Over 90% of US employers use criminal background checks to screen some or all their prospective new hires, and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recommends “individualized assessments” in using these reports to make employment decisions.

To help hiring professionals comply with the EEOC guidelines and build a fairer hiring process, the background check company Checkr has developed an online, interactive Fair Assessment Course and Certification. The one-hour course defines background report terminology and uses scenarios to support learning and help companies refine their hiring criteria and rationale for assessing candidates.

Valued at $149, the course is available for free with the discount code fairchance_web2019.

Halili Knox, Senior Customer Education Manager at Checkr notes that a primary benefit of the course has been “the broader conversations it fosters about the advantages of implementing fair chance hiring practices,” especially to open up new talent pools.

Checkr sees compliance as the first step on the continuum of becoming a Fair Chance employer and is currently developing a follow-on course that will target staff beyond HR and focus on the workflows of hiring, onboarding, training and engaging new workers.

Ultimately, Checkr’s vision is to normalize Fair Chance hiring, helping employers to manage risk and helping candidates with criminal records to compete more fairly in the labor market.

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