Negligent hiring definition: Negligent hiring is when an employee makes a legal claim against their employer in the wake of them doing something unlawful, or which has in some way compromised the integrity or reputation of the company. In the process, the employee claims that their employer should have known about a blind spot in their personality or past behavior that would have given a great indication that they would in some way be prone to violent, criminal, or otherwise disruptive behavior in the work place.
When hiring an employee, the employer often does so with a huge burden that should not be easily ignored. An employer has to make sure that the person they are employing will not go on to do something that could cause harm in the workplace, either to another employee, to the firm itself, or to other citizens. In the case of driving jobs, a business is recommended to execute driving record checks of all applicants to ensure that they are not hiring someone who will prove to be unsafe on the road. By performing the adequate checks, including a check driver’s license the business is removing the possibility of problems - and lawsuits - arising in the future.
Negligent hiring lawsuits are becoming more frequent, and their proliferation is beginning to harm businesses, as well as striking fear within other businesses. With the amount of information now available to companies who are looking to hire employees, such as consumer credit reports, the likelihood of a successful negligent hiring should diminish. Yet, although consumer credit reports offer adequate information to the employer that should help them to determine whether or not an applicant is likely to cause disruption or violence in their work force, some businesses continue to ignore what is in front of them. In these cases, when an employer doesn’t perform due diligence, any employee who should have been deemed unfit to work on the basis of their investigative consumer report, that goes onto cause harm in the workforce has the right to bring negligent hiring cases against their employee.
Negligent hiring and retention cases are not limited to the damaged employee who has undertaken a violent act at work; there are also legal claims made by employees who have been affected by the actions of a violent co-worker, who they will claim should either have not been hired in the first place, or who should have been fired at an earlier time. These actions can include, but are not limited to, shootings, sexual harassment, or dishonesty. The claims are based on the argument by the affected or injured employee that the company they work for should have known that the guilty employee had previously displayed an insight as to their future behavior. The fact that an employer should have known that something disastrous could eventually happen, and that they therefore are guilty of negligent hiring, forms the basis of the claims, and often leads to the firm being sued for millions of dollars.
4SafeDrivers know how costly negligent hiring can be, not only to a businesses finances, but also to their reputation. We therefore provide multiple orders of driving records for a special discount price, so that you can safely conduct background checks on all your future employees, making sure you make the right decision. Visit our website today or call us on 1-877-753-6667 to find out more.
