Individualized Applicant Assessment (IAA) provides empirical guidance, compliance assistance and documentation of process to employers when they use criminal record information.

In 2012, the EEOC issued 52 pages of new guidance regarding employers’ use of criminal records for employment screening purposes. It is a major focus of the EEOC and they have gone from less than 50 investigations in 2006 to nearly 600 in 2012. In 2012, the EEOC recovered $365.2 million in settlements. There were 99,412 cases filed with the EEOC in 2012.

Meanwhile, the courts, through the negligent hiring doctrine, are increasingly imposing an obligation on employers to assess the nature of the job, its degree of risk to third parties and perform a reasonable background investigation to ensure the applicant is competent and fit for employment—and criminal records are major part of the investigation.

IAA is an online assessment tool developed with industry experts and employment law attorneys that allows employers to assess the job, the offense and obtain practical “job-related and consistent with business necessity” guidance while ensuring EEOC guidelines are followed and the process is documented.