To help make informed hiring decisions, employers often ask for references from prospective employees. Employers also provide references for former employees seeking other employment. Whether you are conducting a reference bank check or are asked to provide a reference or employment verification, it's important to have policies and procedures in place to handle these requests.
The following are some practise's and don'ts regarding reference checks and employment verifications:
Exercise'due south:
- Decide when to acquit reference checks. Information technology is mostly considered a best practice to wait until you lot have extended a conditional offering of employment before conducting reference checks. If your company performs reference checks earlier in the hiring process, make sure you are consistent almost the timing and ostend that you can lawfully obtain the information you are requesting before extending an offer.
- Obtain authorization. Prior to checking a potential employee'southward reference, providing a reference for a former employee, or verifying employment of a current employee, obtain and retain written authorization from the individual.
- When seeking a reference: During the hiring process, inquire applicants to sign a grade authorizing their former employer to disembalm job-related information to your company.
- When providing a reference: Some employers choose to obtain a departing employee's authorization at the time of separation. If a prospective employer contacts you and you don't have authorization, ask them to have the former employee contact you to give written authority.
- When verifying employment: If an employee needs an employment verification, the employee should submit a written request that includes an authorization to release the information.
- Decide what information to request. During the hiring process, many employers use reference checks to verify information provided in employment applications, resumes, and interviews. For instance, they may apply the reference check to confirm dates of employment, positions held, and final salary or hourly wage. Well-nigh employers are willing to disclose this type of data, but may be less inclined to provide data on performance- or conduct-related issues.
- Decide what information to provide. When contacted for a job reference, it is considered a all-time practice to provide only limited information about sometime employees, such as dates of employment, positions held, and in some cases, terminal salary or hourly wage. This is by and large a preferred arroyo, since the data is limited to factual and objective data. If y'all cull to provide more data, make sure you are providing it in skillful organized religion; the data is accurate and job-related; and yous provide the same types of information well-nigh all former employees. Employers should exist especially sensitive to the risks associated with providing a negative reference. Before disclosing any negative job-related data, brand sure yous have thoroughly documented the outcome at the time it occurred. For employment verifications, the data provided is generally limited to dates of employment, positions held, and pay history.
- Inform employees what data you lot will provide. To ready proper expectations, allow employees know what blazon of information the company will provide if asked to provide a reference or employment verification. This can be included in a written policy and inside authorisation forms. Employers may too choose to re-communicate their policy to departing employees.
- Sympathize state reference check laws. Several states have enacted laws to help protect employers who disclose data about a former employee in good faith. These laws typically define what type of information is protected. Employers should review their state'due south law carefully when deciding what information they will provide
Don'ts:
- Don't request, provide, or apply information unrelated to the job. Reference checks for all similarly situated candidates must be bailiwick to the aforementioned set up of questions, and should only seek chore-related information. Never ask for, provide, or apply data that is protected by federal, state, or local law. Even if you ask for strictly task-related data, it is possible a former employer may inadvertently disembalm protected information (eastward.g. the individual's age, national origin, family status, etc.). In these cases, the employer should disregard such information when making a hiring conclusion.
- Don't forget to talk to references directly. It is a best practice to contact a reference directly via phone, fifty-fifty if a chore candidate provides a letter of the alphabet from the reference. Most employers check at to the lowest degree three references. These should generally be professional person references from previous employers. Ideally, the reference should be someone who has directly supervised the employee. On the telephone, be sure to verify the reference's role in relation to the bidder.
- Don't let merely anyone provide a reference. To aid ensure consistency, it is a best practice to designate a single individual (such as an Hr representative) to handle all reference requests. Supervisors and employees should be instructed to straight all reference inquiries to the designated private. This person should be trained on providing references in accordance with company policies and federal, state and local laws.
- Don't forget to comply with FCRA if using a third party. If y'all rent another visitor to perform certain background or reference checks, you lot must brand sure you comply with the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). Amid other things, the FCRA requires that employers provide written notification to, and obtain authorisation from, any individual subject to a background investigation. The FCRA besides has very specific guidelines employers must follow when taking adverse action against an individual (e.m. declining to rent) based on the results of the investigation. Several states have their ain laws like to the FCRA so information technology is important to review applicable state laws to ensure compliance.
- Don't violate country blacklisting laws. Some states have enacted laws that prohibit employers from "blacklisting" former employees. In other words, these states prohibit employers from intentionally trying to prevent a quondam employee from obtaining other employment.
Decision:
For reference checks and employment verifications, employers should establish and enforce comprehensive policies and practices that comply with federal, land, and local laws.