Ethics in HR Hiring: Background Checks and Screening

Introduction: Ethics in Hiring Decisions

Human resources managers are increasingly called upon to contribute to ethical decision making in their hiring practices. Hiring policies and practices are a critical gateway to fulfilling an organization's ethical commitments. Standard screening methods — such as background checks or reviewing applicants' social media accounts — present ethical dilemmas, pitting the need for due diligence against the need to resist discrimination in hiring. By engaging in hiring policies and practices that reflect both legal ground rules and ethical codes, human resources managers can achieve critical security goals while also protecting the legal and ethical rights of applicants and employees.

Key issues to consider in hiring decisions include the legal ground rules that govern organizational codes of conduct and codes of ethics. Many organizations craft these codes specifically to shape organizational culture and promote security, while also guarding against legal breaches.

Codes of Ethics vs. Codes of Conduct

Both codes of ethics and codes of conduct can be grounded in legal compliance while still reflecting the overarching values and culture of the organization. At the very least, hiring practices need to properly reflect commitments to the legal ground rules pertaining to anti-discrimination and employee privacy rights (Dwoskin, Squire & Patullo, 2013). Codes of ethics reflect principles and governing philosophies, which are often expressed in vague or abstract terms. Codes of conduct, by contrast, can be written in ways that more specifically address behaviors or measurable actions. As Adelstein & Clegg (2016) point out, only "some elements of codes have the force of national regulation and law behind them" (p. 56). Codes mitigate legal risks and can also be used to defer responsibility; ultimately, ethical behavior is a matter of individual choice (Adelstein & Clegg, 2016). Organizations genuinely committed to meeting the high standards set forth in their codes need to embed these norms and behaviors into company culture through training programs, leadership, and other elements of organizational socialization.

Organizations do well to work beyond legal strictures to create hiring practices and procedures that attract top talent and confer a competitive advantage. For example, Stoughton, Thompson & Meade (2015) found that prospective employees expressed more negative perceptions of organizations that used social media screening during the hiring process. The perceived invasions of privacy associated with social media screening — as well as formal background checks, even when legally permissible — can be detrimental to broader organizational goals, including the creation and maintenance of a specific organizational culture and the retention of top talent. Human resources practices at the hiring stage thus reflect the "discursive boundaries between legal compliance…and self-governance strictures" (Adelstein & Clegg, 2016, p. 56). Legal compliance is a low bar for human resources managers and executives, who cannot rely on lip service paid to ethics in company codes. Actual hiring practices need to reflect prevailing social norms, or at least align with the mission, vision, and values of the firm.

Background Checks in the Hiring Process

Background checks are a "commonly used assessment tool" and are "standard practice among companies for screening potential employees" (Brody, Perri & Van Buren, 2015, p. 550). The law generally protects the rights of employers to conduct background checks, and in some cases even requires them as a means of performing due diligence — for example, to "shield employers from potential negligent hiring lawsuits" (Dwoskin, Squire & Patullo, 2013, p. 29). Background checks can help organizations readily identify problematic behaviors or tendencies in applicants. Paradoxically, however, background checks can also be used against the hiring organization — such as when information yielded in a background check is used to discriminate against an applicant (Dwoskin, Squire & Patullo, 2013). Furthermore, the results of background checks are not always interpreted consistently across the applicant pool, particularly when other hiring considerations are taken into account. Managers need to be aware of potentially inconsistent interpretations of background check results in order to prevent legal complications.

While background checks may seem like valuable and valid hiring tools, credit history checks are even more problematic than criminal history checks. One of the main reasons why credit history checks are both legally and ethically discouraged is that they lead to disproportionate discrimination against non-white applicants whose credit histories have been compromised by institutionalized racism (Shethji, 2016). Employers could claim that the results of a credit history check justified a refusal to hire when, in fact, the applicant could make a legitimate claim of discrimination. Another reason to avoid over-reliance on credit history checks is the question of relevance and validity: such information may not have a strong bearing on actual ethical behavior and may not provide meaningful predictive data. Using credit checks can therefore place organizations at significant risk of violating both ethical and legal principles of equal opportunity in hiring.

Conclusion: The Importance of Integrity in Leadership

Hiring practices remain a core component of ethical decision making in organizations. Human resources managers need to comply with EEOC and related formal laws and institutions at the very least, while also protecting their organization and its primary stakeholders. Using background checks, psychological assessments, and social media screenings may be necessary in some cases, but these practices also risk undermining employee perceptions of the organization. The ultimate goal should be to create an organizational culture dedicated to meeting the ethical criteria outlined in its formal codes. Leaders have a direct responsibility to model the behaviors expected of new hires and, indeed, all employees. Hiring practices and screening represent only the first step toward building an ideal ethical culture within the organization.

References

Adelstein, J. & Clegg, S. (2016). Code of ethics: A stratified vehicle for compliance. Journal of Business Ethics, 138, 53–66.

Brody, R.G., Perri, F.S. & Van Buren, H.J. (2015). Further beyond the basic background check. Business and Society Review, 120(4), 549–576.

Dwoskin, L.B., Squire, M.B. & Patullo, J.E. (2013). Welcome aboard! How to hire the right way. Employee Relations Law Journal, 38(4), 28–63.

Hill, R.P. & Rapp, J.M. (2014). Codes of ethical conduct. Journal of Business Ethics, 123, 621–630.

Shethji, P. (2016). Note: Credit checks under Title VII. 91 N.Y.U.L. Rev. 989.

Stoughton, J.W., Thompson, L.F. & Meade, A.W. (2015). Examining applicant reactions to the use of social networking websites in pre-employment screening. Journal of Business Psychology, 30, 73–88.