Chester County Human Resources Association Event 

Background Checks: Criminal, Credit and Social Networking Remember that particularly problematic employee you hired? You thought, well, how could I have known the situation would be that bad? Simple answer — background checks. Part of making the decision of who is the best applicant to hire for a position should be ensuring that this person has not engaged in any kind of conduct in the past that reasonably should disqualify the applicant from employment. This session will discuss the benefits and risks of conducting background checks. Special attention will be paid to the EEOC’s new Guidance regarding criminal checks as well as the use of social media websites in the screening process.

Author: Michael S. Cohen concentrates his practice in the areas of employment law training and counseling. Mr. Cohen has trained and counseled employers throughout the country on subjects including harassment prevention; workplace diversity; discipline and discharge; hiring and recruiting practices; performance evaluations; FMLA, ADA and FLSA compliance; leave of absence policies; performance management; workplace privacy; sexual orientation and gender identity in the workplace; substance abuse testing; workplace violence; records retention; conducting background checks; teens in the workplace and managing attendance problems. He has conducted trainings for executives, directors, managers, supervisors and employees in many industries, including financial services, healthcare, pharmaceutical, manufacturing, retail, real estate development, law firms and human services. Mr. Cohen also has conducted trainings for executives, deans and faculty in several institutions of higher education and secondary education. He has conducted more than 150 trainings in the last year.

Mr. Cohen has conducted investigations into claims of harassment and discrimination and has drafted employee handbooks, employment agreements, noncompete agreements and post-termination agreements. He has represented clients throughout the country in EEO and other administrative proceedings.

This program has been submitted for HRCI credits