Using Criminal History for Employee Screening

This book addresses the use of criminal history screening in employment decisions, assessing strategies for making fair and valid employment decisions. Contributors include a multidisciplinary range of experts from I/O psychology, criminology, Human Resources, government enforcement, and law.
Among the topics covered:

• Discrimination and related legal risk
• Legal analysis of negligent hiring and related risks
• Legal analysis of employment discrimination
• Current Human Resources practices
• Alternative strategies for reducing risk

Using Criminal History for Employee Screening will serve as a definitive resource for the appropriate and ethical use of criminal history screenings, and will be of use for researchers in I/O psychology and criminology, as well as business professionals in Human Resources and legal fields.

List of contents

1. Introduction.- 2.Statistics on Criminality.- 3.Recidivism Rates and Predictors.- 4.Legal Analysis of Negligent Hiring and Other Risks.- 5.Legal Analysis of Employment Discrimination and Criminal History Screenings.- 6.Government Enforcement Agency Actions and Guidance.- 7.Law Enforcement.- 8.       Understanding the Types of Crimes.- 9.Validation.- 10. What Does One s Criminal History Predict?.- 11.   Current Human Resources Practices.- 12. Alternative Strategies for Reducing Risk.- 13.Best Practices Moving Forward.

About the author

Chester Hanvey, Ph.D. provides consulting services and expert testimony on labor and employment matters. Dr. Hanvey has worked with more than 150 organizations across industries including public and private sectors. He specializes in designing and conducting job analyses, conducting statistical analyses, and reviewing personnel selection systems to evaluate wage and hour compliance, appropriateness of class certification, allegations of employment discrimination, and damages.
Dr. Hanvey’s wage and hour experience includes evaluating FLSA exemptions, measuring compensable time for off-the-clock work claims, evaluating employment status (e.g., independent contractors), and assessing compliance with state meal and rest break compliance.
His experience with employment discrimination claims includes the measurement of adverse impact and assessment of personnel testing validity in the contexts of hiring, promotion, performance evaluation, layoffs and compensation to evaluate alleged discrimination on the basis of protected class membership and disability. Dr. Hanvey has been retained by plaintiffs and defendants as an expert witness to provide expert testimony on issues including wage and hour compliance, statistical sampling, statistical analysis, damages calculations, adverse impact and test validity.
Dr. Hanvey holds a Ph.D. in Industrial/Organizational (I/O) psychology with a minor in quantitative methods (statistics). He has authored books, chapters, and scholarly articles and regularly presents his work at professional conferences on topics including wage and hour litigation, class certification, and statistical analyses. Most notably, he is the author of Wage and Hour Law: Guide to Methods and Analysis (2018) and the co-editor of Practitioner’s Guide to Legal Issues in Organizations (2015). Both books provide practical guidance to Human Resources practitioners and experts working in areas of employment law that are commonly litigated.
Alexander Alonso, Ph.D, SHRM-SCP, is SHRM's Chief Data & Insights Officer leading intelligence, insights, and innovation function. As leader of SHRM’s Research & Insights business units, his total career portfolio has been based upon practical thought leadership designed to make better workplaces and to grow revenue across industry.
Alonso’s thought leadership has been recognized through various bodies including as an inaugural member of SHRM’s Blue-Ribbon Commission on Racial Equity in the Workplace, a coalition designed to foster equitable and inclusive cultures. His research has been featured in numerous media outlets including USA Today, NBC News, BBC, CNN, and more. He has served as a member of several speaker’s bureaus with more than 400 speaking engagements over the last decade.
His works have been recognized for their contribution to real-world human capital issues. They include being recognized with the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP’s) 2007 M. Scott Myers Award for Applied Research in the Workplace for developing the federal standard for learning and development of healthcare providers; a 2009 Presidential Citation for Innovative Practice by the American Psychological Association for designing performance management systems; and the 2013 SIOP Distinguished Early Career Contributions for Practice Award for extensive applied research on the link between human resource management and organizational sustainability.
Throughout his career, he has published works in peer-reviewed journals, authored several chapters on community-based change initiatives in workforce readiness, and authored books like The Price of Pettiness, Talking Taboo: Making the Most of Polarizing Topics (just released), and Defining HR Success: A Guide to the SHRM Competency Model in Practice. Alex also serves as a columnist analyzing major trends in the workforce for TIP and HR Magazine. He has served on several professional society boards including as president for the Personnel Testing Council of Metropolitan Washington Area. Alex currently serves on the Secretary of Defense’s Defense Business Board (DBB), the North American HR management Association (NAHRMA) board, and the Zeal Capital Advisory board. He is a Fellow of SIOP, Division 14 of the American Psychological Association.

Summary

This book addresses the use of criminal history screening in employment decisions, assessing strategies for making fair and valid employment decisions. Contributors include a multidisciplinary range of experts from I/O psychology, criminology, Human Resources, government enforcement, and law.
Among the topics covered:

• Discrimination and related legal risk
• Legal analysis of negligent hiring and related risks
• Legal analysis of employment discrimination
• Current Human Resources practices
• Alternative strategies for reducing risk

Using Criminal History for Employee Screening will serve as a definitive resource for the appropriate and ethical use of criminal history screenings, and will be of use for researchers in I/O psychology and criminology, as well as business professionals in Human Resources and legal fields.

Product details

• Assisted by: Alonso (Editor), Alexander Alonso (Editor), Chester Hanvey (Editor)
• Publisher: Springer, Berlin
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Release: 30.05.2025
• EAN: 9783031827174
• ISBN: 978-3-0-3182717-4
• No. of pages: 104
• Illustrations: VII, 104 p. 3 illus.
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > Psychology > Applied psychology; Verbrechen und Kriminologie (Kriminalistik), Personalmanagement, HRM, Human Resources, Human Resource Management, Screening, Criminology, VALIDATION, Work and Organizational Psychology, Hiring, negligent hiring, background checks, EEO, criminal history, Equal employment opportunity, pre-employment screening, employee selection, employment discrimination, employee screening, criminal history screening