Canadian HR Reporter

CANADIAN HR REPORTER FEBRUARY 2018 FEATURES 21 Order your copy today. Visit www.store.thomsonreuters.ca or call 1-800-387-5164 for a 30-day, no risk evaluation ONTARIO LAWYER'S PHONE BOOK 2018 Ontario Lawyer's Phone Book is your best connection to legal services in Ontario with more than 1,400 pages of essential legal references. You can depend on the accuracy of this trusted directory that includes the most up-to-date names, phone numbers, mailing addresses and emails so you don't have to search anywhere else. More detail and a wider scope of legal contact information for Ontario: • Over 26,800 lawyers listed • Over 8,500 law firms and corporate offices listed • Fax and telephone numbers, e-mail addresses, office locations and postal codes Includes lists of: • Federal and provincial judges • Federal courts • Ontario courts and services • Small claims courts • The Institute of Law Clerks of Ontario Perfectbound Published December each year On subscription $85 One time purchase $88.50 L7798-7858 Multiple copy discounts available Plus applicable taxes and shipping & handling. (prices subject to change without notice) Your instant connection to ONTARIO'S LEGAL NETWORK BACKGROUND SCREENING The basics: Criminal background checks Employers have several options to consider when screening candidates By Alysha Feasby P eople lie, this we know. Just look at the results of a 2015 survey by Career- Builder Canada that found 49 per cent of more than 400 hiring managers have caught a lie on a job applicant's resumé. Looking to combat this, many HR professionals are familiar with the process of criminal background checks in Canada, knowing how to conduct them, and why they are necessary. But are they up-to-date on the latest developments? When completing any pre- employment screening, the background screening process should be evaluated regularly to remain current. Types of checks ere are three types of crimi- nal background checks to screen job candidates before offering employment: Police record checks: Crimi- nal record checks or police record checks involve a search based on an applicant's name or aliases, date of birth, and gender. ey provide information related to criminal convictions that have not been pardoned by the RCMP. Searches from these checks are sourced by the Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC) da- tabase, which is managed by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), and are not certified. Police information check: Police information checks report on pending charges, discharges, warrants, and prohibitions. These checks use the Police Information Portal. Unlike the record check, this background screening locates current contacts with local po- lice, including suspect records and current convictions that may not already be logged in the CPIC database. is check is advantageous be- cause it can be more current than information logged in the CPIC database, which is sometimes out of date. Vulnerable sector record check: e objective of a vulner- able sector check is to protect children and other vulnerable persons. It checks whether an ap- plicant has a criminal record, as well as any record suspensions or pardons for sexual offences, and any police records related to the check. Vulnerable sector checks are governed by section 6.3(3) of the Criminal Records Act. Information for these checks can come from: • local police records • the Police Information Portal • the National Repository of Crim- inal Records • the CPIC. Who needs a check For both criminal and vulnerable checks, it is the responsibility of the employer or HR representa- tive to determine who needs to be checked based on a company's policies and procedures. It is wise to review the crimi- nal record of applicants who are interested in positions in the fol- lowing sectors: health care, edu- cation, finance, HR, information technology, security and research and development. e following industries should also have vulnerable sector checks as a part of their screening pro- cess: education, health care, child care and sports team coaches. Local laws may also require vulnerable sector checks, so it is important to review those to ensure compliance. And, again, it is important that every organization has established policies and procedures for who is required to get a background check of any kind. Who conducts the checks With both certified and uncerti- fied criminal background checks and vulnerable sector checks, it is the responsibility of the employer or HR representative to initiate the check based on a company's policies and procedures. To initiate a criminal record check, the designated individual should contact police services or a third-party service provider in Canada that specializes in these types of checks. Police services use a job candi- date's basic personal information to perform searches in the na- tional database and its own local police records. ird-party background check companies will do the same, and may also request additional checks of other national databases as a part of their service. Vulnerable sector checks are only conducted by the Canadian police service where the job candidate lives. To obtain a vulnerable sector check, the designated individual should refer applicants to his local police service in his jurisdiction. It is the responsibility of the applicant to go to his local police department to get the police in- formation check and provide it to the employer. Consistency is important when running pre-employment screenings of any kind. Every organization with employees should have documented policies and procedures related to back- ground screenings. ese poli- cies and procedures, and adher- ence to them, will help prevent bad hire situations, as well as the legal implications that can result from them. Requirements, considerations The requirements for actually running a criminal background check vary based on the type of check being run. Police or uncer- tified criminal record checks and vulnerable sector checks only require a candidate's name (and aliases, as applicable), date of birth and gender. Employers also need signed consent and identification verification. Some background screening companies have the ability to use electronic ID verification (E-IV) rather than having witness signa- tures, and ID. But if an employer does not have access to the tech- nology, it would require two piec- es of identification and a witness signature, verifying the identity of the candidate. Certified checks require fin- gerprints to verify an individual's identity. Employers should also consider the following: • Informed consent and disclo- sure: Criminal information can- not be released without the full, informed and voluntary consent of a job candidate. Employers should give job applicants an opportunity to divulge their criminal backgrounds. is in- formation can be verified during the check. • Position relevance: Background checks should be relevant to the job the applicant is applying for. All information released must be predetermined and limited by the relevance to the job. • Data privacy: Employers should comply with data privacy laws, including but not limited to the Personal Information Protec- tion and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) and the Privacy Act. National consumer report- ing and human and civil rights laws should also be considered. • Dispute: If an applicant feels the results of a check are disputable, she must be given the opportuni- ty to challenge the accuracy and comprehensiveness of the infor- mation resulting from a check. Compliance an ongoing concern Compliance is an ongoing con- cern for every company, so it is important for HR professionals to be aware of legal changes on both a national and local level. For example, some provinces have enacted laws similar to the data privacy laws mentioned above. Additionally, there have been recent changes to the RCMP consent form requirements that should be adhered to. A complete understanding of the benefits and requirements of criminal background checks will help employers maintain a com- prehensive and compliant pre- employment screening process. Alysha Feasby is an account manager at Triton Canada in Toronto, a service provider that provides criminal back- ground checks. For more information, visit www.tritoncanada.ca. Credit: BPTU (Shutterstock)

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