Ann: “Cutting Edge, this is Ann.”
Customer: “I hear that you think it’s the “Season” again. It’s only May. Take that ridiculous Santa hat off. I know you’re wearing it.”
Ann (slips Santa hat into desk drawer): “It IS the season. Seasonal hiring. All the rec centers, yard crews, lifeguards by the. . .by the way, whaddya call a gaggle of lifeguards? A goggle!”
Customer: “I see where you’re going with this. What’s the hitch with the kids I hire during the summer?”
Ann: “I thought you’d never ask.”
Summer seasonal hiring has the same caveats from the background check industry as does the seasonal hiring you see around the more traditional holidays:
- Seasonal employees have no vested interest in your company.
- Temporary employees who may not have steady work may be already strapped for cash and tempted to steal.
- More work and busier supervisors may make stealing without notice that much easier.
But consider this as well:
- Are your seasonal workers under 18? Be sure a parent or guardian signs off on their Authorization form. They are below the age of majority and can’t give that informed consent on their own.
- And if your seasonal worker is under 18—is there a point or reason to doing a background check on them? What about juvenile records? Crimes committed as a juvenile are reportable in most jurisdictions if the individual was charged as an adult. Not something we see a lot of, but it does happen.
- You are still liable for negligent hiring no matter the season or the age of the employee. Be diligent.
Be as careful with your summer hires as you are with your regular staff, and you’ll (yule) be sitting by the pool with SPF 100 sunscreen and not a care in the world. Ask us how.
