This is also a good idea when hiring assistants. Here in the Las Vegas real estate market I always perform a backround check when hiring someone who is not licensed! This is such a good idea. A great resume could be hiding a very different person who could be involved in drugs, crime, or violence. The liabilities to our own companies is immense. What if one of those workplace violence incidents happens in our office or while a client is present?

The liability for negligence is so great, but I can reduce the risk for my company by running those Pre Employment Screen Background Checks which include Verification of identity, SSN, employment history, education, and address history. Checks State and county criminal records, sexual offender, terrorist watch, credit check, bankruptcy. Federal criminal records. It's not very expensive. It's like $25, and if I'm going to make a job offer, I will always get it done.

But be aware of the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Individuals can just do a background check on anyone, but employers must follow the FCRA guidelines, which mainly say two things:
a) The employer must get written permission from the job applicant before the employer buys a background check on the job applicant. I just put the permission form in with the job application and they always sign it for me.
b) If you do not hire him because of something in the background check, you must tell him what the information was and where you got it. Ok, no problem. I just give him a copy of the paragraph that describes the problem, and I tell him the name of the company that sold me the background check.