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Negligent hiring
Workplace violence and theft is a growing threat to today’s businesses. Violence costs companies nationwide over $30 billion annually. The median cost of a single theft at work is well over $100,000. As if these costs were not bad enough, a concept called the negligent hiring theory is making these crimes even more threatening.
Negligent hiring is an employer’s failure to use reasonable care in the employee selection process, resulting in harm caused to others. Every employer has a right and responsibility to hire the best person for the job, but employers also have a legal duty not to hire people who could pose a threat of harm to others. That threat can include everything from slight to fatal bodily injury, theft, arson, or property damage. Therefore, employers are required to use reasonable care when hiring employees, to reduce risk.
In negligent hiring suits, courts may hold an employer liable for an employee’s tortuous actions, if the employer did not meet a certain standard of care in selecting the employee, including failing to conduct a background check or not conducting the background check thoroughly. Courts hold employers responsible both for what they do know and what they should have known about their employees. Courts repeatedly find employers responsible for the criminal actions of employees on the job.
However, taking reasonable steps such as performing background checks to ensure workplace safety can help protect your company from these legal problems. If a violent act occurs, background checks may also show that the employer did not act negligently and took reasonable care to prevent harm. This is called “due diligence.” See the EZ Explanation called Background Checks.
Negligent retention
Employers may also be held liable on the grounds of negligent retention of an employee who has a known propensity for violence or other criminal acts. Employers have a legal duty under the negligent retention doctrine to heed notice of threats and harassment that occur within the workplace and adequately respond to employees’ complaints and warnings about potentially dangerous employees.