How to Fairly and Legally Evaluate Applicants' Criminal History

Mike Coffey

Mike Coffey is president of Imperative Information Group.

Mike is an entrepreneur, human resources professional, licensed private investigator, and HR consultant.

In 1999, he created Imperative to bring high quality, high tech, and high touch to the employment screening market. Today, Imperative serves hundreds of businesses across the US and, through its PFC Caregiver Services brand, many more private estates, family offices, and personal service agencies.

In addition to Imperative, Mike has been involved in retail and property management startups and regularly consults and speaks on people and process issues. Mike maintains his certification as a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) through the HR Certification Institute. He is also a SHRM Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP). Mike lives in Fort Worth with his very patient wife and three amazing sons. He maintains his sanity by practicing yoga and improv comedy, often unintentionally at the same time.

How to Legally and Meaningfully Discuss Criminal History with Applicants

In order to effectively and consistently evaluate the criminal histories of prospective and current employees, it is important that employers consider which criminal offenses are relevant to specific jobs. Additionally, the age and frequency of offenses should also be considered when evaluating relevancy. In this event, we will walk through the process of developing a criminal history relevance matrix, an effective tool for documenting employers’ policies with regard to the impact of individuals’ criminal histories on their employment eligibility.

Sponsored by

SHRM Recertification Credit: Pending

The use of this seal is not an endorsement by HR Certification Institute of the quality of the program. It means that this program has met HR Certification Institute's criteria to be pre-approved for recertification credit. 

 HRCI Recertification Credit: Pending