What can be considered negligent hiring?

Negligent hiring occurs when an employer fails to exercise reasonable care in the hiring process, leading to the hiring of an employee who poses a risk to others due to their unfitness for the job. When an employer is aware of an employee's unfitness and chooses to proceed with hiring them, this constitutes a negligent act. This can manifest as overlooked criminal history, certified incompetencies, or other red flags that demonstrate that the employee is unsuitable for the position. In this context, the focus is on the employer's knowledge and the direct implications of their hiring decisions on workplace safety and integrity.

By contrast, an unforeseeable act by an employee is not related to the hiring process itself, as it indicates that the employer had no prior knowledge of potential issues; therefore, it does not fall under negligent hiring. Similarly, assigning a highly skilled employee to a low competence job does not reflect negligence in hiring, as it is more about job placement than hiring standards. Ignoring a candidate's qualifications could relate to poor hiring practices, but only if those qualifications are standard for the position. However, simply overlooking qualifications without knowledge of unfitness does not truly capture the essence of negligent hiring.