Canadian HR Reporter

CANADIAN HR REPORTER FEBRUARY 2018 20 FEATURES BACKGROUND SCREENING Getting past the criminal record With the legalization of marijuana, employers could be missing out on valuable candidates, judging by initiatives in the United States By Kael Campbell W ith Canada's estimated annual marijuana market at $8.7 billion, there are thousands of talented people who have developed and supplied this market for decades. Imagine receiving a resumé stating: "Detail-oriented manager with experience successfully man- aging a modern agricultural pro- duction, distribution and retail operation. Ensured the market- ing, delivery and sale of branded products to thousands of happy, repeat clients throughout Canada. Delivered consistent profits with annual revenue growth rates ex- ceeding 10 per cent." But many of these people may also have one glaring drawback — a criminal record. Is this so bad? Where are the statistics that say people with a criminal record make for bad employees? As we start 2018, with Canada set to legalize marijuana, there will be thousands of people who were convicted of minor drug of- fences who may be ineligible for jobs because of decisions they made in the past. Many job ads today state crimi- nal record checks will be done. is means millions of Canadians simply don't apply, while employ- ers choose not to hire great candi- dates because they did something that was once illegal but is now embraced by politicians. U.S. proponents ey would be making a mistake, according to a study south of the border, which found convicted criminal records not only made for better employees, but had higher retention rates and made for better leaders. Faced with high employment levels in the 2000s and the need to support deployed troops over- seas, the United States army de- cided to relax the requirements for recruits, so it ended up hiring 4,862 convicted felons from 2002 until 2009. Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass., went on to analyze their length of service, promotions and reasons for sepa- ration, and then compared them to 1.3 million enlistees without felony convictions. It found those with criminal records were no more likely to be terminated before completing their contracts, or to face disci- plinary action. On the other hand, army recruits with felony convic- tions were five per cent more likely to achieve promotions, and they were also promoted quicker. Yes, some employment envi- ronments may be more relaxed and less structured than the U.S. army but, given the chance, a per- son who has built good habits in one environment will carry them into the next. e likelihood of hiring a top-performing employee is a pretty convincing argument to try out a candidate. U.S. employers and politicians are increasingly realizing that the 70 million Americans with a crim- inal record deserve employment, and are turning to both legislative and business solutions. Andrew Cuomo, governor of New York, for example, created a pledge that 80 companies so far have signed, committing themselves to con- sider hiring qualified candidates with criminal convictions. e U.S. also provides a finan- cial incentive to employers for hiring those with a criminal. Un- der the Work Opportunity Tax Credit, a maximum tax credit of US$2,400 per employee is avail- able through a program running until at least 2019. Implications for Canada About 3.8 million Canadians — 23 per cent men and 4.3 per cent women — have a criminal record, according to the John Howard Society. Additionally, a large percentage of people who have criminal records are Indigenous, meaning that criminal record checks could disproportionately disadvantage this population. Of the 3.8 million, 500,000 have mi- nor drug offences, according to Canada's Health Minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor, speaking to the CBC in November. But Canada has another com- pelling reason for employers to consider rehabilitated people — Correctional Service Canada's non-profit organization called CORCAN. It offers employment training and employability skills to offenders in federal correction- al institutions. e organization produces thousands of job-ready employees every year. Trained by professionals and working day in and day out, they specialize in fields that include construction, maintenance and manufacturing. CORCAN is a self-funding or- ganization that also partners with private and not-for-profit sec- tor groups. From building hous- ing for Habitat for Humanity, to manufacturing office furniture to rebuilding military ambulances, CORCAN uses the skills of pro- fessionals to train and develop those with aptitude and interest. As unemployment levels con- tinue to drop in Canada — cur- rently below six per cent — em- ployers in southern Ontario and British Columbia are seeing a tightening of available talent. ey are complaining that it is tough to even get people to show up for interviews, much less find new employees to hire. Turning to those with a criminal record, and even those recently released from prison, is a really good option. Beyond the business case to hire people with criminal records, there is also a social case. By help- ing a person gain employment, we greatly reduce the risk that people will re-offend. is reduces crime in our communities, and reduces the cost to victims of crime, police, courts and our prison systems. Kael Campbell is president of Red Seal Recruiting Solutions in Victoria. For more information, visit www.redseal recruiting.com or call (855) 733-7325. Credit: BPTU (Shutterstock) intolerant or otherwise distaste- ful behaviours that would not appear during the interview pro- cess and could affect an employ- er's reputation. However, social media may contain personal in- formation that goes beyond what a prospective employer can law- fully collect, so it must carefully consider when, who and how to conduct social media checks. Creating a policy A background screening policy should first define its scope and purpose. Especially where it ap- plies in multiple jurisdictions, it may be useful to note the laws that apply to different parts of the program (and those laws should, of course, be taken into account while writing the policy). e policy should then outline the practical details of the pro- gram, which may be broken out into standard operating proce- dures for different business units. Below are a few items to con- sider when writing the policy: • Determine which types or levels of employee will be subject to which background check ser- vices and why. It is important to justify each type of personal in- formation collected in the con- text of the position. • Determine when background checks will be conducted. You may want to collect certain infor- mation early in the process, but hold off until after a candidate has been selected to collect more sensitive personal information. • Explain the process for how the background checks will be performed and reviewed. Will a third-party vendor be used? How does ordering work? How is consent collected from the candidate? Who reviews results, and what is the escalation pro- cess in case adverse information is found? Who has the ultimate decision-making authority? • Include a process to protect the privacy and confidentiality of information that is included in background forms and reports, and respect candidates' privacy rights, namely by ensuring they are given advance notice of (and, if necessary, provide written con- sent for) the background check, are informed of adverse informa- tion that's found, and have an op- portunity to review and dispute personal information collected from third parties. It is crucial to understand the various federal, provincial and ter- ritorial rules around privacy and human rights in Canada and how they affect employment screen- ing. e background screening policy must be developed with these rules in mind to limit an em- ployer's exposure to complaints or legal claims that could result in time-consuming investigations, expensive settlements or harm to a company's brand. It's also wise to write the policy with the company's risk profile in mind, have it vetted by legal coun- sel, and then follow it consistently with all new hires. Not only will a carefully crafted policy help guide a business to stay compli- ant from the start, it will help the employer explain the program to candidates and defend it against any complaints. A background screening policy is a living document that needs to be continually reviewed as laws, regulatory guidance and company needs change. Like all company policies, an annual review and update is a good practice. Every employer and every role is different, so the checks that make up a screening program will vary. It's recommended employ- ers speak to a specialized back- ground screening vendor and outside legal counsel for guid- ance in designing its program. While some background screening can be conducted in- house, third-party providers can provide access to information that may not otherwise be accessible, and provide subject-matter exper- tise in the design of a compliant, efficient and consistent program. A screening company can also leverage its size, technology and global footprint to speed up the process and reduce time to hire. Mark Sward is director of privacy at Sterling Talent Solutions in Montreal. For more information, visit www.sterlingtalentsolutions.com. POLICY < pg. 19 Define scope, purpose

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