“…restaurant owners must address ethical issues when evaluating job applicants for employment. Historically, employers have relied upon reference checks, criminal background checks and interviews to 
address these issues…now a growing number of restaurant owners use written integrity testing to improve their ability to screen out high risk job applicants…”
Employee theft and other forms of counterproductivity are highly significant factors in determining the success of restaurants. While employers tend to have some awareness of the frequency with which employees engage in theft, drug use and other counterproductive behaviors, the following research findings are helpful in providing an objective perspective of how frequently these problematic behaviors occur:
- The National Restaurant Association recently reported that the cost of employee theft for its members is $8.5 billion annually or approximately 4 percent of food sales.
- A study released in 2007 by the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration indicated that the highest rate of illicit drug use occurs among restaurant workers. A whopping 17 percent admitted to illegal drug use in the last month.
Extensive research documents that integrity tests are good predictors of whether an individual will engage in various forms of workplace counterproductivity (e.g., theft, illegal drug use). Also, these assessments do not adversely impact minority candidates, which is a major downside to criminal background checks. Further, integrity tests are relatively inexpensive and can be easily administered online. As a result, high risk applicants can be screened from contention before wasting time and money on interviews, criminal background checks and reference checks.
