Who Should Pay For Police Background Checks?
@danishcanadian (28953)
Canada
June 15, 2019 7:24am CST
An interesting debate came up on a local news website, and I thought it would bring it here. The subject of the debate is background checks one must get before getting a job, or volunteering. The question is whom should pay for these checks. the organization, or the individual?
Personally I feel that if an organization wants someone on the job, they should pay for any necessary checks. A lot of people take jobs because they need money, and essential as the background check is, not everyone can afford one.
Volunteers should have theirs paid for by the organizations, since they do not get paid.
Another great option that someone suggested is to initially pay for the criminal background check, and if you come back clean, you'll be reimbursed. That could be a motivation to stay out of trouble.
5 people like this
6 responses
@srhelmer (7029)
• Beaver Dam, Wisconsin
15 Jun 19
We are actually having this discussion at the ice rink where my daughter skates. It's a volunteer-run rink and, because the volunteers are around a lot of young children, we are considering requiring background checks for them. But, the rink is a non-profit and can't afford to pay for them and, at the same time, if we ask the volunteers to pay for them, we are afraid we will lose volunteers.
1 person likes this
@pumpkinjam (8540)
• United Kingdom
17 Jun 19
I've had a few jobs where I had to pay for my own background check. Some take it from the first one or two wage packets. Others expect it to be paid upfront. There have been times when I've had to turn down a job because I couldn't afford to pay for the background checks.
I do think that it's something for which an employer should pay. It's all very well suggesting to pay and then be reimbursed but that could deter people from going for jobs if they can't afford to do it.
@BarBaraPrz (45484)
• St. Catharines, Ontario
15 Jun 19
The only time I needed a background check was when I volunteered for the policing centre, and they did it for free.
@scarlet_woman (23465)
• United States
16 Jun 19
they should,IMO.at the very least they should have something reuseable for multiple applications.
@moffittjc (118435)
• Gainesville, Florida
15 Jun 19
At my organization, we pay for everyone's background checks...both for hiring employees and for accepting volunteer help. Background checks help reduce the liability on a company, so for that the cost should be absorbed by the company. It's cheaper for them to pay for a background check than to have to pay up in a lawsuit later because they hired a psycho or something.
