Question

Sophia makes it a practice to call each applicant's former employers to verify employment claims and determine whether there were any behavioral problems in prior jobs. Her company is now being sued because a new hire had an automobile accident while on a delivery run. It turned out he had a history of reckless driving charges in his past two jobs. But she wasn't told about those when she talked with the former employers. Should Sophia be worried?

A. Yes. Almost certainly, Sophia will be blamed for negligent hiring. She has little defense. She should have found out about the new employee's previous employment issues.
B. No. She tried to get information from the previous employers and they wouldn't talk to her. She made a good faith effort. She is off the hook.
C. Yes. Sophia is going to have to explain to her attorney why she hired this person when there was such a bad history of workplace behavior.
D. Yes. In this instance, she should also have conducted a search of his driving record before hiring him into a job that required driving for deliveries. She shouldn't have relied on only former employer input.

Answer 1

Sophia should be worried because she may be blamed for negligent hiring. Employers should conduct thorough background checks and not solely rely on input from former employers.

Step-by-step explanation:

Sophia should be worried because she will likely be blamed for negligent hiring. She had a responsibility to verify the new hire's employment claims and check for any behavioral problems in prior jobs. It is important for employers to conduct thorough background checks and not solely rely on input from former employers. In this case, Sophia should have also conducted a search of the new hire's driving record before hiring him for a job that required driving for deliveries.