Limit Your Exposure- Tip #1

As you may already know, employers face possible exposure for the acts of their employees just because of the employer-employee relationship (which is arcanely known as the master/servant relationship). For instance, the corporate employer can be vicariously liable for the acts of the account manager charged with sexual harassment. I don't need to tell you how this can impact your business.

But a corporate employer can also be sued directly when an employee is charged with doing something wrong. That's right, businesses can be sued for the negligent hiring of an employee who committed a tort or a crime. But, before you despair, let me remind you that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. In other words, I'm going to give you a little tip that will help limit your exposure against the possibility of such a cause of action ever being successful against your business.

The law in Florida says that if the employer conducts a background check before it hires an employee, there is a presumption that the employer is not negligent in the hiring of such employee. The law also spells out exactly what this background check must entail:

(a) Obtaining a criminal background investigation on the prospective employee under subsection (2) (which is below);
(b) Making a reasonable effort to contact references and former employers of the prospective employee concerning the suitability of the prospective employee for employment;
(c) Requiring the prospective employee to complete a job application form that includes questions concerning whether he or she has ever been convicted of a crime, including details concerning the type of crime, the date of conviction and the penalty imposed, and whether the prospective employee has ever been a defendant in a civil action for intentional tort, including the nature of the intentional tort and the disposition of the action;
(d) Obtaining, with written authorization from the prospective employee, a check of the driver's license record of the prospective employee if such a check is relevant to the work the employee will be performing and if the record can reasonably be obtained; or
(e) Interviewing the prospective employee.
(2) To satisfy the criminal-background-investigation requirement of this section, an employer must request and obtain from the Department of Law Enforcement a check of the information as reported and reflected in the Florida Crime Information Center system as of the date of the request.

The statute that contains all of this information is 768.096 Fla. Stat. Make this background check a part of your hiring practices and you will be entitled to a presumption in your favor should your business be sued for negligent hiring. Have a great weekend!!