A recent report filed by CBS indicates a disturbing trend in the healthcare industry. According to a government report from the Department of Health and Human Services, 92% of representative pool of 260 nursing homes across the country had at least one employee with a criminal record on staff in 2009. With the job seeker pool as large as it is and the sensitive nature of the nursing home industry, it seems surprising that nursing homes would continue to hire people with criminal records. It stands to reason that many of these hires were not screened by a pre-employment screening agency. Indeed, they were found out in the government report through the use of a few simple background checks that any pre-employment screening would have utilized.

Additionally, over half of the nursing homes had five or more employees with criminal records currently on staff. The majority of these convictions were for property crimes such as theft, burglary and shoplifting, while several were found to be convicted sex offenders. Both represent liabilities for businesses for a variety of reasons. Hiring someone convicted of theft is a liability in that convicted thieves are more apt to steal business supplies from the workplace or residents of the home’s personal belongings. We shouldn't have to elaborate the dangers of allowing sex offenders to operate in a place where patients are often at their most vulnerable. Lawsuits, disruptions, not to mention the moral implications of such a choice should be obvious.

Most states require nursing homes to conduct basic criminal database checks on new hires in order to be in compliance with regulations, but only seven states require the more extensive FBI background check that checks for convictions in multiple states.

This report, filed by CBS, shocked a lot of viewers and readers. People seeking to put loved ones or themselves in a nursing home will soon be asking the question, "Does your facility do fingerprint background screening on new hires?" If you can answer yes, you're much more likely to get their business.

Furthermore, government officials, shocked by this news, reiterated the necessity of conducting extensive background checks on all new hires in the healthcare industry. Background checks should not be limited to accessing the FBI databases for criminal records, but should include conversations with past employers, education record checks and identity verifications. The average do-it-yourself approach of most nursing homes may not be able to successfully navigate the patchwork nature of many states' criminal databases. For this reason, government officials recommend that health care facilities such as nursing homes and hospitals use professional pre-employment screening agencies to conduct background checks on new hires.

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Extensive and comprehensive background checks and pre employment screening can definitely help businesses maintain a more peaceful and secure working environment for all concerned, including the safety of employees, managers and even bosses.

Possible Dangers in the Workplace

Several main dangers can exists for people in a work environment. The most commonly seen are episodes of verbal abuse, vulgar language, sexual harassment, and workplace violence. This is not to say that these negative occurrences happen in the majority of work environments, but they do indeed happen, and they're often reported.

Physical violence is perhaps the worst of the dangerous workplace experiences that can occur. That's why it's essential that before any company hires any individual they perform a thorough criminal background check on him or her. If there is a history of assaults, thefts, robberies, burglaries that the potential employee has lied about on his or her job application, the criminal background check will catch it. These past patterns of violent and antisocial behavior are an excellent indicator of future behavioral patterns on the workplace as well.

There are many companies that exclusively perform extensive criminal background checks on a business's potential job candidates for a fee. Additional employment screening can include drug testing procedures and information on whether or not the specific job prospect has ever been in jail or prison and convicted of a misdemeanor or felony in any state. This information can greatly help companies who are hiring.

Positive Results of A Safe Work Environment

Once all of the bad prospects have been screened and weeded out, the workplace can become a very safe and secure environment. Such an environment can increase worker morale and also help with employee productivity. This positive atmosphere also tends to make employees more dedicated to their jobs and much more ambitious to strive to achieve more in the company.

It also makes them want to keep their jobs as long as they can, especially if they're earning a fair wage and some excellent benefits as compensation for being employed at the company. All workers want a positive and safe environment to spend their days in.

Once a safe workplace has been provided, most of the apprehension, worry, anxiety and stress of getting involved with that harmful person is eliminated, and workers will only focus on being happily surrounded by quality, decent and emotionally stable coworkers, which will make their jobs so much more enjoyable and satisfying.

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As is the case with many companies in the retail industry, because of a subpar hiring process, a large retailer was experiencing many business disruptions associated with the hiring of less than desirable employees. Employee theft was up, as were customer service complaints. After analyzing the situation, the company realized that both situations were rooted in the same source -- improper and incomplete vetting of potential employees during the hiring process. The company was also suffering through a Department of Homeland Security audit for problems concerning the eligibility of some of their employees hired through this process. In many cases, the company simply did not screen potential employees in order to save money, money which they were quickly finding was not worth the risk to save.

Obviously in need of a more precise solution for new hires, the company employed the services of Pre-employ.com to standardize and automate a background screening process and ensure employment eligibility compliance with the government. The company implemented the pre-employment background screening process, which did incur an extra cost per employee. However, the company soon recouped its investment and realized a substantial return with the subsequent decrease in employee thefts after the background check implementation. The company also chose to outsource its entire employment eligibility process to the solely dedicated and automated pre-employ.com service. Fully employing pre-employ.com served as company best practice, as it freed their manpower to focus on business operations. The company also realized full return and profit on their investment in the rate of non-incidence of non-compliance. No longer spending money defending itself from audits, the company again realized savings far beyond the cost incurred.

Overall, the company enjoyed savings of $650,000 over the next five years because of the changes implemented by Pre-employ.com. The company also enjoyed the peace of mind of full compliance with government standards for employment eligibility. Also, as mentioned before, employee theft and customer complaints were considerably decreased as a direct result of programs implemented by Pre-employ.com.

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The statistics are in and the results are disturbing. According to OSHA and other tracking sources, two million workers are victimized by workplace violence each year. Well over 800 homicides are the result of violence in the workplace. The statistics are disheartening, but the fact is that there are measures that can be taken to help prevent workplace violence. But employers must take the time to understand the warning signs, to learn the triggers of violence, and to learn how to respond to the signs of violence and how to deal with violent workers.

Here are some of the warning signs of potentially violent behavior that an employee might show:

• They have a negative or demeaning attitude toward all coworkers.
• They have feelings of paranoia and feel that conspiracies are everywhere.
• They exhibit a compulsive need to control.
• They will fail to take responsibility for their mistakes and faults.
• They have problems with the law, and may show signs of substance abuse.

There are many more signs of potentially violent behavior and the employer need to learn them. But just as important is the recognition of the events that trigger violent behavior. After building up for weeks, months, or even years, hostile feeling can explode because of emotional events. Losing out on a promotion or pay raise could set off hostility, as well a poor work evaluation. Job loss can be a major contributor to hostile actions, especially in these days of corporate downsizing and outsourcing.

There are steps that can be taken, however, to respond to the signs of potential violence. Because many potentially violent employees tend to be loners, encouraging social networking among employees can be the safety net needed. Peers can often spot the signs of potential problems ahead of time and can work with the employer to avert disaster. But when all else fail, the employer must be ready to meet the problem head on and deal with the employee and his or her potential violence.

When the time comes to deal with a potentially violent employee, the manager must respond quietly and calmly. Sudden movements or emotional outbursts will only escalate the situation. The aggressor may simply want attention and the feeling that he is being heard, so asking questions can show them respect. Repeating his answers in your own words will assure him that you are paying attention and understanding his needs. Set firm limits in a firm, non-confrontational manner in order to take control of the situation. Request that the individual stop the behavior, reminding him or her of the potential consequences may help prevent further violence.

Pre-employment screening is one step that can be taken to minimize potential violence. Past employment records and a criminal background check can provide vital information. Companies like Pre-employ.com can assist you in this important pre-screening process.

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A fist in the face or a shot gun fired at a person is an obvious act of violence. Violence can take the forms of verbal harassment and property destroyed. Most of us spend a large part of our days at work and we need it to be a safe place. Remember that workplace violence is not just about a co-workers or bosses acting in a threatening way but it can also come from domestic abuse or customers threatening or physically attacking staff and other customers. Workplace violence is a definite concern of business as well as the general public.

The official statistics on work place violence, from the Bureau of Labor statistics, are based on the year 2006. According to these records, a person has a higher chance of dying from an act of violence at work then dying from a fire or mechanical accidents. The service industry tends to have a higher level of reported incidents because of the level of one on one contact with the public. Women generally have more to fear from people they know. The odds of having a domestic partner shooting them at the workplace are higher than for men. Men tend to have a higher chance of being physically attacked by customers or other co-workers. The statistics do not show the incidents of verbal abuse or verbal harassment, only deaths at a place of business. These forms of violence often go unreported because people simply do not know what to do or how to define what is considered verbal violence. Verbal abuse or harassment takes a toll on their victims and can result in law suits against their employer, low productivity, or physical retaliation because of a hostile work environment. Often people just quit and go to another job meaning that the business looses a valuable resource.

There is no way to control the personal life of employees or to monitor all personal interactions in a company. Despite this fact, prevention is still extremely important. In the United States, employers have the legal responsibility of maintaining a safe workplace environment. If an incident does happen then it is up to the employer to prove they made an attempt to guarantee a safe environment for their employees and customers. Having clear policies on what is considered workplace violence is very important. Training on anger management and how to handle abuse by appropriately responding and reporting is a big part of prevention. Keeping the work environment as positive as can be possible plus having a no tolerance policy against any act of violence can go a long way to keeping workplace violence out of the company.

One key to a safe workplace environment is pre-employment screening. Having access to legal records for a history of illegal and violent behavior can weed out people with an already proven tendency for violence. Both large and small companies can benefit from using pre-employment screening companies like Pre-Employ.com. A company like Pre-Emply.com provides a quick turn around on reports because of their established access to courthouses and legal data bases across the country. Knowing that a possible future employee has a history of child abuse, domestic violence or other violent behavior can help the employer decide if this is a person they wish to hire.

There are many benefits to keeping workplace violence out of a business’s environment. A safe environment allows people to focus on their jobs and provide great service to their customers. The employers can do a lot to keep the atmosphere as positive as is possible. One way is to use the resources from experienced pre-screening companies for hiring the best possible people for the job. Treating all people with respect, including employees and customers is another means for a peaceful place of business. Training people how to handle potentially dangerous situations goes a long way to keeping the workplace safe. Keeping workplace violence out of the workplace should be the goal of all human resource departments and small business owners.

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