大多数雇主正在对候选人进行犯罪背景调查，并且大多数已经实施了药物测试程序。这些调查结果和其他调查结果记录在雇主资源协会最近的一项调查中。
ERA 是一个为雇主提供“人力资源建议、培训、薪酬数据、法律更新、新闻和信息”资源的组织。正如 ERA 解释的那样，该调查广泛关注招聘和招聘流程，而不是只关注背景调查。最常见的就业前检查类型仍然是犯罪历史背景调查。根据 ERA 调查，91% 的雇主使用背景调查作为其招聘流程的标准部分。
虽然背景调查在雇主中的采用率最高，但药物测试也不甘落后，72% 的受访者表示他们对新员工进行药物测试。
这一发现与 2015 年《华盛顿邮报》的一篇文章背道而驰，该文章的标题宣称：“公司的药物测试比以前少得多——因为它真的不起作用。” 那篇文章详细描述了工作场所药物测试的下降，并引用了美国管理协会的研究来支持其说法。引用的研究表明，从 80 年代末到 90 年代中期，就业药物测试激增。1987 年，只有 21% 的雇主在测试他们的员工。到 1996 年，这一比例跃升至 81%，但到 2004 年下降到 62%。
人力资源管理协会 2011 年的一项研究旨在证实这种下降趋势，指出只有 57% 的受访者对其求职者进行了药物测试。如果 ERA 的数字准确并代表整个商业群体，那么药物筛查可能会再次上升。
ERA 调查发现，不到四分之一的雇主将时间或金钱花在性格测试 (22%) 和信用检查 (20%) 等方面。正如报道所解释的那样，越来越多的城市和州不允许雇主合法要求或检查候选人的信用记录，一些专家将这一事实与雇主采用率下降联系起来。对于企业主而言，EEOC 在信用检查方面很挑剔，当财务历史与手头的工作不严格相关时，就会反对使用它们。
The ERA is an organization that provides employers with resources on “HR advice, training, compensation data, legal updates, news, and information.” As the ERA explained, the survey looked broadly at recruiting and hiring processes rather than focusing exclusively on background checks. The most common type of pre-employment check remains the criminal history background check. Per the ERA survey, 91% of employers use background checks as a standard part of their hiring processes.
While background checks have the widest adoption rate among employers, drug tests were not far behind with 72% of all survey respondents reporting that they run drug tests on new hires.
That finding runs counter to a 2015 Washington Post article in which a headline proclaimed, “Companies drug test a lot less than they used to – because it doesn’t really work.” That piece detailed the decline of drug testing in the workplace, citing American Management Association studies to back up its claims. The cited studies illustrated a spike of employment drug testing from the late 80s to the mid-90s. In 1987, only 21% of employers were testing their workers. By 1996, the percentage had jumped to 81%, but it dropped down to 62% by 2004.
A 2011 study from the Society of Human Resources Management aimed to confirm that downward trend, noting that only 57% of survey respondents were running drug tests on their job applicants. If the ERA’s numbers are accurate and representative of the overall business population, drug screening may be on the upward swing once more.
The ERA survey found that less than a quarter of employers were spending time or money on things like personality tests (22%) and credit checks (20%). As coverage has explained, a growing number of cities and states do not allow employers to legally request or check a candidate’s credit history, a fact that some experts link with the drop in employer adoption. Per business owners, the EEOC is picky when it comes to credit checks, pushing back against their use when financial history is not strictly relevant to the job at hand.
