Pre-employment background screening is becoming more commonplace as employers strive to provide a safe, secure environment for their employees and customers. However, in order for background screening policies to work properly, they must be consistent, fair and within the boundaries of the law. One way to ensure that these criteria are being met is to develop a set of best practices. In this article, Ron Lashier outlines 12 employment background screening best practices that can be adapted to the individual needs and policies of nearly every higher education institution.