Restaurant Group Tightens Security

The California Restaurant Assn. is unveiling a program today for its 18,000 member restaurants that will screen potential hires by using, among other things, reports from credit bureaus and the Department of Motor Vehicles.

The association says the service is aimed at addressing the industry’s long-standing problem with high turnover as well as more recent concerns about food and water safety since Sept. 11.

The checks require consent from prospective employees.

Still, analysts expressed concern about the increased use of pre-employment background checks, saying that prospective workers with less-than-pristine credit records could be disqualified without the chance to defend themselves.

Christopher Muller, a management professor at the University of Central Florida in Orlando, said restaurants, service stations and grocery stores often have been employers of last resort for the hard-core unemployed, such as ex-felons.

“Look, these guys have already paid their debt to society and are motivated to turn it around,” Muller said. “Where are they going to go if they can’t work as a chef or busboy?”

Kristen Short, a spokeswoman for the association, said job applicants with spotty records could let prospective employers know before the background checks, so as to defuse the issue and provide a complete explanation.

She said members have expressed increasing interest in security issues since Sept. 11, and she added that many are likely to take advantage of the new service.

“Owners want to be able to assure customers that, yes, the food is safe, and that they’ve done a thorough background check on everyone to ensure it stays that way,” she said.

After the terrorist attacks, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration suggested that restaurants, supermarkets and farms consider criminal background checks on employees as precautionary measures against possible tampering with food and water supplies. The FDA did not mention credit checks.

The CRA program, run in conjunction with AbsoluteBackgrounds.com, an employee screening firm near Sacramento, will offer association members a 10% discount on a variety of checks. The fees will range from $5 to verify Social Security numbers to $18 for criminal searches, said Steve Pearce, the company’s vice president for marketing.

The association will receive 5% of the revenue generated by its members.