Background checks are often requested by prospective employers before hiring someone, or by prospective landlords on applicants for an apartment. Background checks are especially important for employers hiring in the banking or finance industries, school or teaching environments, and for those taking care of children in any capacity. Background checks enable prospective employers to view any criminal history of an applicant in order to ensure the safety of their business and other employees.
Pro: Truth
A background check offers the truth about a given individual, regardless of what he or she has inserted into an employment application or personal information document, enabling a prospective employer to weed out persons who may be undesirable for a job, such as an application from a convicted child molester filling out a job application for a janitor at an elementary school.
Pro: Protection
An employer who first performs a background check on a potential employee protects him or herself, other company employees and even management from injury and sometimes even lawsuits brought by an employee in matters of discrimination or for failure to hire.
Pro: Legality
A background check offers a potential employer to check the truth of a person's criminal (or noncriminal) background while still doing so in a legal manner that protects the employer or apartment manager from lawsuits claiming persecution or charges of discrimination, especially when potential employers or apartment managers inform all prospective employees of background checks performed during the hiring process.
Con: Privacy
Some individuals feel that background checks are a type of privacy invasion and that a background check may contain personal information that a person may not particularly want an employer or other individual to know about. According to CVTips, a job resource website, since 9/11, more employers than ever before are requesting background and security checks on prospective employees in many industries and fields.
Con: Discrimination
In the event a background check illuminates a criminal background or even a background that contains misdemeanors, past and present, a person may very well be turned down for work or promotion in the workplace.
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