Maybe you’ve undergone a pre-employment background check. You give a company permission to check your criminal record, traffic violations and maybe your credit history. You pass and get the job. Now, the founder of a Scottsdale-based company hopes its post-employment background checks will become the norm.
After working for decades as a risk manager, Jo Lynn Clemens launched I’ve Been Vetted last week.
“Courts are finding that even the pre-employment background checks are not sufficient to actually vet employees so they’re wanting companies to do additional due diligence,” she said.
In the past, Clemens says employers could successfully argue that independent contractors weren’t really employees and the company shouldn’t be held liable for their actions.
Not so much anymore. Last year, Uber agreed to settle a multimillion dollar lawsuit in California over driver background checks, and courts in two other states ruled women who alleged they were sexually assaulted by Uber drivers could sue the company.
“We’re monitoring felony convictions, sex offenses and motor-vehicle-driving felonies,” Clemens said. “The company signs up and receives its own secured dashboard. Through the dashboard they request auto renewable checks at the intervals necessary for their organization. It can be six months, it can be annual.”
While independent contractors, freelancers and service workers like maintenance staff and caregivers are key targets, Clemens says the service can also be used for employees who haven’t been vetted in several years.
