Lexology (03/14/12) Ed Magarian; Jillian Kornblatt

Experts say businesses that contract with staffing firms to engage workers with access to consumer identity information should ensure the staffing firm conducts background checks for employees placed at their company, and the background checks should be similar to those performed on their permanent employees. The contract should state the method and conditions under which the staffing firm discloses negative information uncovered by the background check prior to placing a temporary worker and the type of approval granted by the employer before placement occurs.

Although employers may avoid liability for certain acts committed by temporary workers employed by a staffing firm, they may still be found liable if they were negligent in selecting the staffing firm that conducted the background check or fail to exercise appropriate oversight or training of the temporary worker. Employers also must comply with laws governing the use of information gleaned from pre-employment background checks.