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Washington’s DSHS Must Do A Better Job
Parents who entrust their children to the care of others
deserve to know that their day care providers are safe individuals,
free of a criminal background that would prevent them from
supervising children. Recent incidents and legislative reviews
show that Washington’s Department of Social and Health
Services (DSHS) could do a much better job investigating
the background of child care workers and the background
of those individuals dealing with vulnerable adults. A bill
passed by the Legislature in 2001 required new background
checks for DSHS employees and eliminated the 10-year exemption
(People with felony convictions more than 10 years old did
not have to disclose those crimes.) Of 13,314 employees,
DSHS found 27 employees who had criminal records that would
prevent them from dealing with vulnerable clients.
Click
here for more information
TAKING IN EVACUEES: Checks advised before housing
strangers
Like others throughout the nation, Dwight Wilson has been
so moved by the pictures and stories coming out of New Orleans
that he is offering his Detroit home to as many as four
strangers displaced by Hurricane Katrina. Not only that,
as the headmaster of Friends School in Detroit, he is encouraging
others to do the same. Since the deadly storm, more than
1 million people have left the gulf coast and sought refuge
in temporary shelters, homes and hotels throughout the nation.
In many cases, the victims have put their lives in the hands
of strangers and are trusting that they will be safe. Likewise,
those offering aid are trusting that the people they help
will not take advantage of their generosity. "It's
a risk," said Wilson, 57, who also is offering three
tuition-free spots at his school for Katrina victims. "But
it's a greater risk to turn your back on people in need."
Still, Wilson said, to be safe, he probably will run background
checks on his expected guests.
Click
here for more information
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"Bush: Let's Simplify Checks for Schools"
Florida Governor Jeb Bush warns that failure to resolve
difficulties related to the criminal-background check requirement
under the Jessica Lunsford Act will eventually cost citizens
more in taxes. The act calls for criminal background checks
of all school vendors, but has proved difficult to implement.
Every one of the state's 67 school districts have individual
deals with vendors, which is requiring companies with a
regional presence to pay for multiple background checks.
In addition, the majority of school districts are far behind
in background check requests. The governor has proposed
eliminating multiple payment requirements for businesses
that operate across different school districts.
Click
here for more information
Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire
The Liars Index for the first half of 2005 is 10.73 percent,
down slightly from 11.88 percent during the preceding six-month
period. While the latest calculation reflects a moderating
downward shift, says Werra, "the two-year average continues
to nudge upward (9.62 percent)." Some of the most common
reasons for lying on a resume, he says, are expecting that
employers won't check the facts, believing that academic
credentials are more important now many executive job seekers
have the nerve to claim an advanced degree from an educational
institution they've never set foot in? Quite a few, it turns
out. So many, in fact, that Jude M. Werra began compiling
a 'liars Index" hack in 1995. To calculate the percentage
of lying executives, Werra—who is president of Jude
M. Werra & Associates LLC, an executive search firm
in Brookfield, Wis.—divides the number of people who
have misrepresented their education on a resume by the total
number of people whose education his company has checked.
For Full Article see HR Magazine, September Edition or go
to www.SHRM.org
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NAPBS Reaches Out to Human Resource Professionals
Congratulations to NAPBS for their advertisement in September
HR Magazine.
Districts
Prepared For Background Checks
Gov.
Jennifer Granholm, Michigan to sign bills aimed at keeping sex
offenders out of schools. School officials say they're ready to
comply with new state legislation that would require a fresh round
of criminal background checks for all school district employees.
A package of bills headed to Granholm, who has promised to sign
them into law, is aimed at providing greater protection for school
children from teachers or employees who have been convicted of
sex offenses or violent crimes. School districts have conducted
background checks on new hires for about a decade, but the new
provision would require fingerprinting of all employees for purposes
of a state police inquiry into their past. Veteran teachers and
workers -- from counselors to coaches to custodians -- would undergo
scrutiny for the first time.
Click
here for more information
Clerk
Fired For Checking Beau's Background
A
former clerk at the Arkansas Crime Information Center (ACIC) carried
out illegal criminal-background checks on her boyfriend, the Pulaski
County prosecutor's office says. Martha Lounell Lawrence of Little
Rock was fired after ACIC officials realized she had searched
the criminal database six times for information on the man between
May 27, 2004 and June 21, 2004. The ACIC provides criminal-history
information to the state's 250 law enforcement agencies. It also
collects and publishes statistics on crime and manages the crime-victim
notification system, missing-persons database and the state sex-offender
registry. Almost all of the ACIC data is available only to law
enforcement agencies.
Click
here for more information
Pre
Offer Personality Test Shot Down by Court
The June decision
by the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals held that a widely used
personality test is a medical examination, and therefore its use
as a screening device before an offer of employment (or promotion)
is made violates the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). This
means that employers should re-examine what tests they give job
applicants and candidates competing for promotions, legal experts
say. It might even prompt some employers to consider whether they
need testing at all in that context.
The decision's
reach "is going to be broader than just its own circuit"
of Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin because it deals with a new
or undecided question—something that attorneys refer to
as "a case of first impression." The plaintiffs targeted
the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) test—one
of nine used by Rent-A-Centers Inc. (RAC) to evaluate individuals
for promotions—on the grounds that it is a medical examination
that can screen out individuals perceived to have a psychological
impairment, and thus is unlawful under the ADA.
Click
here for more information
Employer
Held Liable for Negligent Misrepresentation During Employee References
Employers
need to be concerned about providing factual and accurate references.
In Singer v. Beach Trading Co. Inc., former Beach Trading Co.
employee, Marsha Singer, was terminated from her new position
at HRK Enterprises after a Beach Trading Co. representative erroneously
indicated Singer had falsified the title of her position at Beach
Trading Co. In this case, the New Jersey appeals court ruled employers
can be held liable for the negligent misrepresentation of a former
employee’s work history if the following five factors are
met:
Click
here for more information
Weak Checks,
training for DC School Security Officers
Inadequate
background checks have led D.C. Public Schools to employ private
security officers may pose risks to students and staff, according
to a new report from the D.C. Office of Inspector. The Inspector
stated that “The security officers licenses may not have
been granted had their criminal background and other pre employment
information been sufficiently reviewed.”
For more
information See Article in Security Director News, August 2005
or go to www.securitydirectornews.com
Job
Market for European Executives Grows
First-quarter
increase in executive hiring reflects both an upturn in the global
economy and the growth of European markets, according to a recent
State of the Industry Report from the Association of Executive
Search Consultants (AESC). Data collected from a consistent sample
of AESC global member search firms reveals that new executive
search assignments rose 7 percent in Europe during the first quarter
of the year. During the same period of time, assignments declined
9.1 percent in the United States and 16.7 percent in the Asia/Pacific
region. 'This decline in new searches begun in North America at
the beginning of 2005 comes on the heels of the regions impressive
gains of 24 percent in new searches for the last quarter of 2004,"
says AESC President Peter Felix. Overall, however, the global
retained search industry remains healthy, Felix says, with Europe
continuing to be a bright spot.
For More Information go to www.SHRM.org
(exerted from HR Magazine, Executive Briefing, July 2005)
Credential
'VERIFICATION PROGRAM (C\/P) From TACT INDIA
In response
to the growing demand of IT & ITES companies in India to structure
an employment screening module that is agile and easy to handle
for recruiting managers, TACT India launched its accelerated version
of CVP christened HR SWIFT in May. Clients choosing
this service are guaranteed to receive feedback from the candidate's
last employer within 48 hours.
General
Electric Co has fired 125 employees
Company fired
125 employees and disciplined 243 other last year according to
the company's first ever "citizenship report" meant
to step up its disclosure practices after a wave of recent scandals
at other companies. The report covers workplace injuries, pollution
settlements, political contributions, philanthropy and the broad
strategy of a company with 307,000 employees and the world's most
widely held stock. The 125 firings involved issues such as petty
theft and inappropriate use of company equipment and time sheets,
said Mr Gary Sheffer; a GE spokesman. "The rising rates of
concern is a sign of our healthy integrity and compliance culture,"
the report stated. Of the other employees disciplined, 198 received
warnings, 16 received job changes and 29 got pay cuts.
| NEW
FEATURES TO ENHANCE YOUR PROMOTIONAL EFFORTS: |
PREEMPLOYMENTDIRECTORY.COM
- Special Fall Pricing
All firms
that either renew or sign up for Platinum level services by the
end of November 2005 will get a Platinum Listing at the special
price of $400.00 for NAPBS members or the regular price of $550.00.
Your listing will include a front page listing of your logo in
both the Alphabetic and Geographic (US or International) or Supplier
sections as well as rotational placement on the front page of
the Directory. Be sure to sign up to for this great value and
to avoid 2006 price increase.
Services Provided for Platinum Level:
- A listing
with your firm’s name, address, telephone number and live
link to your Web site
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sales contact name, phone and instant email link so buyers can
contact you easily and quickly
- Up to 1
page company/product description or advertisement
- 4 color
company/product Logo
- Priority
positioning above general listings plus First Page listing in
Alphabetical and Geographic or Supplier sections
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Free updates to your listing throughout the year
- Eligible
for logo placement on landing page for “First” contact
with employers
- Receive
referrals for business opportunities that arise from our clients
and others that come to our attention
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VISIBILITY FOR PLATINUM MEMBERS: |
To increase
the visibility and selling opportunities for our Platinum members
we have started rotating their logos on the front page of the
Preemployment Screening Directory. This will increase the likelihood
that employers will see your firm before they even enter the Directory.
| New
DIAMOND SPONSORSHIP Available to Promote Your Company: |
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We
are making the prime location on the landing page of the
Preemployment Screening Directory available to a limited
number of companies to promote their business (exclusively
available to Platinum members). We will feature your logo
with a live link that goes directly to your web site. |
This
means you get the first chance to connect with employers
and close them before your competitors ever get a chance
to talk to them. The landing page is where you see "Click
here
to find a Preemployment Background
Screening Company." These Ads will
run for 13, 26 or 52 weeks.
The following companies have already signed up:
Click
here to get more Information and to create more selling
opportunities. |
The need and importance of knowing who is being
hiring internationally has never been greater. The International
background investigation market is growing and we want to help
you take advantage of this expanding marketplace. Let us bring
your company’s message to the front door of firms seeking
background investigations and vetting services in the International
arena.
Contact Barry
Nixon to Showcase your company in our International section, today
or sign up online at http://www.preemploymentdirectory.com.
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RATES FOR BACKGROUND BUZZ: |
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National
Association of Professional Background Screeners’ Mid
Year Meeting, October 16-18, Washington, D.C.
The Background
Investigator’s 2005
4th Annual Pre-Employment Screeners Conference, Fall Session,
Clearwater, Florida, November 13-16, 2005. Network with Your Peers
and Vendors. Call Now to Register 1-866-909-6678.
Report
on ASIS National Convention, Bruce Berg, 9-16-2005
Click here to read Bruce
Berg’s report on the ASIS International 2005 Annual
Conference and his update from the Annual Meeting for First Advantage.
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