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Does Your Background Screening Program Need A Check-Up? – What’s Hot in Background Screening News

February 2, 2012 By Chris Miller

doctor

Welcome to our monthly edition of “What’s hot in employee background screening news”. If you want to become smarter about background screening, you’ve come to the right place. Here are some of the news items that caught our attention last month.

Pre-Employment Criminal Background Checks: Learning from Pepsi’s $3.13 Million Mistake

Pepsi has agreed to pay $3.13 million and provide job offers and training to resolve a charge of race discrimination filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).  Based on the investigation, the EEOC found reasonable cause to believe that the criminal background check policy formerly used by Pepsi discriminated against African Americans in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

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Screening Your Background Screener

The employee screening environment is rapidly evolving, making it hard for businesses to keep up. That’s just one reason why businesses are either outsourcing background checks to a partner or are not conducting screenings at all.

For those not conducting pre-employment screening, the case for reconsidering is air tight. If you’re working with an expert partner, it’s important to stay on top of the changing nature of background checks to be sure you’re working with the best partner for your business.

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5 Reasons Why Criminal Background Checks Are a Perfect Storm for a Lawsuit

Criminal background checks of job applicants seems to have reached a tipping point as a topic in employment-law circles. So, what are the key components leading to this perfect storm of EEO laws and how can an employer avoid the perfect storm?

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Former Domino’s Pizza Employees Allowed to Proceed with Class Action Against Company for Background Check Violations

On January 25, 2012, United States District Court Judge Deborah K. Chasanow denied Defendant Domino’s Pizza’s Motion to Dismiss in Singleton, et al., v. Domino’s Pizza, LLC, 8:11-cv-01823-DKC (D. Md.).

In a lengthy opinion, the Court ruled that the plaintiffs properly alleged that Domino’s violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act by (1) running background checks on employees without proper authorization; and (2) “systematically” failing to provide employees with copies of their background checks prior to taking adverse employment action against them.

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Following Deadly Stabbing, Restaurant Could Face Penalty For Hiring A Felon

The killing of a south Charlotte store manager – allegedly by a felon hired to work there – highlights the risks companies take when they hire an employee with a criminal record, or don’t do a full background check on applicants.

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No Background Check Done: Bookkeeper Accused of Stealing $1 Million From Archdiocese

When a church worker was hired by the archdiocese in June 2003, it did not perform criminal background checks on prospective employees, as it does now. Church officials were unaware until recently that the bookkeeper had been previously convicted of grand larceny in one case and had pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor in another.

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Social Media Background Checks : Off-duty Conduct Laws :: Oil : Water

One report suggests that as many as 91% of employers use social networking sites to screen potential employees, with as many as 69% of employers rejecting a candidate because of information discovered on a social site.

Jon Hyman, from Ohio Employer’s Law Blog, has written about some of the risks employers face when conducting background checks on employees via Facebook or other social media sites.

He gives us one more risk to consider: off-duty conduct laws.

29 states have laws that prohibit employers from taking an adverse action against an employee based on their lawful off-duty activities.

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Photo credit: JelleS

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Filed Under: 2011 Best Employee Screening Posts, Employee Screening, Social Networks Tagged With: What's Hot

The Importance of Quality Background Checks – What’s Hot in Background Screening News

December 1, 2011 By Chris Miller

fire_breathing

Welcome to our monthly edition of what’s hot in employee background screening news. If you want to become smarter about background screening, you’ve come to the right place. Here are some of the news items that caught our attention last month.

Unauthorized employee recommendations, references on social media may put employers at risk

Employers are beginning to realize that their employees are sending or receiving recommendations on social media sites, such as LinkedIn, about co-workers’, vendors’, and customers’ work performance or services that are inconsistent with the employer’s policies.  Worse yet, they may even be providing false or fraudulent information.  Employers need to take a hard look at their employees’ recommendations on social media.

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Woman on a crusade for change after her sister was murdered by an air duct cleaner in Florida

When you have work done at your home, do you know who’s coming to your door?

Two local women thought they were safe calling Sears to have their air ducts cleaned.But it turned into a nightmare after a convicted felon with a history of harassing women showed up to do the work.

This could happen to you too, even if the company you hire does background checks.

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Background check law could get some Pennsylvania teachers fired

A new Pennsylvania law requiring all school workers to disclose their criminal history could see some employees who have been convicted of various crimes lose their jobs.

The law, signed by Governor Tom Corbett in June, went into effect in September and mandates background checks for all employees of public, private and vocational schools. Administrators must notify employees of the law and have them return a form reporting any criminal history by December 27.

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Employer held responsible for negligent hiring: Kansas City-area lawyers win $7M verdict over truck crash

A group of Kansas City-area lawyers won a $7 million verdict Thursday for the family of an Arkansas truck driver killed in a 2008 accident.

The truck driver who caused the accident — a driver whose license had been twice revoked — was hired negligently, said lead attorney Kent Emison.

In a statement, Emison said the company could have learned of Quisenberry’s driving history in 15 minutes through a simple background search. He said the verdict is part of a growing trend of employers being held responsible for negligent hiring.

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How effective are background checks in protecting children from abusers?

Experts point a various problems that make it difficult to truly protect children.

Many molesters fly under the radar and don’t have contact with law enforcement for years. Many organizations only do a criminal background check when someone is employed and don’t re-check periodically. Offenders at times plead to lesser charges that might not raise flags. And even Megan’s Law, designed to create as sex-offender registry, has loopholes.

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Cracks in background check system give drug abusers, mentally ill access to guns

Gaps in the Federal Background Check system may be putting guns in the hands of killers, according to a new report by Mayors Against Illegal Guns.

The report finds two huge gaps in the National Instant Criminal Check System (NICS). The biggest one, and hardest to fix, boils down to a communication problem. Many states and state agencies do not cooperate with the system. The blame doesn’t fall on solely on state agencies, federal agencies don’t comply with the background check system either.

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Texas state criminal database is flawed

According to a recent report by the Texas State Auditor’s Office, nearly one out of every four criminal records is incomplete, while some are completely missing for the state’s database.

Thousands of Texas businesses, day cares, schools use the state’s database for criminal background checks.

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Photo credit: Johan AP

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Filed Under: 2010 Best Employee Screening Posts, 2011 Best Employee Screening Posts, Employee Screening, Job Search, Social Networks Tagged With: What's Hot

How To Use Credit Reports For Employment Background Checks

April 23, 2011 By Chris Miller

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Maryland joins Hawaii, Washington, Oregon and Illinois as states that recently passed laws regulating the use of credit history-related information by employers for employment purposes. The Maryland law restricts the use of credit reports and credit history information unless specified conditions are met.

Employment Practices Solutions, Inc. (EPS), a human resources consulting organization, offers the following tips for employers in an article titled:

To Check or Not to Check: The Pros and Cons of Using Credit Reports in the Hiring Process

If an employer currently uses, or is contemplating the use of, credit histories to evaluate applicants, they should consider the following:

  1. Is there a clear policy or practice regarding what positions will include a consideration of credit histories?
  2. Are they used consistently for all applicants to those positions?
  3. Is there a sound business reason to use the credit information for each of the positions that they are reviewing it for? That is, is it job-related? (i.e., will the position require the handling of money or assets, making fiduciary decisions, access to trade secrets or confidential information?)
  4. Are there any applicable laws in the states in which they have employees? If so, is the employer considered a “covered employer” and are their current policies and practices consistent with such laws?
  5. Are they getting the credit information from a reliable source?
  6. Does the credit information have a record of reliability?
  7. Have their HR professionals and/or hiring managers been trained in how to use and/or interpret credit reports?
  8. Are applicants being given the opportunity to review and respond to the information contained in the credit reports or are all applicants with a weak credit record screened out?
  9. Is the credit history used as a deciding factor between applicants with equal qualifications?
  10. At what point in the selection process is it being used?

Related Posts:

  • How Credit Checks Affect The Decision To Hire – A poll by SHRM  provides an up-to-date look at the impact of credit checks on the decision to hire. It looks at factors that have the most impact on hiring decisions, the reasons that organizations conduct credit checks, the types of job candidates most likely to be subject to credit checks and more.
  • Don’t Ban Pre-Employment Credit Checks – Evil HR Lady (Suzanne Lucas) offers some common-sense advice for employers on how to properly use credit reports.

Photo credit: shawnzrossi

Filed Under: 2011 Best Employee Screening Posts, Background Checks, Social Networks Tagged With: Credit Reports

Is It Legal For An Employer To Charge A Potential Employee For A Background Check?

March 16, 2011 By Chris Miller

question_valerie_everett

I recently checked out Quora which is getting a lot of buzz lately (with mixed reviews). What is Quora you ask? The best way to describe it is it’s a Q&A social networking site. I’m not sure if Quora is going to be social media’s newest “it” platform, but I did find some questions on employee background screening that you might find helpful.

Here’s one question that I recently answered:

Q – Is it legal for an employer to charge a potential employee for a background check? If a business requires employees to be screened for past criminal behavior, is it acceptable to charge potential employees for the cost of the screening?

A- There is no federal law that prohibits employers charging a potential employee for a background check but the following states (and Washington, DC) have laws that limit this practice:

  • California, Minnesota, Washington,DC – the employee cannot be required to pay for a background check as a condition of employment.
  • Vermont – limits an employer charging a potential employee for a background check if they are using specific sources.
  • Kansas – employers can’t require potential employees to obtain their own records and give them to the employer.

What questions do you have about background checks?

Photo credit: Valerie Everett

Filed Under: 2009 Best Employee Screening Posts, 2010 Best Employee Screening Posts, 2011 Best Employee Screening Posts, Background Checks, employment background checks, Legal Compliance, Negligent Hiring, Sex Offenders, Social Networks Tagged With: Background Checks, Legal Compliance

Social Media And Employee Background Screening

June 17, 2010 By Chris Miller

red_hot_fire

I just read another excellent article on the red hot topic of social media and employee background screening. It’s titled “Social Networking Sites: Savvy Screening Tool or Legal Trap?” written by Christa Richer Cook, an employment law attorney with the law firm Bond, Schoeneck & King, PLLC.

For more information, read these related blog posts:

  • Q&A On Using Social Networks For Background Screening
  • 4 Tips On How To Use Social Networks For Employee Screening
  • Employee Screening Through Social Networks
  • Twitter and Employment Law Issues
  • The Pros & Cons of Googling Candidates

Do you have questions about your employee background screening program?

Our experts are here to help. Ask a background screening expert.

Photo credit: dann solo

Filed Under: 2009 Best Employee Screening Posts, 2011 Best Employee Screening Posts, Background Checks, Employee Screening, Employee Screening Tips, Social Media, Social Networks Tagged With: Social Media

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