The purposes of pre-employment background checks are many, and searches are ordered for a number of different reasons. However, they are mainly done to ensure that a prospective employee has a clean criminal record and will not be a problem employee or a threat to the security of the company or its employees. Employers now have access to all the information they need about a prospective employees past to make an intelligent hiring decision. Therefore, the bottom line is a background check makes sure that the employer is making the safest hire possible.

Another major purpose from an employers perspective to run criminal background checks on prospective employees are the rampant legal issues that companies face in the wake of hiring a problem employee. Employers can and will be held legally and financially responsible for the actions of their employees. In many states the courts have determined that it is the responsibility of the employer to conduct pre-employment screening on prospective employees. Even if the company had no knowledge of criminal history when hiring an employee, they can still be held responsible should anything negative happen. If that employee attacks a co-worker, for example, and it turns he/she had a criminal history than the company may be held legally and financially responsible. In other words, the employer should have known that the employee was dangerous because they should have conducted a background check, thus, can be held responsible. Often times the employer will come up on the losing end of negligent hiring lawsuits, in fact, the numbers are around 70%. Also, a simple internet search will show that the average award in these cases is over one million dollars.

Perhaps more important than taking the necessary precautions to avoiding a costly lawsuit is the obligation an employer has to the safety of its employees. Many negligent hiring lawsuits involve an employee that has been attacked, abused, harassed, sexually assaulted, and even killed by an employee who would not have been hired had the employer conducted a routine background check. While a person may appear to be the perfect hire during an interview, without a thorough background check it is impossible to know exactly who you are welcoming into your company. The minor cost and effort of pre-employment screening will do more than protect the company against a lawsuit. It may prevent an innocent employee from being assaulted, harassed, or even killed.