What Employers Can Find Out About You
Background checks on employees have become routine and acceptable at most every level. People expect to be asked to sign a consent form for a background check when they apply for job postings. But many are misinformed about what a former employer can and cannot say about them.
If a potential employer contacts a prior employer, they can talk openly about your work history and performance. But there are some very clear and serious stipulations.
A former employer or manager can say anything about your performance as long as it is accurate, truthful, and relevant. If your performance was less than expected and you missed deadlines, lacked in quality of work produced, or performed your job poorly, the former employer is free to provide this information. The important thing here is that the information must be TRUTHFUL!
This is why the majority of employers have established a very clear-cut policy related to employment background checks. They will only provide dates of employment, final salary, and job title or description. This ensures that the information they provide is very clear, concise, and not open to interpretation.
Providing information about a former associate’s performance can become a nightmare for both the employer and the employee. By keeping things focused on the facts that cannot be disputed, it ensures less chance of communicating erroneous or misleading information, and reduces the liability of a former employer who might disclose inaccurate information when recruiting. But it’s up to the employer to determine how much to disclose.
Of course, for those employees who have a stellar record of high performance, quality, and integrity, it’s unfortunate that their former employer cannot boast about these attributes! The policy applies to both situations. As with any ‘protection’ afforded to individuals, there is always an up-side and a down-side!