Employee Screening

Drug-Free Work Week

October 6, 2008 By Chris Miller

Drug-Free Work Week (October 20-26, 2008) is a dedicated time each year to highlight the benefits that drug-free workplace programs bring to employers, workers and communities. And, it’s a time to work toward making every week a drug-free work week!

It spreads the word that working drug free works to…

Prevent accidents and make workplaces safer
Improve productivity and reduce costs
Encourage people with alcohol and drug problems to seek help

According to recent research, it’s a message that many workers need to hear.

75 percent of the nation’s current illegal drug users are employed—and 3.1 percent say they have actually used illegal drugs before or during work hours.
79 percent of the nation’s heavy alcohol users are employed—and 7.1 percent say they have actually consumed alcohol during the workday.

Drug-free workplace programs help protect employers and employees alike from the potentially devastating consequences of worker alcohol or drug abuse. Establishing policies, educating about the dangers of alcohol and drug use, deterring and detecting use, and urging people to seek help for alcohol and drug problems are smart safety strategies. They’re also smart business strategies.

Drug-Free Work Week is a time to reinforce the importance of working drug free in positive, proactive ways. To get Drug-Free Work Week resources or learn more about how your organization can participate, select one of the following:

Related Posts and Articles:

Free Drug-Free Workplace Toolkit

Deciding Whether To Drug Screen Employees

Employee Screening and Drug Tests

Photo Credit: singsing_sky

Why Gaps In Employment Are A Red Flag

October 3, 2008 By Chris Miller

Employers have a hard enough time just finding qualified job candidates. But, making matters worse is the fact that many of those candidates could be hiding a number of problems in their past. Job seekers routinely lie on their applications and resumes, concealing details that would make them a bad hire.

On the other hand, employers may be confronted with gaps in employment on a resume or application. And while the reasons behind the gaps may be completely innocent, verifying what the candidate was doing during the lapse is essential. If neglected, employers may expose themselves to potentially disastrous consequences. Below, I’ll describe 2 reasons why gaps in employment should raise a massive red flag.

#1 – Possible Criminal History

A potential hire may have spent a 2-year lapse by traveling through Europe and exploring the world. But, what if he didn’t? It’s entirely possible that he actually spent that time in prison. If an employer fails to check the gap in history, they might never uncover the details. Hiring that person could lead to employee theft, harm to the staff and a number of other outcomes.

#2 – Ineffective Background Checks

There’s no way for an employer to conduct an effective background check when a job candidate has an unexplained gap in history. The reason why is because criminal records are typically kept at the county level. If the employer doesn’t know where the candidate was during the lapse, it’s impossible to know which county, or counties, to search for a criminal history.

Filling In The Blanks

It’s absolutely critical for employers to find out the reasons behind gaps in employment. Those lapses can hide a period of incarceration as well as make it impossible to conduct thorough background checks. Employers and hiring staff need to hunt for the details in order to avoid taking on a bad hire. The alternative can be devastating.

Related Posts and Articles:

Does Your Job Applicant Have a Criminal Record?

Can You Tell If Your Applicant Is Lying?

Photo Credit: vasilken

$100 Million For E-Verify

October 2, 2008 By Chris Miller

On September 30, 2008, President Bush signed a spending bill (H.R. 2638) which includes $100 million in funding for the E-Verify Program until March 6, 2009.

E-Verify is an online system operated jointly by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Social Security Administration (SSA). Participating employers can check the work status of new hires online by comparing information from an employee’s I-9 form against SSA and Department of Homeland Security databases.

The E-Verify program was scheduled to sunset at the end of November 2008 if it was not extended or reauthorized. The Department of Homeland Security’s Appropriations bill allocated $100 million and 255 positions for E-Verify.

E-Verify still remains a voluntary program even though some states, including Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Idaho, Minnesota, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Carolina and most recently Missouri have all mandated its use in some form.

With this funding, I expect there will be a push for more states to mandate it’s use even though it’s not a perfect system.

Photo Credit: O.Cosma

4 Ways Employees Can Steal From You

September 29, 2008 By Chris Miller

money
According to the 2007 National Retail Federation survey, retailers lost 41.6 billion dollars to theft and fraud. The majority of retail shrinkage last year was due to employee theft, at $19.5 billion, which represented almost half of the losses (47%).

While large corporations can usually weather the financial impact of employee embezzlement, the problem hits smaller organizations much harder. In many cases, business owners have lost their life savings to a bad hire. Even medium-sized companies can falter under the impact. Below, I’ll describe 4 ways in which an employee can steal from you. Then, I’ll explain the best way to prevent it from happening to your business.

#1 – Inflated Expense Accounts

Expense accounts are important for a variety of businesses. However, left unchecked, an employee can easily fabricate expenses, claiming reimbursement for money that was never spent.

#2 – Tampered Payroll

Payroll fraud is more prevalent than many employers realize. A bad hire may add ghost employees to the payroll, claim wages that are unearned or unauthorized, or even steal and cash blank payroll checks.

#3 – Fraudulent Billing Schemes

A lot of organizations work with vendors, yet have no formal process by which purchase orders are reviewed and approved. Employees can easily establish fictitious vendor accounts, diverting payments to a P.O. box.

#4 – Register Theft

Businesses that operate in a retail setting can be victimized by an embezzling employee who steals directly from the register. In simple cases, the employee collects money from a legitimate customer for a purchase, but instead of ringing the sale, the employee pockets the cash. It can go much further, including falsifying refunds, voids and taking advantage of customers’ credit cards.

How To Prevent Employee Embezzlement

A major portion of employee embezzlement can be prevented. Employers must maintain a strict employee screening process and perform thorough background checks on job candidates. While uncovering past incidents of theft or misappropriation of funds can be difficult, the profiles of bad hires who are likely to commit fraud are often similar. The worst thing an organization can do is neglect the importance of screening applicants and doing comprehensive background checks.

Eliminating bad hires from the applicant pool can save your company the headache of dealing with theft, fraud and embezzlement.

4 Questions Employers Have About Employee Screening

September 11, 2008 By Chris Miller

4 Questions Employers Have About Employee Screening Even though employee screening should be a fundamental part of every company’s hiring practices, many employers are concerned about how to take action on it. Most of them understand the severe costs of hiring a bad employee. But, they are still uncertain about how to begin screening candidates and conducting background checks.

Here are 4 common questions that many employers have about employee screening…

#1 – “Can We Afford Screening?”

The question that employers should be asking is, “Can we afford not to conduct employee screening?” Hiring a person without knowing whether he has a criminal record, drug problem, or a history of violence can be far more expensive than doing a background check. A single violent outburst in the workplace can end up costing millions. Meanwhile, screening a job candidate by running a thorough background check usually costs less than what employers spend on that employee during the first day.

#2 – “Do I Have A Legal Right To Screen?”

The government allows employers to conduct intense screening and background checks to order to avoid hiring bad candidates. Once a potential hire signs a consent form, the employer can legally begin checking credit reports, motor vehicle records and civil reports. They can also perform a criminal history search while verifying the candidate’s employment and education history.

#3 – “How Much Time Does Take?”

One of the concerns that employers have is whether doing an exhaustive background check will take too much time. A thorough screening process shouldn’t require more than a few days. Plus, having a policy of doing employee screening tends to discourage bad candidates from applying.

#4 – “Do I Have The Resources?”

Screening job candidates properly does require time and attention. Because many hiring managers are increasingly busy, a lot of companies choose to outsource the job to an experienced employee screening company. This type of service can immediately start conducting extensive background checks on potential hires.

Employers should consider employee screening as a critical part of the hiring process. It’s legal, cost-effective, can be done quickly and by outsourcing, doesn’t require a boost in HR staff. And the nightmare it can help employers avoid from taking on bad hires is immeasurable.