Monday, August 10, 2009

E-Verify Under Fire

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently announced that it will rescind a rule outlining actions employers should take when they receive a “no-match” letter from Social Security Administration indicating possible illegal employment… DHS indicated that it still intends to pursue more recently proposed rules that would require federal contractors to enroll in the government’s E-Verify system and check the work authorization of all new hires and all employees assigned to a federal contract.

Schumer: Stricter background checks needed for those who work with kids
U.S. Sen. Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., today proposed allowing summer camps, day care centers and non-profit groups to run criminal background checks through the FBI. Currently, Rochester-area agencies only can check employees and volunteers through state records, which may not include crimes against children in other states.

Failure To Conduct Adequate Pre-Employment Criminal Background Search Costs Assisted Living Facilty $750,000
A jury awarded $750,000 to a disabled man who was a resident at Cote De Neige Home for Adults after he was sexually assaulted by a worker at the facility. The lawsuit was brought against the assisted living facility for their failure to conduct an adequate pre-hiring background search before hiring a certified nursing assistant.

Everyday Cheapskate: Job applicants face new background check rules

Most employers now care more about a prospective employee's background. With so many applicants to choose from, employers can afford to be picky. What's new in background checks for job seekers is how prospective employers may view your social networking activities. What you post by way of text and photos to Facebook, MySpace and Twitter may well become included in your job application.

When is it Safe To Hire Someone With a Criminal Record?

New Carnegie Mellon Study Provides Empirical Basis For Employers To Use in Assessment of Prior Criminal Records.

Friday, December 22, 2006

Background checks to protect children - a man accused of sexually assaulting an 8-year-old boy he taught at a rec center also had been working with children at two Denver elementary schools. Read more

Man sold drugs at pizzeria- Police arrested a 31-year-old CiCi's Pizza manager who they believe may have been the main source of Ecstasy for Grapevine-Colleyville school district teens and operated out of the restaurant. Read more

Truckers often carry rap sheets - Of 953 truckers faulted in fatal crashes from 2000 through 2005, at least 1 in 4 had been convicted of a criminal offense or received deferred adjudication before the crash. More than 14 percent had committed drug or alcohol offenses prior to their accidents, and more than one in 10 were felons. Read more

Band director charged with student rape - The director of the Delaware State University band has been charged with second-degree rape, two counts of third-degree unlawful sexual contact, and providing alcohol to an underage person. Read more

Thursday, July 27, 2006

Bush signs law for national sex offender registry

President George W. Bush on Thursday signed legislation that will establish a national sex offender registry and try to make it harder for sexual predators to reach children on the Internet.

The legislation, called the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006, is named for Adam Walsh, a 6-year-old boy who was abducted 25 years ago on July 27, 1981, and eventually killed.

The boy's death prompted his father, John Walsh, to lead a long effort to seek greater protections against violence crime. He became host of "America's Most Wanted," a television show aimed at catching criminals.

"The bill I sign today will strengthen federal laws to protect our children from sexual and other violent crimes, will help prevent child pornography, and will make the Internet safer for our sons and daughters," Bush said in signing the new law in the White House Rose Garden.

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children estimates that there are more than 560,000 registered sex offenders in the United States. About 100,000 are not registered or do not have up-to-date registrations.

The legislation will create a national sex offender registry, available to the public, to plug gaps in existing state systems and community notification requirements.

An offender who does not keep his registration up to date in any state in which he lives, works or attends school could face felony charges and up to 10 years in prison.

It will also create a registry for substantiated cases of child abuse or neglect to help law enforcement and child protective services.

Addressing concern about Internet predators and online pornography, the bill establishes education grants, and provides for 200 new federal prosecutors and 45 new computer forensic scientists to work on such crimes.

Wednesday, June 21, 2006

McDonald's says it's beefing up its hiring policies to keep sexual predators out of its restaurants - Read more

School hired murderer; state cancels license - The license of a private alternative school in Gresham, OR has been suspended after a teacher's aide was accused of rape and turned out to be convicted murderer. The Oregon Department of Education also has instructed the Academy of Alternatives to complete background checks on four of its staff members. Read more

Bill to track sex offenders in care homes - The Suffolk (New York) Legislature is expected to adopt a bill that will require nursing home operators to determine whether their employees, residents, volunteers and student interns are listed on the state's sex offender registry. Read more

Nursing home worker checks can be lacking - Employee screenings get renewed attention after the case of a woman sentenced to jail for stealing elderly patients’ morphine. Read more

Background check could have foiled embezzler - Man had three convictions when the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality put him in charge of handling payments for water permits. He later pled guilty to embezzling more than $180,000. Read more

Hill Impasse Spurs States to Tackle Illegal Immigration - State legislatures around the nation are considering hundreds of proposals dealing with illegal immigration, reflecting the exasperation of many local officials with Congress's failure to contend with the millions of undocumented workers who have entered the nation in recent years. Read more

Food-stamp workers had criminal backgrounds - In a rush to find workers after Hurricane Wilma, Florida's Department of Children and Families hired dozens of temporary workers with criminal backgrounds to handle food-stamp applications that contained Social Security numbers and other personal information. Read more

Teen who says art teacher abused him sues board - A Miramar teenager who told police his middle school teacher molested him is suing the Broward School Board for negligence. Read more

Cable Installers & Criminal Backgrounds - Charter Communications hired a contractor with a manslaughter conviction and an installer with a suspended driver's license and two orders of protection in his past. Read more

Suspect in sex crime coached in youth event in Chesapeake - Despite a conviction four years ago and another arrest recently on charges of inappropriate conduct with a child, the 38-year-old was able to coach boys and girls at the Mayor's Cup T-Ball Classic. Read more

Thursday, April 27, 2006

Jury Seated in Wal-Mart Negligence Suit - A jury has been picked to hear a lawsuit by the family of a girl who claims Wal-Mart failed to protect her because the company didn't require criminal background checks on its employees. Read more

In Wake of Student's Murder, Lawmakers Press To Allow Officers To Work as Bouncers - Read more

RESUMES: JUST THE FACTS, PLEASE - A report released in 2005 by InfoLink Screening Services said that 14 percent of employees lied about education on their resumes. Read more

Knowing is half the battle, especially for new hires - Workplace assaults total 2 million each year. Employee theft costs $40 billion annually and causes 30 percent of business failures. Lawsuits for negligent hiring are on the rise and can cost a company millions. Read more

More states consider guns-at-work legislation - Legislation being proposed in Georgia and Virginia that would allow licensed gun owners to legally store weapons in vehicles parked on company property may heighten fears of increased workplace violence incidents among area security directors. Read more

City jailer resigns in wake of investigation - A A Zanesville, Ohio corrections officer has resigned after an internal investigation revealed he has a history of sexual harassment and lied on his job application. Read more

Monday, February 27, 2006

Meth Taking Toll on Businesses, State
Meth use has increased among U.S. workers by 86 percent over the past five years. It also jumped 13 percent in the first half of 2005 among workers in jobs and industries required by the federal government to test employees in high-risk and safety-related positions.
Read more

Background check nabs robbery suspect
Louisville police get break in Georgia. A man wanted in two armed robberies in Louisville was arrested yesterday after applying for a job at a charitable organization in Macon, Ga. Read more

Spherion temps indicted in fraud
Temporary workers who were assigned to Red Cross call centers by Spherion have been accused of giving away thousands of dollars intended for Hurricane Katrina. At least 17 workers placed at a Red Cross call center by Fort Lauderdale-based Spherion have been indicted on fraud charges, raising the issue of screening checks done by staffing agencies that supply temporary workers. Read more

Background checks get more important
Companies are relying more on pre-employment background checks to ease security concerns and protect against costly lawsuits. “It’s getting more important,” said privacy lawyer Robert Belair, editor of the Privacy and American Business newsletter. “The incidence of negligent hiring lawsuits is way up.” Read more

Thursday, December 08, 2005

Over 8 percent of applicants have criminal records; 26 percent inaccurately report past employment
The importance of applicant background checks and employment verification was made clear by a survey that revealed 8.3 percent of all job applicants have criminal records.
Read more

Who is checking the background checkers?
Some 80 percent of employers now require background checks for all potential employees, according to the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse (PRC), a consumer rights advocacy group in San Diego…. But what if a background check is in error? Read more

Biz (off)beat: Potential employers not afraid to pry
You're qualified. You've mastered the interview. And the drug test? No problem. That may not be enough to land the job, not if you have a past and try to hide it. Read more