Assignment
Acme Appliance Service is a new business that that offers to install or repair all types of home appliances. There is going to be a major recruitment and hiring effort spearheaded by HR. The HR Director is under pressure, the more so thanks to the company's legal department. A big negligent hiring suit could ruin the company financially. Even if it wasn't an immediate financial disaster, bad publicity could kill the business.
The HR Director starts thinking about the jobs to be filled. There are various administrative and professional positions at the company's headquarters. But the main concern is the technicians that will be sent out to work in customers' homes. What if a technician is sent to fix a refrigerator, but instead beats up and robs the customer? Something bad could happen even at headquarters. An accountant could embezzle company funds. The company won't get sued for that, but large-scale theft could be devastating.
The HR Director starts thinking about criminal background checks. If the checks were done on job applicants, at least the company could say that it did what it could to screen out those with a history of serious wrongdoing. After all, past behavior predicts future behavior-a recollection from an undergraduate psych course.
But this is complicated:
1. Screen out anyone convicted of any serious crime, or limit it to just certain crimes, like those related to stealing or violence?
2. Use the same screening for all jobs, or have different rules for the headquarters people like the accountants and for technicians going into customers' homes?
3. Does the background check have to be validated like a test? Something called UGESP was mentioned in that psych course. But there are already plans to assess qualifications for all jobs. The problem now is potential harm to the company, employees, and customers.
4. Should something like "green factors" be considered? Do they have something to do with the environment?
5. Does it matter if someone was convicted of a crime and released from prison last year, or whether the crime and prison sentence happened ten years ago?
The company operates in a locality where there are no "ban the box" laws or other local restrictions on criminal background checks. The HR Director concludes that input from an I/O psychologist is needed.