An opinion in the Colorado Springs Gazette brings about some very important issues involving the lack of reporting and punishment of teacher sex offenders. Only recently have states been addressing harsher requirements for teacher background checks as well as other school employees and volunteers…and the issue has yet to be addressed with any seriousness by the federal government.
The article focuses on two primary issues: schools have failed in the past to report sexual misconduct to authorities in order to avoid bad publicity or ruining the teacher’s career, and those who are prosecuted are receiving menial punishment or sometimes no prison time at all.
I read stories about the sex abuse of children nearly every day and every parent should feel a deep sense of fear that their children could be in the presence of a sex offender more hours in the day than they are at home. Child sex abuse is a common problem in America and around the world. Parents and school administrators should take action on this issue as it is more imperative, in my opinion, than the economy, the presidential election, or any other issue facing America today.
All states should require the following school policies:
1. Background checks that include national criminal, county criminal and nationwide sex offender searches.
2. Thorough employment reference checks from all previous schools where the teacher worked.
3. State licensure and education verifications.
4. Mandatory reporting to authorities of all sex offenses and sexual misconduct.
Forcing schools to report sex offenses to authorities will help in providing accurate background checks and keep predators from working with children. It is equally important for school administrators, school boards, and parents to understand that exclusive use of statewide background checks or fingerprinting is not enough to protect children (read more here about criminal databases). Sex offenders oftentimes move out of the state in which they were prosecuted or suspended from employment and attempt to work in other states. Many school districts only check their statewide criminal databases when conducting background checks, which would not detect a predator that committed a crime in another state.
For more information on how your school district can obtain thorough and affordable background checks, please visit www.pre-employ.com or call 800-300-1821 to speak with a sales representative.
*We welcome relevant comments and questions from consumers, experts, and human resources professionals. Please do not submit comments with advertisements as they will not be posted publicly. Thanks for visiting our blog!
by dbryant
10/15/2008 9:37:00 AM
The ABC News report yesterday raises concern about the widespread use of criminal databases for background checks on job applicants. Numerous employers are being sued over hiring decisions based on inaccurate criminal records found in database searches.
Employers who are using criminal databases in place of county criminal records could be hiring a criminal without knowing it or rejecting employment to a talented candidate who truly doesn’t have a criminal record but a faulty background check indicated a crime. Either case could cripple a business with bad publicity and lawsuits.
Many employers use state or public criminal databases because they are less expensive than comprehensive background checks that include county criminal record searches. However, county criminal searches provide the most accurate and up to date information. These records are hand-pulled from court houses in the areas where the applicant lived, which is determined by a Social Security trace. County criminal record searches are considered best practices and ensure due diligence and FCRA compliance.
An article published by BRB Publications stresses that statewide criminal record repositories (databases) are used widely by many employers and licensing boards and that “this can be a dangerous practice.” Criminal record repositories have inconsistent updating times, low levels of quality control, backlogging of records, and lack of timeliness in receiving arrest and disposition data.
In the cases of the ABC News report, the use of mass produced compilations of criminal records is even more dangerous. A person with no criminal history who has the same name of another person with a criminal record could be denied employment. A decision such as this could not only detrimentally affect a business, but also a person’s life.
Employers have an obligation to take every step necessary to ensure they are using best practices when conducting background checks…both for the safety of the workplace and integrity in hiring policies. Employers are encouraged to outsource background check services to firms that do not compile or sell consumer data nor advocate the exclusive use of database searches for background checks.
Pre-employ.com and MyBackgroundCheck.com have always recommended against criminal database searches unless criminal hits are backed up by county criminal records. Both companies also provide a dispute resolution process for applicants who find inaccurate information on their background checks. Please visit the websites for informative resources and articles for consumers and employers about background checks and other important workplace issues.
*We welcome relevant comments and questions from consumers, experts, and human resources professionals. Please do not submit comments with advertisements as they will not be posted publicly. Thanks for visiting our blog!
by dbryant
9/25/2008 10:30:00 PM
I would like to explore the topic of workplace violence for a moment. A study by the National Council on Compensation Insurance, Inc. (NCII) shows that workplace homicide rates dropped by 61% since 1992. Why have these numbers dropped so dramatically? For the most part, criminal laws have not changed that much. Is the world just becoming a better place to live with much nicer people?
Probably not.
In the early 90's background screening firms began sprouting up in the marketplace. Before that time, most companies only conducted background checks on key personnel, such as VP’s, CEO’s, etc. with the help of private investigators and they were considerably expensive. Criminal, public, and credit information became easier to acquire by third parties and the advent of web-based background screening services brought the task of screening applicants directly to the desks of human resources professionals and business owners. The Bureau of Labor Statistics has shown a 44% decline in combined workplace assaults and homicides during the past 10 years. Is this a result of more secure hiring practices?
Pre-employ.com, Inc. started calling decision makers and signing on clients in 1994 as one of the first web-based background screening firms on the market. After the terrorist attacks on 9/11/01, the industry exploded as more companies became aware of risk. Most employers conduct background checks now (almost 80% according to the Society of Human Resources Management or SHRM) and the applicants are warned up front. Maybe this act alone keeps criminals out of the workplace.
On another note, workplace violence increased by 13% between 2006 and 2007 and many industry experts say it is due to the stress of the economy. Background checks will be even more important in reducing risks if the economy continues to decline.
Let us know what you think…
*We welcome relevant comments and questions from consumers, experts, and human resources professionals. Please do not submit comments with advertisements as they will not be posted publicly. Thanks for visiting our blog!
by dbryant
9/10/2008 9:00:00 AM
A story reported by the San Francisco Chronicle and the Oakland Tribune last week about a school superintendent in Emeryville, CA who pumped up his resume, claiming degrees he never earned, raises concerns about how school officials are conducting background checks...and the price they are paying for them. The school board President stated that the district paid $7,000 to a search firm to conduct the background check.
First of all, the public should be concerned about what firm charged this district $7,000 for a background check on one single applicant, regardless of how thorough. The average high-end background check with our firm is only about $150 and it’s as thorough and accurate as possible and includes hand-on county criminal record searches, degree verifications and past-employment verifications. Secondly, they should be wondering how many other unqualified school officials and teachers are working in schools. What’s worse is these lacking background checks could be allowing sex offenders and other criminals to slip through the cracks.
With today’s technology and the competition among background check companies, a little research could have helped the district find a more affordable – and much more accurate – background check provider.
If you are a concerned school administrator or parent, we recommend researching a little deeper into how your school funding is being spent on background checks and pursue the re-checking of all current employees in your district. You may find your district is spending way too much money on faulty background checks and possibly allowing criminals to work with your kids.
For more information on background checks and resources, visit www.pre-employ.com and www.mybackgroundcheck.com.
We welcome comments, suggestions, and questions about our posts.
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Tags: school background checks, schools, teacher background checks, school background checks, background check companies, teacher background checks, sex offenders, background check companies, criminal background checks, sex offenders, criminal background checks
Background Screening | Education Background Checks | Government Background Checks
by dbryant
9/3/2008 5:27:00 PM
Workforce Management addressed the Howard Industries raid yesterday in an article that covers how E-Verify has failed businesses that use the program.
The fact that E-Verify only determines if the identification given by the applicant is eligible and not if the applicant is the owner of the identification is a serious pitfall about the program. However, if your company is relying on E-Verify as the only means of verifying employment eligibility, then you may end up with a host of problems beyond the hiring of illegal workers.
Immigrants who provide stolen documents most likey don't know the previous addresses or work history of the original identification holders, so it's more than likely that a background check would not match the information on an application. Employers who rely on migrant or foreign workers should implement a multiple process hiring program that includes:
- An application that asks for previous addresses and previous employers (available in several languages, if necessary)
- A comprehensive background check, including a Social Security Trace, Criminal Background Check, and Sex Offender Search
- Form I-9 complete with two forms of identification
- Process employment eligibility documents through E-Verify or send to I-9 compliance service
When the background check is complete, the hiring manager should compare the background check with the application. If there is missing or incorrect information on the application, this should raise a red flag that starts another process to verify identity. If the application matches the background check information and matches information received from E-Verify or I-9 compliance service, the chances are the applicant is eligible.
If employers don't conduct background checks in conjunction with E-Verify, not only are they confronting possible ICE violations, they are putting the company and its employees at risk for workplace theft and violence. The most common reasons employers conduct background checks is to determine whether or not an applicant is truthful on an application or resume and if they are hiring dangerous criminals. The latter being more serious of a problem than immigration violations.
Outsourcing I-9 compliance and employment eligibility processes reduces liability and helps ease the administrative strain on human resources departments. For more information on background checks and Form I-9 employment eligibility processing, please visit www.i-9compliance.com or www.Pre-employ.com.
We welcome relevant comments, questions or suggestions from HR professionals, consumers and experts. All comments are reviewed before posting.
*We welcome relevant comments and questions from consumers, experts, and human resources professionals. Please do not submit comments with advertisements as they will not be posted publicly. Thanks for visiting our blog!
by dbryant
8/27/2008 4:26:00 PM
Six hundred suspected illegal immigrant workers at Howard Industries in a small Mississippi town were detained on Monday and the Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency has once again set precedence for cracking down on illegal workers in America.
A spokesperson for Howard Industries made a statement to the town’s local newspaper that it “runs every check allowed to ascertain the immigration status of all applicants for its jobs.” Employment eligibility compliance is not as easy as it sounds, as Howard Industries has learned.
Companies that rely on immigrant workers must implement more effective policies that ensure employment eligibility of each and every employee. Employers must go beyond the Form I-9 documentation and check E-verify and Social Security Administration records for accuracy.
If you don’t think your company has the time and resources for lengthy employment eligibility administration, consider the costs this raid has imposed on Howard Industries. This many employees shut down means halting of production and possibly thousands, if not millions, of dollars in losses. Even worse, the supervisory chain could be held responsible if someone wasn’t using the proper compliance procedures.
Many companies are now outsourcing employment eligibility tasks because of the notorious ICE mission to dismantle the illegal immigrant worker faction in the U.S. Outsourcing reduces your liability, ensures procedures and documentation are properly maintained, provides notices when documents expire, and validates employment eligibility of all documents provided by the applicants and employees.
The costs of outsourcing I-9 compliance employment eligibility are minimal compared to the costs of ICE.
For more information on outsourcing I-9 compliance tasks, visit www.i-9compliance.com and download the free white paper 15 Facts Everyone Should Know about I-9 Compliance.
We welcome relevant comments, questions or suggestions from HR professionals, consumers and experts. All comments are reviewed before posting.
*We welcome relevant comments and questions from consumers, experts, and human resources professionals. Please do not submit comments with advertisements as they will not be posted publicly. Thanks for visiting our blog!
by dbryant
7/21/2008 3:53:00 PM
I-9 compliance and employment eligibility is a paramount issue for employers today and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will continue to discipline violators who knowingly and unknowingly hire illegal workers and violate employment eligibility laws.
News last week that executives of 11 McDonalds franchises in Nevada (see article here) were arrested and fined for hiring illegal workers makes the point that it's not just hourly employees who are targeted in immigration and employment eligibility workplace sweeps. More and more individuals in the supervisory chain are being arrested by federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents for I-9 employment eligibility violations.
According to the Department of Homeland Security (http://www.dhs.gov) there have been 937 criminal arrests in worksite cases of I-9 compliance violations this year, and 99 were in the company’s supervisory chain. Employment eligibility should be every employer's primary concern this year.
"It often takes time to build a criminal case against an employer, but the charges and penalties will likely be more serious as a result,” writes DHS Director Michael Chertoff in the online Leadership Journal.
Executives take note on Form I-9 compliance and employment eligibility:
If your company has a large chain of command from top to bottom and you are unaware of who you are hiring, you must take a new approach to monitoring employment eligibility. Don't leave all the decision making up to your HR personnel and ensure there are administrative procedures in place to verify employment eligibility documentation (Form I-9) collaboratively with the government's E-Verify program. Automating this task will help reduce risk and take the employment eligibility administrative nightmare away from your HR staff.
Visit http://www.i-9compliance.com/ to fill out a request for information and download the free white paper: 15 Facts Everyone Should Know About I-9 Compliance.
We welcome relevant comments, questions or suggestions from HR professionals, consumers and experts. All comments are reviewed before posting.
*We welcome relevant comments and questions from consumers, experts, and human resources professionals. Please do not submit comments with advertisements as they will not be posted publicly. Thanks for visiting our blog!
by dbryant
7/17/2008 1:07:00 PM
A story featured in the L.A. Times (July 16, 2008) should be a wake up call to all employers who do not conduct background checks on current employees.
Sixteen employees were suspended from Martin Luther King Jr. – Harbor hospital when county officials found they had serious criminal histories. The criminal backgrounds were discovered last year, but the employees were not disciplined or relieved from duty by the hospital.
This leaves a serious question to be answered by employers, particularly those who have employees working closely with the community. Background checks need to be conducted before hire and periodically throughout employment. Failure to do so could cause harm to other employees and customers…and the bad publicity could result in the demise of your organization.
Click here to read our full article on current background check issues...
We welcome relevant comments, questions or suggestions from HR professionals, consumers and experts. All comments are reviewed before posting.
*We welcome relevant comments and questions from consumers, experts, and human resources professionals. Please do not submit comments with advertisements as they will not be posted publicly. Thanks for visiting our blog!