionable “employment gaps”

Employers need to be careful not to jump to conclusions because freelance and business information may not be readily verified. When this occurs, the employer should request clarification from the job applicant. An employer should ask for references from past clients, projects worked on and milestones. Most freelancers and business owners should be able to give you business references, detailed information on projects and accomplishments.

Similarly, for a situation where a business is no longer operating, a job seeker should be able to provide verification of employment. Verification can include paystubs, tax return, offer of employment letter or proof of any type of recognition received, while employed at the company.

A red flag should be raised if the job seeker can’t provide additional information to verify claims of freelancing, owning a business or a company that is no longer open for business.

Problems with employees who lie about “employment gaps”

When an “employment gap” is discovered, an employer needs to be concerned about the reasons for it. Periods of employment gaps that can’t be verified may be associated with:

– Incarceration
– Involuntary termination

Some job seekers are unlucky while others are just plain deceitful. A professional employment background screening firm, such as Accu-Screen, Inc., can help get to the bottom of these issues by obtaining the most appropriate and accurate information.

When an applicant has these issues in their past or fails to report them, an employer should proceed with caution. These issues need to be handled confidentially and with diplomacy. The issue should be addressed and clarification should be reached before a job offer is made.

The Personnel Department is the best employment agency in Calgary

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As a global HR solutions corporation The Personnel Department has outstanding service skills that have made them the best employment agency in Calgary. Friendly and knowledgeable professionals welcome the opportunity to find business solutions that cater to the individual requirements of each Company. The award-winning services offered include staffing, staff recruitment, executive searches, human resource consulting and more. Established in 1980, they have enjoyed decades in the industry quickly becoming the best employment agency in Calgary. Amongst their many awards and accolades the Company has been honored as the best workplace in Canada as well as the best small and medium employers in Canada. Dedicated to business excellence they screen all candidates, performing a reference check and evaluating skill level to guarantee an optimal match. With industry experience and by providing qualified staff The Personnel Department has earned the Consumers Choice Award for being the best employment agency in Canada.

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Labor experts tell us that 8 out of 10 hiring professionals do some form of pre-employment background screening. Yet many medium and small businesses and are still dependent on traditional methods of pre-employment background screening, such as checking up on references. This article explores why many SMBs avoid professional employment background checks, and the risks and dangers of doing so.

Why Many SMBs Don’t Do Pre-Employment Background Screening

Lack of concern. Some SMB managers believe that only cops, teachers, and doctors should be subject to employment background checks. That point of view is outdated. Nowadays, many private companies are consistently performing pre-employment background screening, for the reasons listed in the second half of this article.

Lack of Internal Support and Expert Knowledge. Many SMB leaders assume that any pre-employment background screening they do must be done in-house. The prospect of training an employee to carry out background checks is intimidating to most managers, especially since it could very well take a person months to research the best background check procedures. However, partnering with pre-employment background screening outsourcing firms allows all companies quick, convenient access to employment background checks.

Overestimation of Cost. Many SMB leaders hold a misconception about pre-employment background screening, namely that it’s exorbitantly expensive. If you’re open to the possibility of outsourcing your employment background checks, you can typically conduct pre-employment background screening for no more than $50 per job candidate.

Top 5 Reasons Why SMBs should Conduct Employment Background Checks

1. Decreased Costs. You’ll find better job candidates if you conduct pre-employment background screening. Improved hiring means that you’ll spend less money counteracting negative PR, lose less money to negligent hiring lawsuits, and see fewer employee-generated losses, such as embezzlement. Finally, it’s typically much less expensive to outsource employment background checks, rather than doing them in-house.

2. Fewer legal trip-ups. Each state has its own law in place regarding negligent hiring. These laws are intended to protect the public by preventing dangerous individuals from being hired for delicate positions. As an example, many states’ alcohol laws require that employees have three years of felony-free history before they can be hired for a job that involves serving alcohol. Failing to check out candidates backgrounds through pre-employment background screening opens you to the risk of being sued or fined for failing to do your due diligence on new hires.

3. Safer Employees. Human Resource gurus estimate that 1 out of 10 job applicants have a criminal history. If you don’t carry do employment background checks, it’s more likely that you’ll hire a dangerous individual who could hurt your employees, your customers, and your business’ reputation.

4. Accelerated hiring. The majority of pre-employment background screening companies offer results in 48 hours. In this sense, outsourcing employee background checks can mean speedier hiring. In just a day or two, you can get the information you need to determine if that seemingly perfect candidate has any skeletons lurking in his or her closet.

5. Discover dishonesty in applications. Here’s another scary HR statistic for you: researchers calculate that approximately 4 out of 10 resumes feature deceitful omissions, if not total lies. Employment background checks reveal such dishonesty so that you can avoid hiring mendacious individuals.

As we’ve seen, there are many reasons why owners of small and medium-sized businesses should arrange employee background checks.

In the nineteenth century and parts of the twentieth century, employees and employers were largely left to themselves to arrange a working agreement, including payment, work conditions, and so on. Employees had to trust that their employers would treat them fairly, and employers knew that if they didn’t treat their workers well, they might leave to work somewhere else. Although this arrangement worked well for many, during the industrial revolution, employees began to lose their leverage of leaving that kept employers in check.

During the industrial revolution, large factories rose up, employing workers by the thousands. Employers rarely had direct contact with their employees, and people akin to task masters oversaw the workers. Working conditions were harsh. If a worker showed up late to work, was in any way disorderly, or tried to unionize, he or she could be fired. Even children were hired and forced to work long hours in unhealthy environments.

And despite poor working conditions, long hours of arduous labor, and low wages, factory employees had nowhere else to go because most places of employment were the same. These difficulties were most often experienced by immigrants and the poor, and because they had no way to improve their situation, these workers had no choice but to work in these factories and other similar places.

Eventually, in the early twentieth century, the government passed a series of labor laws that helped rectify the poor working situation. These laws established minimum wages, work environment regulations, and union rights. And throughout the century, more laws were periodically passed that made illegal any discrimination (based on gender, religion, age, and so on) against employees.

Because of the sufferings of thousands in those prior years, employees today enjoy the benefits of being guaranteed certain rights. Unfortunately, some employers are still found guilty of disobeying these employee-protection laws.

Today, the most common breach of employee rights is discrimination. Some employers may even inadvertently discriminate against employees based on age, gender, race, religion, or disability. But inadvertent or not, discrimination in the workplace is illegal. One of the only exceptions is discriminating against disability. If a job cannot be performed with reasonable accommodation by a person with a disability, the employer retains the right to not hire that person. Of course what is considered “reasonable” is something of a gray area, but the exception is meant to ensure that employers aren’t forced to hire someone who can’t perform the job.

Another common type of discrimination is based on age. Many have the misconception that someone who is older may not be as good a worker as someone who is young. However, if an elderly person meets all of the requirements of job, he or she must be seriously considered on equal footing with other candidates.

In regards to the payroll, gender discrimination is quite common. In general, women are still paid less than men for performing the same jobs. Although this disparity in pay is becoming smaller and is not as bad as it was just a few decades ago, in general, women are still paid less. The problem in detecting this type of discrimination is that people are often prohibited from discussing income with their coworkers, and many people don’t know what is considered fair pay for their jobs.

Another all-to-common illegal occurrence in the workplace is sexual harassment, particularly toward women. Sexual harassment can range from derogatory or sexual comments to receiving promotions based on sexuality to unwanted forceful actions. And sexual harassment is illegal not only if it comes from an employer but from a coworker as well. Unfortunately, in many cases of sexual harassment, the victims are either too embarrassed or scared to come forward and take legal action against the guilty party.

And although discrimination and harassment are illegal, when people take legal action against their employers on the basis of discrimination, feelings of tension or anger may exist between the two parties. And although there may not be much a person can do to resolve the tense atmosphere, employees can rest assured that if an employer attempts to discharge our fire them because they filed a charge of discrimination, the employer will face additional legal charges.

Employers also cannot legally retaliate against those who take protected leave under the Family Medical Leave Act or who file a workers’ compensation claim. Such retaliation is illegal so that employees will not be threatened or discouraged from filing legal charges.

Sometimes employees find it difficult to prove that they are being discriminated against or they may not be entirely sure what legally qualifies as discrimination or unfair treatment. In these cases, an employment attorney can be helpful. Employment attorneys specialize in labor laws and are familiar with past employment law cases, which can help you better understand your rights and determine if you should take legal action against an employer. And whether you’re looking for a Houston employment attorney or one elsewhere, you should research the attorney’s qualifications and experience before hiring one to advise or represent you.

Labor and employment laws were created after years of worker oppression and in response to employees’ demands for fair and equal treatment. Because of these laws, employees are no longer required to work obscenely long hours for little pay, work in unsafe environments, or suffer from harassment and other abuses. Because of these laws, working conditions have drastically improved, and with the current legal system, employees have a means to constantly evaluate, analyze, and continue to improve working conditions in a way that ensures they can do their best work without fear of oppression or discrimination.