Advice From a Practicing Attorney About Negligence and Criminal Background Investigations

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When it’s time to hire new employees – or find out where a contractor is getting their employees – do you need a background check, or a detailed criminal background investigation? The law is clear: you owe it to your employees, customers, and the public at large to take reasonable precautions toward keeping them safe. These vary somewhat by industry and location, but generally include avoiding what lawyers call “negligence” – the blame assigned when you ignore obvious dangers.

For the sake of helping you understand the most important issues, let’s look at the three factors that matter most to business owners and executives:

1. Duty. This refers to your responsibility to keep things “reasonably safe.” Shop owners have a duty to their customers to keep floors safe from slip-and-fall risks; doctors have a duty to their patients not to leave sponges inside of them after surgery; landlords have a duty to their tenants to keep housing units free of dangers to health and safety.
2. Causation. The law isn’t as simple as you might think. Just because you didn’t actually do something yourself doesn’t mean you aren’t responsible for it, especially if you set the conditions that allowed for the event to take place. Courts will consider you responsible for something that happens in your business if you should have known it could have. Ignorance is no defense.
3. Foreseeability. If you could have taken action that would have prevented something bad from happening, not taking action is as good as having contributed to it yourself.

Many decision-makers assume they shouldn’t be worried simply because they don’t sell things like liquor or firearms. That’s patently untrue, and potentially dangerous. In numerous industries – retail, health care, education, construction, housing, and dozens of others – employees and contractors are put into close contact with other people, and even minors. Because there are often inadequate employment background investigation processes in place, it’s incredibly easy for convicted criminals to find work and housing in places where they could do terrible things.

The “instant” background checks that so many organizations depend on are well known for being superficial. They aren’t protecting your customers, tenants, and employees; and they aren’t protecting you from liability claims, either. If you aren’t having new employees, contractors, and/or volunteers properly screened using thorough background investigations, then you aren’t meeting the criteria for avoiding negligence.

Negligence is a word you’d much rather read in this article than an official court document. Call CrimShield today to get the proper screening techniques put into place for your business or nonprofit organization.

About The Author: J. Denton (Denny) Dobbins is nationally and internationally recognized as a leader in premises liability protection and has been featured across North America sharing the stage with political leaders, police, administrators and business leaders. Since 1978, Denny has been involved with the detection and deterrence of criminal activity in properties and employment of all types.