Ensure Food Safety Through Pre-employment Screening

The National Restaurant Association projects a workforce of 12.8 million restaurant workers in 2007. According to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, about a fourth of these employees are between the ages of 16 and 19 and work part time. Job openings are expected to be abundant through 2014 because many of these workers will transfer to other occupations or stop working altogether.

Benefits of Pre-screening

Because more businesses within the food industry are actively recruiting new hires to fill employment gaps, foreign workers for international assignments, and contingent workers for short-term projects, there is an increasing need for effective screening practices and policies, particularly for management level positions.

“Employers consistently face hiring risks, including applicant dishonesty, workplace violence, negligent hiring liability, turnover, theft, and fraud,” says Dean Suposs, general manager of ADP Screening and Selection Services, an integrated human resource service provider. “As evidenced by the increased use of pre-employment screening, employers are realizing the value in performing background checks as a way to help ensure a qualified, experienced workforce.”

Hiring managers can use these service providers to obtain background searches and can receive reports and track screening records via vendor Web interfaces. Providers are also offering quicker turnaround times and more accurate information, thanks to a combination of technological innovation and old-fashioned sleuthing.

Pre-screening can help flush out a troublesome employee before he or she is hired and can minimize potential problems within the kitchen or retail establishment. According to statistics provided by ADP for 2006, 50% of employment, education, and/or credential reference checks revealed a discrepancy between the information the applicant provided and that which the source reported. Seven percent of the information differences in reference verification checks returned with negative remarks from the source with regard to the applicant; 5% of applicants who went through the screening process turned up with a county, state, or federal criminal record.

Alternatives to Formal Pre-screening

Should all employees be pre-screened? According to some in the industry, pre-screening all food service employees is impractical and too expensive to consider—especially given the vast numbers hired. “We do not routinely screen employees, other than those being considered for our management program,” says Stephen Martinello, director of quality control and inspectional services for Legal Sea Foods, a Cambridge, Mass.-based fish restaurant and wholesaler. “Instead, we ask our hiring managers to ask applicants practical questions designed to elicit information about their past work history and their ability to communicate with coworkers.”

Jeff Nelken, a forensic food safety consultant, agrees with that approach. “I always like to ask prospective applicants a question that addresses their ability to resolve conflict, something like, ‘How would you handle a coworker who is routinely late and never completes an assigned task?’ The applicant’s response can provide a sense of whether this person prefers a confrontational or a collaborative approach with coworkers. In my experience, collaborative-type workers are less likely to sabotage the workplace, because they don’t let their frustration get the better of them.”

At a minimum, federal law requires food service establishment operators to verify the employment eligibility of all new hires in accordance with the requirements of the Immigration and Nationality Act by completing the INS Employment Eligibility Verification Form (INS Form I-9). In addition, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a series of norms designed to safeguard the food supply in all subsectors throughout the country. Some of the FDA’s guidance relates to pre-employment and includes:

• Examining the background of all staff (including seasonal, temporary, contract, and volunteer staff, whether hired directly or through a recruitment firm) as appropriate to their position;
• Considering candidates’ access to sensitive areas of the facility and the degree to which they will be supervised; and
• Obtaining other relevant factors (i.e., verifying work references, addresses, and phone numbers).

Such screening procedures should be applied equally to all staff, regardless of race, national origin, religion, and citizenship or immigration status.

Appearance Does Matter

June Summers, an independent human resources consultant in the Boston area, suggests that food service hiring managers consider the following when a formalized screening program is not indicated.