Canadian HR Reporter is the national journal of human resource management. It features the latest workplace news, HR best practices, employment law commentary and tools and tips for employers to get the most out of their workforce.
Issue link: https://digital.hrreporter.com/i/571075
Credit: arfo (Shutterstock) out of background screening out of background screening out of background screening By Carolyn Dewa I t's generally understood that back- ground checks are performed for good reason. But there are potential privacy issues: e information provided to prospective employers is drawn from police databases that may contain in- formation about a history of mental ill- ness, if that history also involved a police contact. A police contact does not necessarily mean a person broke the law and was convicted. Rather, it can occur because he was inves- tigated but not charged, was a victim or witness of a crime, or had non-criminal contact with police during an episode of mental illness. e amount of information potential em- ployers receive depends on the jurisdiction in which they make the request. In turn, it is also infl uenced by the type of background check requested. In some jurisdictions, the type of information related to mental illness that is reported is left to the discretion of the police. Reporting mental health history e reporting of a person's history of men- tal illness in a police background check seems to be predicated on three assump- tions. First, it assumes that contact with the police during an episode of mental illness indicates that either a person's integrity is questionable or the person may be a safety risk to those around them. is assumption reinforces fear of those with mental disorders. Almost one-half of workers who said they would be concerned if a co-worker had a mental health problem said it was because there were fears about the safety of working with that co-worker, as well as her reliability, found a 2015 Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) survey of over 2,000 Ontario workers. Is that a valid fear? e problem with mental illness is there is no vaccine to protect against it; given the right set of circumstances, we are all at risk of developing a mental illness. During any given month, between eight and 11 per cent of Canadian workers experience a mental illness, according to CAMH. at means if you have a work group of 10, it is highly likely at least one person is suff ering from a mental illness. If each of these people were actually prone to violence, we would have an epidemic of violence in our workplaces. In reality, in- cidences of co-worker violence make the headlines precisely because they are rare. e second assumption is that a person with a history of mental illness has forfeited his right to privacy. It forces a disclosure about a mental illness that the person may not be ready to give. When CAMH asked Ontario workers about whether they would choose to tell their boss about a mental ill- ness, 40 per cent said they would not. More than one-half of the people who would not tell their managers if they were experiencing mental illness believed dis- closing would hurt their careers. at is not surprising given the fear of mental illness. e third assumption is that mental ill- ness is unrelenting and unremitting. In truth, for the majority of people, it is not. Treatments and supports have made recov- ery possible for most mental illnesses. Changing perceptions So, should we just let mentally ill individu- als into our workplaces? In fact, it really is hard to keep them out; they may already be there or may become mentally ill after they are in. Perhaps there is another way to look at it. Because most Canadians are employed and because most of their waking hours are spent at work, the workplace presents an opportunity to positively influence perceptions. In turn, the positive experiences workers have at work can be exported to their fami- lies and friends to improve the quality of life in the community. Fortunately, there are eff ective programs like those that have been developed and tested by the Mental Health Commission of Canada, such as the Opening Minds Ini- tiative, that help workplaces create healthy and supportive environments for all work- ers. It is in these types of environments that workers are willing to talk to their manag- ers about their struggles with mental illness and are encouraged to seek help. Ultimately, this will lead to increased productivity for employers. In a supportive and safe environment, revealing a mental health struggle can allow an employer and worker to work together to identify solu- tions, build trust and confi dence in one an- other and increase productivity. At the same time, it should be noted that in a less than supportive environment, a worker also has a right to workplace accom- modation and does not need to disclose a diagnosis. But fear may prevent the worker from asking for help and result in her suf- fering in silence. Changes to screening processes is is not to say workplace violence should not be prevented. However, if police data- bases contain a record of violent behaviour, is it necessary to know whether it was re- lated to a mental illness? Does knowing someone's health history off er any indication of a person's integrity or safety risk? In fact, some of Canada's provinces rec- ognize a need to limit the type of informa- tion to be released and are moving away from providing non-conviction type of information. Part of the rationale is based on the rec- ognition there is a limit to the type of non- conviction-related mental illness informa- tion prospective employers need. For example, during the 2015 legislative session, Ontario will consider the Police Re- cord Checks Reform Act which would limit the reporting of this type of information to employers. In 2015, British Columbia's Information and Privacy Commissioner recommended that all B.C. police departments implement policies to limit the type of non-conviction information made available; the police throughout the province endorsed it. Now, eff orts are being made towards bringing it into legislation. It appears the provinces and the police are recognizing that someone's mental health history does not off er any indication of a person's integrity or safety risk. If those who are charged to serve and protect recognize this, shouldn't those whom they are charged to protect recog- nize it as well? Carolyn Dewa is a health economist and head of CAMH's Centre for Research on Employment and Workplace Health in Toronto. For more in- formation visit www.camh.ca. F E AT U R E S BACKGROUND SCREENING mental health info