Benefits April 25, 2005

ADP: 16% Rise In Use of Background Checks in 2004

April 25, 2005 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - There was a 16% rise in the number of background checks performed in 2004, the seventh year in a row that there has been an increase in pre-employment screening, according to a new study.
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According to a study by ADP Employers Services, there were over 4,300,000 background checks done in 2004, up from over 3,750,000 in the previous year. The 2004 figure is more than triple that seen in 1997, the first year of the survey.

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These tests brought with them interesting results as well, the report states. According to ADP, 50% of all checks revealed a difference of informationbetween what the applicant provided and the source reported. However, in 2004, this figure was down 2% from the year before.

In addition, 5% of checks resulted in the finding of a criminal record in 2004, and 29% revealed a driving violation of conviction. Eight percent found previous workers’ compensation claims, while 45% showed a judgment, lien or bankruptcy, or that they had been reported to acollection agency.

Not all tests are reliable, however. ADP found that 9% of all tests contain a data inconsistency or negative information, with such problems divided into five categories: criminal records, driving records, creditrecords, workers’ compensation claims and reference verifications.

For more on the study, see http://www.adphire.com/hiringindex .

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