Navarete v Naperville Psychiatric Ventures Case Study

Navarete v Naperville Psychiatric Ventures Case Study

Legal Issue in the Case

The legal issue in the case is whether Naperville Psychiatric Ventures conducted sufficient background checks on Shabazz before hiring him. Having been previously convicted of child abuse, robbery, and assault, the new hire would not have been hired if these facts had come out clearly (Knight, 2017). Another legal issue is whether Naperville Psychiatric Ventures is responsible for their employee’s wrongdoing.

Case Facts

One of the weighty facts of the case is that Shabazz had previously been convicted as a child offender. The conviction required that he enter as a child offender, but he failed. Therefore, it was not easy for the company to know that he had a history of criminal convictions. Another notable fact is that the plaintiff, Navarete, willingly invited the offender into her house. The company’s responsibility for contributing to the offense is allayed (Walsh, 2019).

Evaluation of the Case-Based on Four Elements of a Claim

To prove negligent hiring, a claimant must demonstrate the four elements of a claim. The first element is the standard of duty expected from an employer (Shattuck, 1989). An employer is expected to avoid hiring unfit individuals if they know that such individuals will harm others. A claimant can also make a successful claim if they anticipate unfitness from an individual or if it is public policy. Naperville Psychiatric Ventures undertook necessary background checks, making the claim unqualified.

Other elements of a claim include an employee failing to exercise some degree of care and hiring unqualified individuals. Naperville Psychiatric Ventures exercised the necessary care. Also, a claim is justified if an unfit employee harms a coworker. Finally, an employer may be liable if the failure to exercise a degree of care is the proximate cause of harm. The claim against Naperville Psychiatric Ventures is justified only because an employee with a lousy record harmed a coworker (Shattuck, 1989). 

Significance of the Case in Background Checks

The Navarete v. Naperville Psychiatric Ventures case emphasizes the need for employers to conduct background checks on new hires. A primary motivation for running such a process is to ensure safety by avoiding hires that may harm coworkers and others (SHRM, 2019). The precaution also safeguards a company from legal liability if a new hire harms others. Once comprehensive background checks are conducted, negligent hiring claims cannot stand.

References

Knight, R. (2017). 7 Practical Ways to Reduce Bias in Your Hiring Process. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2017/06/7-practical-ways-to-reduce-bias-in-your-hiring-process

Shattuck, C. A. (1989). The tort of negligent hiring and using selection devices: The employee’s right to privacy and the employer’s need to know. Industrial Relations Law Journal, 11(1), 2-17.

SHRM. (2019). Conducting Background Investigations and Reference Checks. SHRM; SHRM. https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/tools-and-samples/toolkits/pages/conductingbackgroundinvestigations.aspx

Walsh, D. J. (2019). Employment Law for Human Resource Practice (6th ed.). Cengage.

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Navarete v. Naperville Psychiatric Ventures focuses on employer responsibility for employee wrongdoing. In this case, the plaintiff, Maribel Navarete, brought a negligent hiring claim against the defendant, Naperville Psychiatric Ventures. After reading this case study found in Chapter 5 of your textbook, address the following:
List the legal issues in this case.
List the facts of this case.
Present an evaluation of the facts of this case based on the four Elements of a Claim related to negligent hiring found in Chapter 5 of the text. Support your position with evidence from the case study.
What is the significance of this case as it relates to the HR practice of background checks?
Evidence is an integral part of academic writing and critical thinking. When crafting your responses, please use the textbook, resources, and any outside research you might conduct to support your statements.