12 suggestions to help
you avoid hiring a Workers’ Compensation claim
Injuries often begin at the date of hire when insufficient
time and resources are committed to ensuring that the employee is a good
fit for the position and company. Many employers are confused about what
they can and cannot do during the hiring process. While federal and state
laws restrict certain questions during the interview process, there are
steps you can take to minimize the possibility of hiring a problem claim.
1. Be sure to conduct a thorough interview with the candidate.
Ask them open-ended questions to see what the individual would do in certain
situations. Some examples are: “What is the greatest challenge that
you’ve had to overcome in your work career?” “Tell about
a time when you had a conflict with: (a boss, subordinate, co-worker). How
did you handle it? What was the end result?” Be sure not to talk the
majority of the time but instead get to know the interviewee.
2. When hiring an individual, it is very important to consider
safe behavior to prevent Workers’ Compensation problems. While an
employer cannot ask the applicant medical questions or whether he or she
ever filed Worker’s Compensation claims, you can ask open-ended safety
questions regarding the job at hand and how they would perform the essential
functions of the job. Let the applicants know that if they’re accepted
for a job, they’ll go through a fitness-for-duty physical and be asked
questions about their medical history. (see # 11)
3. To get a good understanding of the individual’s work ethic,
ask questions regarding tardiness and sick leave. While you can’t
ask, “How many days were you absent last year due to illness?”
or “Have you filed a Workers’ Compensation claim?” a good
way to bring these up is: “Describe your attendance record as an employee
of ABC company.”
4. Conduct a thorough background check, but be sure to obtain a
written consent from the candidate before doing so.
5. Be sure to verify past employment claims and follow
up with references. Even though many employers will only verify positions
and dates of employment, you can usually infer what the employer thinks
based on the tone of voice. Find out if the individual is eligible for rehire.
Pay careful attention to “gaps” in employment history.
6. Conduct criminal conviction checks. Most public records
services have criminal convictions records for almost every large county
in the United States.
7. Include job-related injuries, Workers’ Compensation
claims, substance abuse and safety records as part of a background check.
Be cautious if there is what appears to be a negative pattern.
8. Verify education and certification accomplishments.
School and universities will be able to verify if an individual graduated.
If a person claims to have a license or other certifications, be sure to
call the issuing organization to verify.
9. If hiring a driver, be sure to compare the results of
the driver’s official motor vehicle report with answers to the driving
record and driving violations questions on the application. You need to
know if an applicant is hiding a bad-driving record.
10. Many companies also use skill and personality testing
to assess competency and isolate undesirable personality characteristics
associated with stealing or poor work ethics. Whatever tools and standards
employers use to screen applicants, they should establish reasonable criteria
and apply them uniformly and strive for transparency.
11. Make a conditional job offer, contingent upon the employee’s
ability to perform the essential functions of the job. While the Americans
with Disabilities Act (ADA) does not allow you to ask questions about disability
or use medical examinations during the interview process, once you make
a conditional job offer, you may ask disability-related questions and conduct
medical examinations as long as you do this for everyone in the same job
category. The job offer may be withdrawn, if in a medical opinion, the employee
poses a direct threat (i.e., a significant risk of substantial harm) to
the health and safety of themselves or others (with reasonable accommodation
for those employers subject to ADA).
12. After a conditional job offer, drug screening is a
very useful technique conducted by many companies not only on new hires
but also on current employees. Frequent drug users are a larger liability
due to possible theft and injury.
This article is for informational purposes only and should not be construed
as providing legal advice. No actions should be in conflict with state and
federal laws.
|