If other employees are endangered by a violent employee, the employer may possibly be found at fault, guilty of negligent hiring. Since employers lose 79% of all negligent hiring lawsuits and the average award is over $1.6 million ("Public Personnel Mgt", USA Today, Nov 21, 2003), hiring the right people is vital not only to your employees' safety, but also to the survival of your company.

Three simple steps can help show that your company took due diligence in reviewing your new employee:

1. Carefully review applications.
2. Check references.
3. Conduct pre-employment background screens.

Nextep can assist in conducting pre-employment background screening. E-mail hr@nextep.com for further details.