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
Saturday, September 17, 2005
Study Finds FBI Criminal Database Search Ineffective for Employment Background Checks
As US employers increasingly utilize criminal background checks in their hiring process, the National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS) has identified one source of information that employers should avoid: the FBI Criminal Database. Read more.
Background checks screen hires: Extensive investigations becoming more common
Extensive investigations becoming more common. Medium- and small-sized companies are increasingly using background checks to verify whether job applicants are fibbing or telling the truth about their education, employment history and even their credit records… Read more.
Potential Employees Checked Out
Job applicants are having a harder time keeping their skeletons in the closet as more companies and organizations turn to background checks for help with hiring decisions. Read more.
As US employers increasingly utilize criminal background checks in their hiring process, the National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS) has identified one source of information that employers should avoid: the FBI Criminal Database. Read more.
Background checks screen hires: Extensive investigations becoming more common
Extensive investigations becoming more common. Medium- and small-sized companies are increasingly using background checks to verify whether job applicants are fibbing or telling the truth about their education, employment history and even their credit records… Read more.
Potential Employees Checked Out
Job applicants are having a harder time keeping their skeletons in the closet as more companies and organizations turn to background checks for help with hiring decisions. Read more.
Wednesday, August 10, 2005
Protect Your Organization Against Negligent Hiring Suits
Speaking to a packed house June 20 during his session at the SHRM Annual Conference and Exposition, Nadell said that nothing takes the place of thorough applicant background checking. However, no background checking process is foolproof, so it's crucial for companies to know how to obtain the most accurate information while remaining compliant with the myriad federal and state laws that regulate the industry. Read more.
Background Checks Could Have Problems
More and more employers require employee background checks, which is why it's no surprise more and more private companies are popping up offering to provide them. A Target Five Investigation shows it can be risky business. A bad background check nearly cost Eric Williams a job. Read more.
The Importance of a Complete Background Check
In a recent background check for a manufacturing client, InfoLink Screening Services, a national background screening firm, learned that the applicant transposed the last two numbers of her Social Security number (SSN) and provided the employer a false date of birth (DOB) when she applied for employment. Based on the information the applicant provided, InfoLink might have reported “No Record Found” if its Quality Assurance had not identified discrepancies which lead to InfoLink’s uncovering 8 criminal convictions on the applicant’s record. Read more.
Volunteer Firefighters May Face Background Checks
Volunteer firefighters are trained to put out fires, but Caldwell County fire officials say that wasn't the case when a vacant home was intentionally set in flames on June 23 by volunteer firefighters.
Read more.
Pre-Employment Screening A Must For Employers
What's the worst thing an employer can find out after hiring a new employee? That there should have been a good background check. It could have saved a lot of money, time and frustration and a lot more. InfoLink Screening Services performs pre-employment background checks, drug testing and employment physical exams nationwide. Read more.
Speaking to a packed house June 20 during his session at the SHRM Annual Conference and Exposition, Nadell said that nothing takes the place of thorough applicant background checking. However, no background checking process is foolproof, so it's crucial for companies to know how to obtain the most accurate information while remaining compliant with the myriad federal and state laws that regulate the industry. Read more.
Background Checks Could Have Problems
More and more employers require employee background checks, which is why it's no surprise more and more private companies are popping up offering to provide them. A Target Five Investigation shows it can be risky business. A bad background check nearly cost Eric Williams a job. Read more.
The Importance of a Complete Background Check
In a recent background check for a manufacturing client, InfoLink Screening Services, a national background screening firm, learned that the applicant transposed the last two numbers of her Social Security number (SSN) and provided the employer a false date of birth (DOB) when she applied for employment. Based on the information the applicant provided, InfoLink might have reported “No Record Found” if its Quality Assurance had not identified discrepancies which lead to InfoLink’s uncovering 8 criminal convictions on the applicant’s record. Read more.
Volunteer Firefighters May Face Background Checks
Volunteer firefighters are trained to put out fires, but Caldwell County fire officials say that wasn't the case when a vacant home was intentionally set in flames on June 23 by volunteer firefighters.
Read more.
Pre-Employment Screening A Must For Employers
What's the worst thing an employer can find out after hiring a new employee? That there should have been a good background check. It could have saved a lot of money, time and frustration and a lot more. InfoLink Screening Services performs pre-employment background checks, drug testing and employment physical exams nationwide. Read more.
Wednesday, July 06, 2005
Form I-9 Compliance, LLC Launches the First Web-Based Form I-9 Employment Verification Service and Begins Executing Its Reseller Strategy
Form I-9 Compliance, LLC, the first federally-approved Designated Agent of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Social Security Administration (SSA) for Form I-9 employment verifications, announced that it has launched the first web-based service that enables employers to easily conduct legal right to work Form I-9 employment verifications on new employees.
Read more…
Preventative Measures Background checks can help contractors save face
They also can help save lives. So why are so few in the cleaning industry actually performing them? Read more…
$10 million wrongful death lawsuit filed against employer
The family of slain Truro writer Christa Worthington has filed a $10 million wrongful death lawsuit against her alleged killer and the Cape Cod trash-hauling business that employed him at the time of the slaying. The lawsuit alleges that the company failed to use reasonable care in hiring McCowen, who had a history of criminal and violent behavior. Read more…
Screening Of Workers On The Rise
Employers are running background checks on long-standing employees as well as new ones. The number of checks on all workers has tripled during the past eight years, experts said, mostly because of growing security concerns, the technological ease in obtaining the information and its declining costs. Read more…
Workplace violence is on the upswing, say HR leaders
Workplace violence has increased over the past two years despite federal statistics to the contrary, a majority of senior executives responsible for human resources or security say in an April 2005 survey. In addition, more than half (58 percent) report that disgruntled employees have threatened senior managers in the past 12 months. But despite their view that workplace violence is a bigger problem today, only 15 percent of those companies have increased their spending to combat the problem, the Prince & Associates survey found. Read more…
Wal-Mart, employee sued - Retailer faulted in molestation case
A Phoenix law firm has filed a "Jane Doe" lawsuit against big-box retailer Wal-Mart for failing to check the background of an employee accused of molesting several young girls in a Scottsdale store. The suit, filed by the law offices of Gregory A. Patton in Maricopa County Superior Court, alleges that Wal-Mart either did not check Mark D. Ricchetti's criminal background or hired him knowing of previous criminal charges when he came to work as a greeter in the company's store on Northsight Boulevard in 1998.
Read more…
Screening process can have its drawbacks. Background information is only as good as its source.
Eighty percent of employers were conducting criminal background checks on potential hires in 2003, up from 51 percent in 1996, according to surveys by the Society for Human Resource Management.
Experts attribute the trend to technological advances that have eased the collection and sale of personal information; more media coverage of dishonest job applicants; employers' fears of negligent hiring litigation; and a heightened sense of insecurity after the Sept. 11 attacks. A rush of online data brokers are cashing in, offering services at a wide range of prices.
But accuracy also can vary widely, said Shawn Bushway, associate professor of criminology at the University of Maryland. "These companies are basically running unchecked and doing what they want, and we don't know how accurate they are," Bushway said.Checks vary widely
Bushway's study of the industry found 467 companies offering background searches on the Internet. The ones that claim to do national background searches for as low as $10 typically piece together data from a variety of public records sources, including correctional databases, online sex offender registries and county courts that sell their records to data companies.
Other more established firms claim to be professional background screeners and have recently formed an association that has adopted a set of standards in an effort to distinguish themselves. They charge anywhere from $30 to more than $200 for the so-called "gold standard": physically sending runners to courthouses in counties where the prospective employer knows an applicant has lived, Bushway said.Although these companies are likely more accurate than their bargain rate competitors, even they are suspect, Bushway's study found.
Read more…
Form I-9 Compliance, LLC, the first federally-approved Designated Agent of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Social Security Administration (SSA) for Form I-9 employment verifications, announced that it has launched the first web-based service that enables employers to easily conduct legal right to work Form I-9 employment verifications on new employees.
Read more…
Preventative Measures Background checks can help contractors save face
They also can help save lives. So why are so few in the cleaning industry actually performing them? Read more…
$10 million wrongful death lawsuit filed against employer
The family of slain Truro writer Christa Worthington has filed a $10 million wrongful death lawsuit against her alleged killer and the Cape Cod trash-hauling business that employed him at the time of the slaying. The lawsuit alleges that the company failed to use reasonable care in hiring McCowen, who had a history of criminal and violent behavior. Read more…
Screening Of Workers On The Rise
Employers are running background checks on long-standing employees as well as new ones. The number of checks on all workers has tripled during the past eight years, experts said, mostly because of growing security concerns, the technological ease in obtaining the information and its declining costs. Read more…
Workplace violence is on the upswing, say HR leaders
Workplace violence has increased over the past two years despite federal statistics to the contrary, a majority of senior executives responsible for human resources or security say in an April 2005 survey. In addition, more than half (58 percent) report that disgruntled employees have threatened senior managers in the past 12 months. But despite their view that workplace violence is a bigger problem today, only 15 percent of those companies have increased their spending to combat the problem, the Prince & Associates survey found. Read more…
Wal-Mart, employee sued - Retailer faulted in molestation case
A Phoenix law firm has filed a "Jane Doe" lawsuit against big-box retailer Wal-Mart for failing to check the background of an employee accused of molesting several young girls in a Scottsdale store. The suit, filed by the law offices of Gregory A. Patton in Maricopa County Superior Court, alleges that Wal-Mart either did not check Mark D. Ricchetti's criminal background or hired him knowing of previous criminal charges when he came to work as a greeter in the company's store on Northsight Boulevard in 1998.
Read more…
Screening process can have its drawbacks. Background information is only as good as its source.
Eighty percent of employers were conducting criminal background checks on potential hires in 2003, up from 51 percent in 1996, according to surveys by the Society for Human Resource Management.
Experts attribute the trend to technological advances that have eased the collection and sale of personal information; more media coverage of dishonest job applicants; employers' fears of negligent hiring litigation; and a heightened sense of insecurity after the Sept. 11 attacks. A rush of online data brokers are cashing in, offering services at a wide range of prices.
But accuracy also can vary widely, said Shawn Bushway, associate professor of criminology at the University of Maryland. "These companies are basically running unchecked and doing what they want, and we don't know how accurate they are," Bushway said.Checks vary widely
Bushway's study of the industry found 467 companies offering background searches on the Internet. The ones that claim to do national background searches for as low as $10 typically piece together data from a variety of public records sources, including correctional databases, online sex offender registries and county courts that sell their records to data companies.
Other more established firms claim to be professional background screeners and have recently formed an association that has adopted a set of standards in an effort to distinguish themselves. They charge anywhere from $30 to more than $200 for the so-called "gold standard": physically sending runners to courthouses in counties where the prospective employer knows an applicant has lived, Bushway said.Although these companies are likely more accurate than their bargain rate competitors, even they are suspect, Bushway's study found.
Read more…
Tuesday, June 14, 2005
InfoLink Screening Services Launches New Automated Solution for Form I-9 Employment Verifications and Additional Form I-9 Services
June 14, 2005, Los Angeles, CA – InfoLink Screening Services, a nationwide provider of employment background checks, drug testing and physical exams, today announced that it has launched a new automated solution for Form I-9 compliance services, including the first web-based service for verifying employees have a legal right to work in the United States.
InfoLink's secure, web-based service enables employers to conduct Form I-9 employment eligibility verifications through the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Social Security Administration (SSA). Employers are able to use the information on newly hired employees’ I-9 Forms to verify the accuracy of Social Security and Immigration “A” numbers and in real-time obtain employee’s legal right to work status with a DHS-issued verification number.
The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 legally mandates that U.S. employers verify the employment eligibility status of newly-hired employees and makes it unlawful for employers to knowingly hire or continue to employ unauthorized workers. Noncompliance, whether intentional or caused simply by oversight, has severe legal and financial consequences imposed by the DHS, as well as the potential of a corporate image tarnished by negative publicity.
InfoLink Screening Services is a leading provider of employment background checks, drug testing, physical exams and Form I-9 employment verification services. Thousands of companies nationwide, from small businesses to Fortune 500's, rely on InfoLink's exceptional service, fast turnaround, legal compliance and accurate reports. Its easy-to-use web-based solution enables easy order entry, status tracking, hit notification and secure archiving. InfoLink's drug screening and physical exam programs include a nationwide network of thousands of collection sites and clinics, secure online reporting and consolidated billing. And its new Form I-9 employment verification services enable companies to reduce Form I-9 errors and verify employees’ legal right to work in the U.S. InfoLink's comprehensive employee screening services and seamless integration with Human Resource software increase Human Resource efficiency and enable businesses to Hire with Confidence™. Visit www.infolinkscreening.com or call (800) 990-HIRE (4473) for additional information.
June 14, 2005, Los Angeles, CA – InfoLink Screening Services, a nationwide provider of employment background checks, drug testing and physical exams, today announced that it has launched a new automated solution for Form I-9 compliance services, including the first web-based service for verifying employees have a legal right to work in the United States.
InfoLink's secure, web-based service enables employers to conduct Form I-9 employment eligibility verifications through the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Social Security Administration (SSA). Employers are able to use the information on newly hired employees’ I-9 Forms to verify the accuracy of Social Security and Immigration “A” numbers and in real-time obtain employee’s legal right to work status with a DHS-issued verification number.
The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 legally mandates that U.S. employers verify the employment eligibility status of newly-hired employees and makes it unlawful for employers to knowingly hire or continue to employ unauthorized workers. Noncompliance, whether intentional or caused simply by oversight, has severe legal and financial consequences imposed by the DHS, as well as the potential of a corporate image tarnished by negative publicity.
In addition to employment eligibility verifications, InfoLink will also offer the following services to help companies manage their Form I-9 processes:
- A self-correcting electronic Form I-9 that virtually eliminates processing errors and simplifies the document completion process.
- Secure, paperless Form I-9 storage, providing anytime, anywhere online access for updating, re-verification and governmental inspection.
- Automated alerts in advance of employees’ expiring work authorizations, enabling employees to renew their work authorization documents and legally continue to work without interruption.
- Pre-filled employment eligibility verification forms if the company has conducted a background check on the new employee through InfoLink or uses an integrated ATS or HRIS solution.
- Form I-9 consulting services performed by trained and experienced I-9 consultants including former INS officials and executive-level Human Resources professionals.
InfoLink’s Form I-9 employment verification services:
- Provide peace of mind that new employees’ Social Security and Immigration documents are valid.
- Simplify and improve the efficiency of Form I-9 processes.
- Substantially decrease human errors in completing I-9 Forms.
- Cost-effectively reduce exposure to government audits, financial penalties and negative publicity resulting from non-compliance.
- Improve the accuracy of payroll and tax reporting and helps eliminate SSA inquiries concerning unmatched Social Security accounts by identifying current employees with fraudulent Social Security numbers.
“We’re excited to be the first company to offer an automated, web-based solution for ensuring U.S. business employ individuals who are legally authorized to work in the United States,” said Barry Nadell, president of InfoLink Screening Services, Inc. “Because of our focus on legal compliance in employment screening, we felt it was important for InfoLink to be an early mover in Form I-9 compliance services. InfoLink’s Form I-9 employment verification services provide business with new, efficient methods for managing their I-9 processes and complying with the law.”
About InfoLink Screening ServicesInfoLink Screening Services is a leading provider of employment background checks, drug testing, physical exams and Form I-9 employment verification services. Thousands of companies nationwide, from small businesses to Fortune 500's, rely on InfoLink's exceptional service, fast turnaround, legal compliance and accurate reports. Its easy-to-use web-based solution enables easy order entry, status tracking, hit notification and secure archiving. InfoLink's drug screening and physical exam programs include a nationwide network of thousands of collection sites and clinics, secure online reporting and consolidated billing. And its new Form I-9 employment verification services enable companies to reduce Form I-9 errors and verify employees’ legal right to work in the U.S. InfoLink's comprehensive employee screening services and seamless integration with Human Resource software increase Human Resource efficiency and enable businesses to Hire with Confidence™. Visit www.infolinkscreening.com or call (800) 990-HIRE (4473) for additional information.
Tuesday, April 26, 2005
Background checks get another look
High School administrators review the district’s pre-employment background check process after the arrests of employees working with students. A background check through the state’s Crime Information Bureau did not reveal prior criminal history. Read more…
LexisNexis: Files May Have Been Breached
LexisNexis Says Thieves May Have Breached Computer Files containing the personal information of 310,000 people, a tenfold increase over a previous estimate of how much data was stolen from the information broker. Read more…
At least 30 FEMA inspectors had criminal records
At least 30 inspectors who visited disaster victims' homes or verified damage claims for federal aid had criminal records for offenses such as embezzlement, drug possession, robbery and drunken driving, a newspaper reported Sunday. Read more…
Criminal background checks incomplete
Employers and volunteer organizations are increasingly turning to national commercial database searches - but experts say the nationwide tallies are often full of holes, and contain as few as 70 percent of all felony conviction records, leading in turn to a false sense of security. Read more…
Employers Win Most Drug Testing Cases
David Shadovitz, Human Resource Executive
A new book released by the Institute for a Drug Free Workplace in Washington reveals that employers are winning most drug testing related court battles. Employers prevailed in roughly two-thirds of the nearly 1,200 legal decisions on drug testing, according to the book, 2004-2005 Guide to State and Federal Drug Testing Laws.
In the last year,” says Gina M. Petro, counsel to the institute and a co-author of the guide, “87 court decisions upheld drug testing, and 46 did not.” Since the group began tracking suits in the mid-1980’s, employers prevailed in 825 cases, while challenges have been successful in only 374 cases. The numbers are somewhat higher for federal court cases, in which employers have prevailed 76 percent of the time.
Wednesday, March 30, 2005
The Importance of a Complete Background Check
By Barry J. Nadell
In January 2005, InfoLink Screening Services, a national background screening firm, was completing a background check for a manufacturing client. Based on the identifying information provided by the applicant, InfoLink might have reported “No Record Found”, but discrepancies where identified during the Quality Assurance phase of its investigation. What InfoLink learned was that the applicant transposed the last two numbers of her social security number and provided the employer a false date of birth (DOB) when she applied for employment.
The key to InfoLink’s research was a Motor Vehicle Report (MVR) that the client ordered. The Motor Vehicle Report revealed that the applicant’s date of birth was 05/05/1973, not 08/05/1973 which she reported to the employer. When InfoLink conducted a second investigation at the court with the correct date of birth, it found a vehicle violation in the court’s records that exactly matched the violation on the MVR and eight (8) other criminal convictions including a felony for forgery. In addition, the court records included the applicant’s social security number which revealed that she had also transposed the last two digits of her SSN from 10 to 01. Using other research tools, InfoLink confirmed that the Social Security Number it received from the MVR (ending in 10) belonged to applicant, while the SSN ending in 01 belonged to someone else who had a clean criminal record.
What Human Resource and security professionals can learn from the above case is that criminals are learning that the primary identifier in court records is date of birth and that they can conceal their past by providing a false DOB.
In his new book “Sleuthing 101, Background Checks and The Law,” Barry J. Nadell, President of InfoLink advises employers to always conduct a motor vehicle report as part of their background screening program… even if the job position does not include driving. Employers can learn a great deal about a person’s character by identifying DUI’s, possession of drugs, current arrest warrants and failures to appear. In addition, the MVR search is the only verifiable source to help identify the subject’s actual date of birth.
InfoLink’s 2004 Applicant Hit Ratio Analysis – “hit ratio” is an industry measure of the percentage of convictions, MVR violations, verification discrepancies, etc. to the total background checks – reveals that 8.4% of individuals who received prior notice that a background check may be conducted and authorized the investigation in writing, had criminal convictions. These included felonies for Assault with a Firearm, Sexual Abuse, Forgery, Robbery, Possession of Stolen Goods, Assault with a Deadly Weapon, Welfare Fraud, Larceny, Hit and Run, Passing Bad Checks, Dealing Cocaine, Grand Theft by Employee, Felon Possessing Firearm, Check Fraud, Aggravated Battery, Sexual Assault, Burglary, Attempted Murder and more.
InfoLink’s 2004 Hit Ratio Analysis, summarized in the chart below, is calculated based upon the aggregate number of hits* as a percentage of the services InfoLink conducted in 2004. The chart includes an average of all clients and details on specific industries as hit ratios vary from industry to industry. If you’re not conducting checks that have a high hit ratio in your industry, you may want to consider revising your screening program. The chart is available on www.infolinkscreening.com.
Summary of Analysis
Automotive Industry - Highest Credit hit ratio and higher than average Criminal Record, DMV and Drug Testing Hit Ratio
Business Services - Highest Drug Testing hit ratio and higher than average Criminal Record, Education Verification and Worker's Compensation hit ratios
Construction - Highest DMV and Past Employment Verification hit ratio
Food Services - Highest Criminal Record hit ratio and higher than average DMV, Drug Testing, Credit History and Past Employment Verification hit ratios
Hospitality - Higher than average Drug Testing, Credit History and Social Security Trace hit ratios
Retail - Highest Education Verification hit ratio and higher than average Criminal Record, DMV and Worker's Compensation hit ratios
Transportation - Highest Worker's Comp hit ratio and above average Criminal Record, DMV and Credit History hit ratios
* Hits may include criminal search convictions, motor vehicle violations, discrepancies in employment and education verifications, positive drug test results, derogatory credit information, prior workers compensation claims, etc.
By Barry J. Nadell
In January 2005, InfoLink Screening Services, a national background screening firm, was completing a background check for a manufacturing client. Based on the identifying information provided by the applicant, InfoLink might have reported “No Record Found”, but discrepancies where identified during the Quality Assurance phase of its investigation. What InfoLink learned was that the applicant transposed the last two numbers of her social security number and provided the employer a false date of birth (DOB) when she applied for employment.
The key to InfoLink’s research was a Motor Vehicle Report (MVR) that the client ordered. The Motor Vehicle Report revealed that the applicant’s date of birth was 05/05/1973, not 08/05/1973 which she reported to the employer. When InfoLink conducted a second investigation at the court with the correct date of birth, it found a vehicle violation in the court’s records that exactly matched the violation on the MVR and eight (8) other criminal convictions including a felony for forgery. In addition, the court records included the applicant’s social security number which revealed that she had also transposed the last two digits of her SSN from 10 to 01. Using other research tools, InfoLink confirmed that the Social Security Number it received from the MVR (ending in 10) belonged to applicant, while the SSN ending in 01 belonged to someone else who had a clean criminal record.
What Human Resource and security professionals can learn from the above case is that criminals are learning that the primary identifier in court records is date of birth and that they can conceal their past by providing a false DOB.
In his new book “Sleuthing 101, Background Checks and The Law,” Barry J. Nadell, President of InfoLink advises employers to always conduct a motor vehicle report as part of their background screening program… even if the job position does not include driving. Employers can learn a great deal about a person’s character by identifying DUI’s, possession of drugs, current arrest warrants and failures to appear. In addition, the MVR search is the only verifiable source to help identify the subject’s actual date of birth.
InfoLink’s 2004 Applicant Hit Ratio Analysis – “hit ratio” is an industry measure of the percentage of convictions, MVR violations, verification discrepancies, etc. to the total background checks – reveals that 8.4% of individuals who received prior notice that a background check may be conducted and authorized the investigation in writing, had criminal convictions. These included felonies for Assault with a Firearm, Sexual Abuse, Forgery, Robbery, Possession of Stolen Goods, Assault with a Deadly Weapon, Welfare Fraud, Larceny, Hit and Run, Passing Bad Checks, Dealing Cocaine, Grand Theft by Employee, Felon Possessing Firearm, Check Fraud, Aggravated Battery, Sexual Assault, Burglary, Attempted Murder and more.
InfoLink’s 2004 Hit Ratio Analysis, summarized in the chart below, is calculated based upon the aggregate number of hits* as a percentage of the services InfoLink conducted in 2004. The chart includes an average of all clients and details on specific industries as hit ratios vary from industry to industry. If you’re not conducting checks that have a high hit ratio in your industry, you may want to consider revising your screening program. The chart is available on www.infolinkscreening.com.
Summary of Analysis
Automotive Industry - Highest Credit hit ratio and higher than average Criminal Record, DMV and Drug Testing Hit Ratio
Business Services - Highest Drug Testing hit ratio and higher than average Criminal Record, Education Verification and Worker's Compensation hit ratios
Construction - Highest DMV and Past Employment Verification hit ratio
Food Services - Highest Criminal Record hit ratio and higher than average DMV, Drug Testing, Credit History and Past Employment Verification hit ratios
Hospitality - Higher than average Drug Testing, Credit History and Social Security Trace hit ratios
Retail - Highest Education Verification hit ratio and higher than average Criminal Record, DMV and Worker's Compensation hit ratios
Transportation - Highest Worker's Comp hit ratio and above average Criminal Record, DMV and Credit History hit ratios
* Hits may include criminal search convictions, motor vehicle violations, discrepancies in employment and education verifications, positive drug test results, derogatory credit information, prior workers compensation claims, etc.
Wednesday, February 16, 2005
Screening Helps Keep Six Flags Theme Parks at its Peak
High Volume Hiring for Sensitive Positions Presents Unique Challenges
February 10, 2005
For Valencia, CA-based Six Flags Theme Parks, Inc., selecting and hiring the right employees presents unique challenges due to the sheer number of new hires and the fact that most hires are for somewhat “sensitive” positions. When you’re hiring as many as 500 employees per month for positions working with children, handling cash and operating machinery, there is no room for error. An efficient screening program is essential.
“It can be tough in the interview process as people tell you everything you want to hear and more. However, through background screening I am able to discover that these people are not all that they appear to be and get to the heart of the matter. Considering that we have more than 4,000 applicants per year, screening for the right employee is vital,” commented Six Flag Theme Parks Human Resource Assistant Manager, Brent Houchin.
When Houchin first arrived at Six Flags three years ago, he was surprised to find a very low hit ratio for the volume of applicants being screened (few criminal records or resume falsehoods were uncovered). As a 12-year Human Resource veteran, Houchin was suspicious, being familiar with resume lies and falsehoods.
Houchin attended a certification course at CSUN Northridge, at which Barry Nadell, President InfoLink Screening Services, Inc., was one of the speakers, “Nadell seemed to know what he was talking about and I was impressed. As I was concerned about our low hit ratio, I had InfoLink conduct a one week trial at Magic Mountain and in that one week we had more hits than in the entire previous year; a 12% hit ratio,” commented Houchin.
In order to handle such a high volume of applicants, Houchin has to have an efficient screening program. “With InfoLink, due to the thoroughness of their searches, we now get an average hit ratio of 9-10%, which shows us that a good number of our applicants are not all they claim to be; it really helps us with the challenge of finding the right employee,” commented Houchin.
Unearthing the Truth = Savings in Time and Money
Houchin was surprised to find a lot of those applying for jobs in cash handling areas such as food services had Grand Theft on their records. “A thorough screening program has definitely saved our cash flow – the budget and everything else. These people have been caught up front, before starting in these positions,” Houchin commented.
According to Houchin, InfoLink has helped not only in screening, but also in establishing a correct employee interview process. “InfoLink has changed the way in which we look at and review an applicant and helped revise how we ask questions related criminal records to ensure we are completely legal and not liable,” Houchin stated.
“At InfoLink everything happens quickly and effectively. InfoLink president, Barry Nadell also dedicates a lot of time to speaking with clients; there is no Ivory Tower, and that tells me a lot about the company,” Houchin added.
Screening Improves Quality of New Hires, Customer Experience
Due to the nature of its operations as a family oriented theme park, Six Flags has to have confidence in the quality of its employees.
According to Houchin, the hit ratio has gone down significantly over past couple of years as the word is out that the company does not hire people who lie on their applications. “We are hiring a better quality of person and keeping people out that could be a future risk liability-wise. This all results in helping to bring smiles to the faces of our guests as they are dealing with appropriate employees, people who have the qualifications applicable to that job,” Houchin stated.
High Volume Hiring for Sensitive Positions Presents Unique Challenges
February 10, 2005
For Valencia, CA-based Six Flags Theme Parks, Inc., selecting and hiring the right employees presents unique challenges due to the sheer number of new hires and the fact that most hires are for somewhat “sensitive” positions. When you’re hiring as many as 500 employees per month for positions working with children, handling cash and operating machinery, there is no room for error. An efficient screening program is essential.
“It can be tough in the interview process as people tell you everything you want to hear and more. However, through background screening I am able to discover that these people are not all that they appear to be and get to the heart of the matter. Considering that we have more than 4,000 applicants per year, screening for the right employee is vital,” commented Six Flag Theme Parks Human Resource Assistant Manager, Brent Houchin.
When Houchin first arrived at Six Flags three years ago, he was surprised to find a very low hit ratio for the volume of applicants being screened (few criminal records or resume falsehoods were uncovered). As a 12-year Human Resource veteran, Houchin was suspicious, being familiar with resume lies and falsehoods.
Houchin attended a certification course at CSUN Northridge, at which Barry Nadell, President InfoLink Screening Services, Inc., was one of the speakers, “Nadell seemed to know what he was talking about and I was impressed. As I was concerned about our low hit ratio, I had InfoLink conduct a one week trial at Magic Mountain and in that one week we had more hits than in the entire previous year; a 12% hit ratio,” commented Houchin.
In order to handle such a high volume of applicants, Houchin has to have an efficient screening program. “With InfoLink, due to the thoroughness of their searches, we now get an average hit ratio of 9-10%, which shows us that a good number of our applicants are not all they claim to be; it really helps us with the challenge of finding the right employee,” commented Houchin.
Unearthing the Truth = Savings in Time and Money
Houchin was surprised to find a lot of those applying for jobs in cash handling areas such as food services had Grand Theft on their records. “A thorough screening program has definitely saved our cash flow – the budget and everything else. These people have been caught up front, before starting in these positions,” Houchin commented.
According to Houchin, InfoLink has helped not only in screening, but also in establishing a correct employee interview process. “InfoLink has changed the way in which we look at and review an applicant and helped revise how we ask questions related criminal records to ensure we are completely legal and not liable,” Houchin stated.
“At InfoLink everything happens quickly and effectively. InfoLink president, Barry Nadell also dedicates a lot of time to speaking with clients; there is no Ivory Tower, and that tells me a lot about the company,” Houchin added.
Screening Improves Quality of New Hires, Customer Experience
Due to the nature of its operations as a family oriented theme park, Six Flags has to have confidence in the quality of its employees.
According to Houchin, the hit ratio has gone down significantly over past couple of years as the word is out that the company does not hire people who lie on their applications. “We are hiring a better quality of person and keeping people out that could be a future risk liability-wise. This all results in helping to bring smiles to the faces of our guests as they are dealing with appropriate employees, people who have the qualifications applicable to that job,” Houchin stated.
Monday, January 10, 2005
InfoLink Screening Services has posted its Annual Applicant Hit Ratio Analysis.
This summary report shows the number of hits as a percentage of the services InfoLink clients conducted in 2004. Hits include criminal search convictions, motor vehicle violations, discrepancies in employment and education verifications, positive drug test results, derogatory credit information, prior workers compensation claims, etc.
Use this report to determine if your company is conducting the right background checks and drug testing employees in industries that have high hit ratios.
This summary report shows the number of hits as a percentage of the services InfoLink clients conducted in 2004. Hits include criminal search convictions, motor vehicle violations, discrepancies in employment and education verifications, positive drug test results, derogatory credit information, prior workers compensation claims, etc.
Use this report to determine if your company is conducting the right background checks and drug testing employees in industries that have high hit ratios.
Sunday, October 31, 2004
Holes found in background checks
Newsday, Inc.
October 21, 2004, 8:20 PM EDT
By Karen Kreifeld, Staff Writer
Just how do you know that delivery person knocking at your door isn't a criminal?
The arrest earlier this month of a FreshDirect deliveryman, an ex-con who allegedly made obscene calls to female customers, has raised serious questions about possible gaping holes in commercial background checks.
In FreshDirect's case, the company hired ChoicePoint, a major background check company, to vet its employees for possible criminal histories.
Despite the check, FreshDirect did not know Erik Reynolds, 33, of the Bronx was an ex-con with at least two felony convictions and a half-dozen misdemeanors until his arrest this month.
FreshDirect has since fired Reynolds -- and ChoicePoint, saying ChoicePoint did not provide a "very satisfactory" reason for why it did not flag Reynolds for them.
Chuck Jones, a spokesman for ChoicePoint, said his company provides customers with several levels of screening options, some simple and some complex.
For FreshDirect, ChoicePoint performed what the company calls a National Criminal File search, which searches records in all 50 states. But the breadth and depth of records varies by state. In New York, all this search included was online prison release records from the New York Department of Correctional Services and ChoicePoint proprietary records.
This is among several reasons someone's criminal history could go undetected. For starters, the Corrections Department search would reveal only crimes for which a criminal served state prison time. It would not record crimes for which someone would serve time on Rikers Island, a city correctional facility, for instance.
(A check of the Web site for Guy Velella, who pleaded guilty to one felony count of bribery last spring, for instance, and served time in Rikers Island brings up no matches.)
Second, it would not reveal misdemeanors at all.
A check of the Corrections Web site by Newsday turned up only one of Reynolds' crimes: his 1993 felony conviction for attempted burglary.
Why didn't ChoicePoint report that to FreshDirect?
Jones said that under New York law, no consumer reporting agency can report records of convictions, release or parole, more than seven years old.
What about the misdemeanors? Reynolds had six of those in the city from 1990 through 1997.
He also has another felony conviction from 1991 from Orange County for attempted criminal possession of stolen property, for which he received 11 months.
To find those crimes, FreshDirect would have had to request a more in-depth search that included files in the state Office of Court Administration.
In short, such background checks leave much to be desired. In fact, just as they can provide "clean" records for those with long rap sheets, sloppy work can also tag innocent people as felons.
Ironically, in 2000, ChoicePoint acquired Database Technologies of Boca Raton, Fla., the company notorious for wrongly including possibly innocent people on a convicted felon list for the Florida Division of Elections, using flawed data to erroneously remove thousands of people - many of them black - from the voting rolls.
FreshDirect's Boris said that his company, luckily, has not suffered from Reynolds' frightening encounters with FreshDirect customers.
Boris also said the Long Island City-based firm, which delivers groceries in three boroughs, is hiring a new firm to conduct background checks. All 270 delivery people for the company will undergo a secondary background check, he said.
"Thankfully it has not had an impact on sales," he said. "It's an isolated incident ... and we have had one of our best weeks ever."
Newsday, Inc.
October 21, 2004, 8:20 PM EDT
By Karen Kreifeld, Staff Writer
Just how do you know that delivery person knocking at your door isn't a criminal?
The arrest earlier this month of a FreshDirect deliveryman, an ex-con who allegedly made obscene calls to female customers, has raised serious questions about possible gaping holes in commercial background checks.
In FreshDirect's case, the company hired ChoicePoint, a major background check company, to vet its employees for possible criminal histories.
Despite the check, FreshDirect did not know Erik Reynolds, 33, of the Bronx was an ex-con with at least two felony convictions and a half-dozen misdemeanors until his arrest this month.
FreshDirect has since fired Reynolds -- and ChoicePoint, saying ChoicePoint did not provide a "very satisfactory" reason for why it did not flag Reynolds for them.
Chuck Jones, a spokesman for ChoicePoint, said his company provides customers with several levels of screening options, some simple and some complex.
For FreshDirect, ChoicePoint performed what the company calls a National Criminal File search, which searches records in all 50 states. But the breadth and depth of records varies by state. In New York, all this search included was online prison release records from the New York Department of Correctional Services and ChoicePoint proprietary records.
This is among several reasons someone's criminal history could go undetected. For starters, the Corrections Department search would reveal only crimes for which a criminal served state prison time. It would not record crimes for which someone would serve time on Rikers Island, a city correctional facility, for instance.
(A check of the Web site for Guy Velella, who pleaded guilty to one felony count of bribery last spring, for instance, and served time in Rikers Island brings up no matches.)
Second, it would not reveal misdemeanors at all.
A check of the Corrections Web site by Newsday turned up only one of Reynolds' crimes: his 1993 felony conviction for attempted burglary.
Why didn't ChoicePoint report that to FreshDirect?
Jones said that under New York law, no consumer reporting agency can report records of convictions, release or parole, more than seven years old.
What about the misdemeanors? Reynolds had six of those in the city from 1990 through 1997.
He also has another felony conviction from 1991 from Orange County for attempted criminal possession of stolen property, for which he received 11 months.
To find those crimes, FreshDirect would have had to request a more in-depth search that included files in the state Office of Court Administration.
In short, such background checks leave much to be desired. In fact, just as they can provide "clean" records for those with long rap sheets, sloppy work can also tag innocent people as felons.
Ironically, in 2000, ChoicePoint acquired Database Technologies of Boca Raton, Fla., the company notorious for wrongly including possibly innocent people on a convicted felon list for the Florida Division of Elections, using flawed data to erroneously remove thousands of people - many of them black - from the voting rolls.
FreshDirect's Boris said that his company, luckily, has not suffered from Reynolds' frightening encounters with FreshDirect customers.
Boris also said the Long Island City-based firm, which delivers groceries in three boroughs, is hiring a new firm to conduct background checks. All 270 delivery people for the company will undergo a secondary background check, he said.
"Thankfully it has not had an impact on sales," he said. "It's an isolated incident ... and we have had one of our best weeks ever."
Holes found in background checks
Newsday, Inc.
October 21, 2004, 8:20 PM EDT
By Karen Kreifeld, Staff Writer
Just how do you know that delivery person knocking at your door isn't a criminal?
The arrest earlier this month of a FreshDirect deliveryman, an ex-con who allegedly made obscene calls to female customers, has raised serious questions about possible gaping holes in commercial background checks.
In FreshDirect's case, the company hired ChoicePoint, a major background check company, to vet its employees for possible criminal histories.
Despite the check, FreshDirect did not know Erik Reynolds, 33, of the Bronx was an ex-con with at least two felony convictions and a half-dozen misdemeanors until his arrest this month.
FreshDirect has since fired Reynolds -- and ChoicePoint, saying ChoicePoint did not provide a "very satisfactory" reason for why it did not flag Reynolds for them.
Chuck Jones, a spokesman for ChoicePoint, said his company provides customers with several levels of screening options, some simple and some complex.
For FreshDirect, ChoicePoint performed what the company calls a National Criminal File search, which searches records in all 50 states. But the breadth and depth of records varies by state. In New York, all this search included was online prison release records from the New York Department of Correctional Services and ChoicePoint proprietary records.
This is among several reasons someone's criminal history could go undetected. For starters, the Corrections Department search would reveal only crimes for which a criminal served state prison time. It would not record crimes for which someone would serve time on Rikers Island, a city correctional facility, for instance.
(A check of the Web site for Guy Velella, who pleaded guilty to one felony count of bribery last spring, for instance, and served time in Rikers Island brings up no matches.)
Second, it would not reveal misdemeanors at all.
A check of the Corrections Web site by Newsday turned up only one of Reynolds' crimes: his 1993 felony conviction for attempted burglary.
Why didn't ChoicePoint report that to FreshDirect?
Jones said that under New York law, no consumer reporting agency can report records of convictions, release or parole, more than seven years old.
What about the misdemeanors? Reynolds had six of those in the city from 1990 through 1997.
He also has another felony conviction from 1991 from Orange County for attempted criminal possession of stolen property, for which he received 11 months.
To find those crimes, FreshDirect would have had to request a more in-depth search that included files in the state Office of Court Administration.
In short, such background checks leave much to be desired. In fact, just as they can provide "clean" records for those with long rap sheets, sloppy work can also tag innocent people as felons.
Ironically, in 2000, ChoicePoint acquired Database Technologies of Boca Raton, Fla., the company notorious for wrongly including possibly innocent people on a convicted felon list for the Florida Division of Elections, using flawed data to erroneously remove thousands of people - many of them black - from the voting rolls.
FreshDirect's Boris said that his company, luckily, has not suffered from Reynolds' frightening encounters with FreshDirect customers.
Boris also said the Long Island City-based firm, which delivers groceries in three boroughs, is hiring a new firm to conduct background checks. All 270 delivery people for the company will undergo a secondary background check, he said.
"Thankfully it has not had an impact on sales," he said. "It's an isolated incident ... and we have had one of our best weeks ever."
Newsday, Inc.
October 21, 2004, 8:20 PM EDT
By Karen Kreifeld, Staff Writer
Just how do you know that delivery person knocking at your door isn't a criminal?
The arrest earlier this month of a FreshDirect deliveryman, an ex-con who allegedly made obscene calls to female customers, has raised serious questions about possible gaping holes in commercial background checks.
In FreshDirect's case, the company hired ChoicePoint, a major background check company, to vet its employees for possible criminal histories.
Despite the check, FreshDirect did not know Erik Reynolds, 33, of the Bronx was an ex-con with at least two felony convictions and a half-dozen misdemeanors until his arrest this month.
FreshDirect has since fired Reynolds -- and ChoicePoint, saying ChoicePoint did not provide a "very satisfactory" reason for why it did not flag Reynolds for them.
Chuck Jones, a spokesman for ChoicePoint, said his company provides customers with several levels of screening options, some simple and some complex.
For FreshDirect, ChoicePoint performed what the company calls a National Criminal File search, which searches records in all 50 states. But the breadth and depth of records varies by state. In New York, all this search included was online prison release records from the New York Department of Correctional Services and ChoicePoint proprietary records.
This is among several reasons someone's criminal history could go undetected. For starters, the Corrections Department search would reveal only crimes for which a criminal served state prison time. It would not record crimes for which someone would serve time on Rikers Island, a city correctional facility, for instance.
(A check of the Web site for Guy Velella, who pleaded guilty to one felony count of bribery last spring, for instance, and served time in Rikers Island brings up no matches.)
Second, it would not reveal misdemeanors at all.
A check of the Corrections Web site by Newsday turned up only one of Reynolds' crimes: his 1993 felony conviction for attempted burglary.
Why didn't ChoicePoint report that to FreshDirect?
Jones said that under New York law, no consumer reporting agency can report records of convictions, release or parole, more than seven years old.
What about the misdemeanors? Reynolds had six of those in the city from 1990 through 1997.
He also has another felony conviction from 1991 from Orange County for attempted criminal possession of stolen property, for which he received 11 months.
To find those crimes, FreshDirect would have had to request a more in-depth search that included files in the state Office of Court Administration.
In short, such background checks leave much to be desired. In fact, just as they can provide "clean" records for those with long rap sheets, sloppy work can also tag innocent people as felons.
Ironically, in 2000, ChoicePoint acquired Database Technologies of Boca Raton, Fla., the company notorious for wrongly including possibly innocent people on a convicted felon list for the Florida Division of Elections, using flawed data to erroneously remove thousands of people - many of them black - from the voting rolls.
FreshDirect's Boris said that his company, luckily, has not suffered from Reynolds' frightening encounters with FreshDirect customers.
Boris also said the Long Island City-based firm, which delivers groceries in three boroughs, is hiring a new firm to conduct background checks. All 270 delivery people for the company will undergo a secondary background check, he said.
"Thankfully it has not had an impact on sales," he said. "It's an isolated incident ... and we have had one of our best weeks ever."
Thursday, September 02, 2004
NAS Recruitment Communications, Hannibal Inc. and InfoLink Screening Services Partner to Provide HR Communications and Web-Based Recruiting with Integrated Background Screening™
Three highly respected names in Human Resources have joined forces to provide companies with a revolutionary blend of services that make the hiring process more efficient and effective.
LOS ANGELES, CA. – September 1, 2004 – The partnership announced today joins three companies: NAS Recruitment Communications, a recognized leader in the specialized field of human resource communications, Hannibal, Inc., a software development firm specializing in recruiting automation solutions, and InfoLink Screening Services, Inc., a nationwide leader in employment background screening, drug testing and physical exam services.
The three companies’ services, each of which may be utilized separately, are now available through NAS’s new web-based recruiting tool called "Max". Max makes it easier for HR departments to source, match, screen and hire quality employees. One of the primary benefits of Max is the ease with which recruitment ads can be placed and tracked.
"Companies of every size can count on Max for the simplest and most efficient recruiting assistance in the industry," stated Don Sabatino, Vice President of NAS Recruitment Communications. "Max is not a typical applicant tracking system (ATS). Unlike the traditional ATS approach, which can take months to fully set-up and integrate, Max will be up and running in a matter of days."
Max installs easily, is updated automatically and provides a full range of sourcing, screening, and organizational functions that are ideally suited to the needs of today’s modern Human Resources executives. Max is also available in a tiered format to fit the exact requirements and budgetary commitments of every HR department. Key components include the following:
· An innovative interface for selecting and posting recruitment ads to print publications, job boards, career sites and internal referral sites
· A customized library of job descriptions
· Powerful filtering and ranking technology
· Resume pool management, candidate tracking and reporting
· Seamless Integration with InfoLink Screening Services for background checks
A strategic partner in the release of Max is InfoLink Screening Services, a leading provider of background screening, drug testing and physical exams of job applicants and employees. InfoLink has a strong reputation for providing exceptional service and fast turnaround of information, as well as ensuring its clients screening practices are legally compliant.
“InfoLink’s Integrated Background Screening™ and easy-to-use web-based solution enable Max users to eliminate duplicate data entry and data entry errors, increase efficiency, and reduce cost and time-to-hire,” stated Barry Nadell, President and Co-Founder of InfoLink Screening Services. “Our combined strengths give HR departments total control in recruiting and background screening their job applicants.”
NAS Recruitment Communications
NAS Recruitment Communications is recognized as a leader in the specialized field of human resource solutions. As part of the McCann Worldgroup, we offer a network with global, national and local-market expertise. HR departments are able to benefit from our proprietary Demand Chain, a process map that creates the foundation and traction to lead superbly talented people to our Employer of Choice clients. For more information, please contact Greg Rousseau or Renee Fossler at NAS Los Angeles at (818) 906-3313 or visit www.nasrecruitment.com.
Hannibal, Inc.
Pioneering numerous advancements in electronic recruiting, Hannibal, Inc. emerged as an industry leader by developing HR technology that provides valuable, cost effective and efficient services at the touch of a button. Hannibal’s continued goal is the development of products that anyone can use, regardless of computer literacy level, Internet skills or knowledge of recruiting laws and practices. For more information, please email info@hannibalinc.com or visit http://www.hannibalinc.com/.
InfoLink Screening Services, Inc.
InfoLink Screening Services is a leading provider of employment background checks, drug testing and physical exams. Thousands of companies nationwide, from small businesses to Fortune 500’s, rely on InfoLink's exceptional service, fast turnaround, legal compliance and accurate reports. InfoLink's easy-to-use web-based solution enables easy order entry, status tracking, hit notification and secure archiving. Its drug screening and physical exam programs include a nationwide network of thousands of collection sites and clinics, secure online reporting and consolidated billing. InfoLink’s comprehensive employee screening services and seamless integration with Human Resource software increase efficiency and enable businesses to Hire with Confidence™. For more information, please call (800) 990-HIRE (4473) or visit http://www.infolinkscreening.com.
Three highly respected names in Human Resources have joined forces to provide companies with a revolutionary blend of services that make the hiring process more efficient and effective.
LOS ANGELES, CA. – September 1, 2004 – The partnership announced today joins three companies: NAS Recruitment Communications, a recognized leader in the specialized field of human resource communications, Hannibal, Inc., a software development firm specializing in recruiting automation solutions, and InfoLink Screening Services, Inc., a nationwide leader in employment background screening, drug testing and physical exam services.
The three companies’ services, each of which may be utilized separately, are now available through NAS’s new web-based recruiting tool called "Max". Max makes it easier for HR departments to source, match, screen and hire quality employees. One of the primary benefits of Max is the ease with which recruitment ads can be placed and tracked.
"Companies of every size can count on Max for the simplest and most efficient recruiting assistance in the industry," stated Don Sabatino, Vice President of NAS Recruitment Communications. "Max is not a typical applicant tracking system (ATS). Unlike the traditional ATS approach, which can take months to fully set-up and integrate, Max will be up and running in a matter of days."
Max installs easily, is updated automatically and provides a full range of sourcing, screening, and organizational functions that are ideally suited to the needs of today’s modern Human Resources executives. Max is also available in a tiered format to fit the exact requirements and budgetary commitments of every HR department. Key components include the following:
· An innovative interface for selecting and posting recruitment ads to print publications, job boards, career sites and internal referral sites
· A customized library of job descriptions
· Powerful filtering and ranking technology
· Resume pool management, candidate tracking and reporting
· Seamless Integration with InfoLink Screening Services for background checks
A strategic partner in the release of Max is InfoLink Screening Services, a leading provider of background screening, drug testing and physical exams of job applicants and employees. InfoLink has a strong reputation for providing exceptional service and fast turnaround of information, as well as ensuring its clients screening practices are legally compliant.
“InfoLink’s Integrated Background Screening™ and easy-to-use web-based solution enable Max users to eliminate duplicate data entry and data entry errors, increase efficiency, and reduce cost and time-to-hire,” stated Barry Nadell, President and Co-Founder of InfoLink Screening Services. “Our combined strengths give HR departments total control in recruiting and background screening their job applicants.”
NAS Recruitment Communications
NAS Recruitment Communications is recognized as a leader in the specialized field of human resource solutions. As part of the McCann Worldgroup, we offer a network with global, national and local-market expertise. HR departments are able to benefit from our proprietary Demand Chain, a process map that creates the foundation and traction to lead superbly talented people to our Employer of Choice clients. For more information, please contact Greg Rousseau or Renee Fossler at NAS Los Angeles at (818) 906-3313 or visit www.nasrecruitment.com.
Hannibal, Inc.
Pioneering numerous advancements in electronic recruiting, Hannibal, Inc. emerged as an industry leader by developing HR technology that provides valuable, cost effective and efficient services at the touch of a button. Hannibal’s continued goal is the development of products that anyone can use, regardless of computer literacy level, Internet skills or knowledge of recruiting laws and practices. For more information, please email info@hannibalinc.com or visit http://www.hannibalinc.com/.
InfoLink Screening Services, Inc.
InfoLink Screening Services is a leading provider of employment background checks, drug testing and physical exams. Thousands of companies nationwide, from small businesses to Fortune 500’s, rely on InfoLink's exceptional service, fast turnaround, legal compliance and accurate reports. InfoLink's easy-to-use web-based solution enables easy order entry, status tracking, hit notification and secure archiving. Its drug screening and physical exam programs include a nationwide network of thousands of collection sites and clinics, secure online reporting and consolidated billing. InfoLink’s comprehensive employee screening services and seamless integration with Human Resource software increase efficiency and enable businesses to Hire with Confidence™. For more information, please call (800) 990-HIRE (4473) or visit http://www.infolinkscreening.com.
Wednesday, August 18, 2004
ZERORISK HR, Inc., Announces Partnership with InfoLink Screening Services
Dallas, August 5, 2004 — ZERORISK HR, Inc., the Dallas-based behavioral testing and interviewing solutions provider, has announced a partnership with InfoLink Screening Services, Inc., a leading provider of background screening services, to provide background checking and drug screening services as part of ZERORISK HR’s core product, ZERORISK Hiring System®.
ZERORISK HR’s ZERORISK Hiring System is a Web-based behavioral assessment and interviewing program designed to measure a candidate’s emotional intelligence competencies. The hiring system provides a customized and legally reviewed behavioral interview guide to assist in making better and faster hiring decisions. The hiring system has already garnered much praise from client companies that range from the Fortune 500 to small enterprises covering a wide array of industries and has been proven to increase retention in client companies by as much as 67 percent.
InfoLink provides comprehensive and legally compliant employment background checks, legal compliance expertise, and industry-leading turnaround time using the latest online technology. Its clients use InfoLink’s secure, Web-based service to request searches, track work in progress, and securely retrieve and archive background screening, drug testing, and physical exam reports. Its cost-effective screening services help companies reduce workplace violence, employee theft, substance abuse, and negligent hiring liability.
“ZERORISK HR is continuously forging relationships with companies that add value to our customer base,” said Mike Poskey, vice president of ZERORISK HR. “Our goal is to provide total solutions, be it through our core products or the value-added services provided through our affiliate partners.
“By partnering with InfoLink Screening we are better able to provide a total hiring solution to our ZERORISK Hiring System clients,” Poskey said. “With this relationship, our clients now have access to industry-leading background checking services and are better equipped to make a more informed hiring decision.”
About ZERORISK HR
Formed to provide proven strategies for hiring, retention, workforce development, and workforce risk management, Dallas-based ZERORISK HR, Inc. (http://www.zeroriskhr.com/), is the exclusive provider of the ZERORISK Hiring System. The company is a subsidiary of International Risk Management Institute, a leader in the risk management and insurance sector for over 25 years. With more than 250 clients, including Texas Health Resources, BearingPoint Consulting, Cap Gemini Ernst & Young, Amazon.com, and Group 1 Automotive, ZERORISK HR is focused on partnering with its customers to cost-effectively automate and enhance the recruiting and staffing process.
About InfoLink Screening Services
InfoLink Screening Services (http://www.infolinkscreening.com/ ) is a leading provider of employment background checks, drug testing, and physical exams. Thousands of companies nationwide, from small businesses to those on the Fortune 500 list, rely on InfoLink’s exceptional service, fast turnaround, legal compliance, and accurate reports. InfoLink’s easy-to-use Web-based solution enables easy order entry, status tracking, immediate hit notification, and secure archiving. InfoLink’s drug screening and physical exam programs offer simple online reporting, a single consolidated invoice, and a network of over 8,000 collection sites and clinics. InfoLink’s comprehensive employee screening solutions and seamless integration with HR applications increase efficiency and enable businesses to Hire With Confidence™.
Dallas, August 5, 2004 — ZERORISK HR, Inc., the Dallas-based behavioral testing and interviewing solutions provider, has announced a partnership with InfoLink Screening Services, Inc., a leading provider of background screening services, to provide background checking and drug screening services as part of ZERORISK HR’s core product, ZERORISK Hiring System®.
ZERORISK HR’s ZERORISK Hiring System is a Web-based behavioral assessment and interviewing program designed to measure a candidate’s emotional intelligence competencies. The hiring system provides a customized and legally reviewed behavioral interview guide to assist in making better and faster hiring decisions. The hiring system has already garnered much praise from client companies that range from the Fortune 500 to small enterprises covering a wide array of industries and has been proven to increase retention in client companies by as much as 67 percent.
InfoLink provides comprehensive and legally compliant employment background checks, legal compliance expertise, and industry-leading turnaround time using the latest online technology. Its clients use InfoLink’s secure, Web-based service to request searches, track work in progress, and securely retrieve and archive background screening, drug testing, and physical exam reports. Its cost-effective screening services help companies reduce workplace violence, employee theft, substance abuse, and negligent hiring liability.
“ZERORISK HR is continuously forging relationships with companies that add value to our customer base,” said Mike Poskey, vice president of ZERORISK HR. “Our goal is to provide total solutions, be it through our core products or the value-added services provided through our affiliate partners.
“By partnering with InfoLink Screening we are better able to provide a total hiring solution to our ZERORISK Hiring System clients,” Poskey said. “With this relationship, our clients now have access to industry-leading background checking services and are better equipped to make a more informed hiring decision.”
About ZERORISK HR
Formed to provide proven strategies for hiring, retention, workforce development, and workforce risk management, Dallas-based ZERORISK HR, Inc. (http://www.zeroriskhr.com/), is the exclusive provider of the ZERORISK Hiring System. The company is a subsidiary of International Risk Management Institute, a leader in the risk management and insurance sector for over 25 years. With more than 250 clients, including Texas Health Resources, BearingPoint Consulting, Cap Gemini Ernst & Young, Amazon.com, and Group 1 Automotive, ZERORISK HR is focused on partnering with its customers to cost-effectively automate and enhance the recruiting and staffing process.
About InfoLink Screening Services
InfoLink Screening Services (http://www.infolinkscreening.com/ ) is a leading provider of employment background checks, drug testing, and physical exams. Thousands of companies nationwide, from small businesses to those on the Fortune 500 list, rely on InfoLink’s exceptional service, fast turnaround, legal compliance, and accurate reports. InfoLink’s easy-to-use Web-based solution enables easy order entry, status tracking, immediate hit notification, and secure archiving. InfoLink’s drug screening and physical exam programs offer simple online reporting, a single consolidated invoice, and a network of over 8,000 collection sites and clinics. InfoLink’s comprehensive employee screening solutions and seamless integration with HR applications increase efficiency and enable businesses to Hire With Confidence™.
Thursday, August 12, 2004
Wal-Mart to scrutinize job applicants
No. 1 retailer to announces tighter screening after workers named in sex assault case.
Read article.
BAD CHECKS
CSO - Framingham,MA,United States
More organizations are investigating criminal histories and other public records to make hiring and firing decisions. It's up to CSOs to make sure this powerful but flawed weapon doesn't backfire
Read article.
CHARLES Schwab Fined for Lax Employee Screening
The New York Stock Exchange fined the San Francisco-based firm $250,000 for failing to comply with several regulations governing the hiring of employees with criminal convictions.
Read article.
Background checks rile professors
Much of the furor is fueled by the discovery last summer that college professor Paul Krueger spent four years teaching at Penn State University before the school learned that he had murdered three fishermen 40 years earlier.
Read article.
Camp counselors may face scrutiny
Some Maine officials say the state should re-examine its regulations governing summer camps following the arrest of a counselor who police say had child pornography on his home computer in Massachusetts.
Read article.
No. 1 retailer to announces tighter screening after workers named in sex assault case.
Read article.
BAD CHECKS
CSO - Framingham,MA,United States
More organizations are investigating criminal histories and other public records to make hiring and firing decisions. It's up to CSOs to make sure this powerful but flawed weapon doesn't backfire
Read article.
CHARLES Schwab Fined for Lax Employee Screening
The New York Stock Exchange fined the San Francisco-based firm $250,000 for failing to comply with several regulations governing the hiring of employees with criminal convictions.
Read article.
Background checks rile professors
Much of the furor is fueled by the discovery last summer that college professor Paul Krueger spent four years teaching at Penn State University before the school learned that he had murdered three fishermen 40 years earlier.
Read article.
Camp counselors may face scrutiny
Some Maine officials say the state should re-examine its regulations governing summer camps following the arrest of a counselor who police say had child pornography on his home computer in Massachusetts.
Read article.
Friday, July 16, 2004
Managers not prepared for workplace violence
Companies sometimes hire workers who have been violent before and fail to react when they threaten violence again. At least half of the offenders in cases analyzed by USA TODAY had previous convictions for criminal behavior or had previously acted violently. Read more...
Inside the minds of workplace killers
USA TODAY's analysis found that the most common motivator behind a workplace killing is a firing, which preceded about 60 of the 224 fatal attacks. The second most likely trigger is an on-the-job argument, a fight or disagreement. Read more...
Companies sometimes hire workers who have been violent before and fail to react when they threaten violence again. At least half of the offenders in cases analyzed by USA TODAY had previous convictions for criminal behavior or had previously acted violently. Read more...
Inside the minds of workplace killers
USA TODAY's analysis found that the most common motivator behind a workplace killing is a firing, which preceded about 60 of the 224 fatal attacks. The second most likely trigger is an on-the-job argument, a fight or disagreement. Read more...
Thursday, June 17, 2004
Changes expected for spa workers
The Illinois Legislature is pushing forward new regulations that would require background checks and fingerprinting of massage therapists as the state looks to clamp down on prostitution rings using massage therapy as a front. Read article
Couple sues Special Olympics over their child's rape
A couple sued the Special Olympics on Thursday, claiming it should have conducted a more thorough background check on a volunteer who raped their disabled son. Read article
Carsonville honors volunteers who get background check
Field- trip chaperones, foster grandparents, room moms and basketball coaches are about to become card-carrying, certified school volunteers. Carsonville Elementary School is starting a program to thank volunteers who go through a criminal background check. Read article
The Illinois Legislature is pushing forward new regulations that would require background checks and fingerprinting of massage therapists as the state looks to clamp down on prostitution rings using massage therapy as a front. Read article
Couple sues Special Olympics over their child's rape
A couple sued the Special Olympics on Thursday, claiming it should have conducted a more thorough background check on a volunteer who raped their disabled son. Read article
Carsonville honors volunteers who get background check
Field- trip chaperones, foster grandparents, room moms and basketball coaches are about to become card-carrying, certified school volunteers. Carsonville Elementary School is starting a program to thank volunteers who go through a criminal background check. Read article
Thursday, May 13, 2004
City Orders Background Checks, Reform
The City of Des Plaines has begun implementing reforms in the way it hires employees, and launched criminal background checks on all department heads following recent revelations that many top managers never had to undergo such scrutiny. Read more...
U.P. hiring efforts criticized
At least two Union Pacific Railroad job applicants have been released because they failed to report misdemeanors in their past, and a union official is criticizing the company's hiring efforts. Read more...
Assault suspect had a record
City officials knew of Regginold Samuels' cocaine-possession conviction, for which adjudication was withheld, but decided to offer him a second chance. Read more...
Firm's use of credit checks grows - Job screenings tighten amid post-9/11 fears
Individuals lucky enough to be asked back for a final job interview often are asked to do one more thing: sign a form authorizing a company or organization to look into their credit histories. Read more...
Background check system lacks updates
The child-molesting case against James Altes was one of the most highly publicized in Indianapolis in recent years. Accused of molesting four girls over a four-year period, Altes was convicted in January on five molestation charges. He's serving a 72-year sentence at Wabash Valley Correctional Facility. But nearly three months after his conviction, a background check on Altes through an Indiana State Police Limited Criminal History search comes back clean -- as if he were never arrested. Read more...
Read No Record Found for more information.
The City of Des Plaines has begun implementing reforms in the way it hires employees, and launched criminal background checks on all department heads following recent revelations that many top managers never had to undergo such scrutiny. Read more...
U.P. hiring efforts criticized
At least two Union Pacific Railroad job applicants have been released because they failed to report misdemeanors in their past, and a union official is criticizing the company's hiring efforts. Read more...
Assault suspect had a record
City officials knew of Regginold Samuels' cocaine-possession conviction, for which adjudication was withheld, but decided to offer him a second chance. Read more...
Firm's use of credit checks grows - Job screenings tighten amid post-9/11 fears
Individuals lucky enough to be asked back for a final job interview often are asked to do one more thing: sign a form authorizing a company or organization to look into their credit histories. Read more...
Background check system lacks updates
The child-molesting case against James Altes was one of the most highly publicized in Indianapolis in recent years. Accused of molesting four girls over a four-year period, Altes was convicted in January on five molestation charges. He's serving a 72-year sentence at Wabash Valley Correctional Facility. But nearly three months after his conviction, a background check on Altes through an Indiana State Police Limited Criminal History search comes back clean -- as if he were never arrested. Read more...
Read No Record Found for more information.
Thursday, April 15, 2004
Rape Charge Prompts Schools To Do Background Checks
Choir Director Accused Of Raping Student. School officials did not order a background check on a choir choreographer who was charged with raping a student because he was hired by a parents group. Click to read article
Cheap Background Checks often Miss Offenders
Employers worried about crime, terrorism and liability are embracing a new breed of online services for screening job candidates, but these low-budget background checks don't always check out. The cheapest ones routinely fail to identify criminals, performing such superficial reviews that serious offenders can get perfectly clean reports, critics say. Click to read article
Choir Director Accused Of Raping Student. School officials did not order a background check on a choir choreographer who was charged with raping a student because he was hired by a parents group. Click to read article
Cheap Background Checks often Miss Offenders
Employers worried about crime, terrorism and liability are embracing a new breed of online services for screening job candidates, but these low-budget background checks don't always check out. The cheapest ones routinely fail to identify criminals, performing such superficial reviews that serious offenders can get perfectly clean reports, critics say. Click to read article
Friday, April 02, 2004
Friday, March 05, 2004
Employee Files-Digging Deeper
How far should you go with background screening?
By Barry J. Nadell, President of InfoLink Screening Services Inc.
Article originally appeared in the Security Products
While it's self-evident that a company should want to avoid hiring disruptive or dangerous employees, headlines continually provide examples of companies that have failed to address this point effectively in their hiring processes. Background screening -- professional or in-house -- is the accepted, cost-effective means of identifying such individuals. However, denying questionable applicants employment without incurring significant legal liabilities has become much more complicated.
Legal complexity has crept into the hiring process in ways that appear contradictory. On one hand, there is the legal doctrine of negligent hiring by which companies can be held accountable and penalized for poor hiring or retention decisions. A case in point is Ward v. Trusted Health, No. 94-4297 (Suffolk Superior Court). Trusted Health Resources Inc. hired Jesse L. Rogers in 1991 as an aide in a home health care program run by the Visiting Nurses Association of Boston. Trusted Health Resources never requested a criminal background on Rogers, but such a check would have revealed six larceny-related convictions in Massachusetts. Likewise, his bogus claims to have worked at a state agency and attended nursing classes at Northeastern University would have been uncovered.
Rogers was later convicted of stabbing to death John Ward, a quadriplegic under his care, and Ward's grandmother. The murders apparently were committed to cover up thefts from the household. Ward's parents brought suit against Trusted Health and VNA, winning compensatory and punitive damages of $26.5 million, sending Trusted Health into bankruptcy.
On the other hand are the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission (EEOC) guidelines against disparate treatment. Disparate treatment (or impact) is defined as different treatment of individuals based on color, religion, sex, age or any of the discrimination terms covered under Title VII. Simply put, businesses are expected to perform due diligence before hiring employees, but their decisions for rejecting applicants must not be discriminatory.
While these legal factors merit thoughtful consideration, they do not change an employer's underlying purposes to learn all appropriate information about an applicant, to verify the information provided or obtained and to act on that information to the good of the organization.
Obtaining Information
The first line of defense for eliminating undesirable employees is the job application. Since the application form should ask as many relevant questions as possible, a one-page application would be a fairly obvious example of an incomplete form. Crucial to the effectiveness of the application (and subsequent interviews) are the questions that may or may not be asked. In some cases, questions may be asked, but any negative information obtained is not, in itself, grounds to deny employment.
Can an employer ask about arrests and then deny employment in learning of an arrest?
In industries such as aviation or law enforcement, employers are prohibited from hiring where there has been an arrest. A similar prohibition exists for health care providers when the arrest is for drug or sex crimes. However, in most industries, an employer is prohibited from seeking from any source whatsoever a record of arrest that did not lead to conviction. Because of disparate impact, denial of a job due to arrest may only cause an employer to be in court more often than necessary.
Until the last few years, many employment attorneys were quick to take the easy way out of convictions and recommend asking, "Have you ever been convicted of a felony?" Today, however, due to variations in treating crimes from state to state, more employment attorneys are realizing that simply asking for felonies does not provide adequate information. For instance, a crime such as battery is a felony in several states, but only a misdemeanor in many others. Further, district attorneys often allow arrests for felonies to be plea-bargained down to misdemeanors due to overcrowding of court dockets.
Due to these factors, the recommended conviction question would be, "Have you ever been convicted of a felony or a misdemeanor?" or, simply, "Have you ever been convicted of a crime?" In either case the qualifier, "A conviction will not be an absolute bar to employment," is required by the EEOC.
A related question, "Have you ever participated in a pre-trial or a post trial diversion program?" is a question an employer may not ask due to the Americans with Disabilities Act. An employer may ask, "Are you currently out on bail on your own recognizance, pending trial?" However, court rulings have made it clear that the employer may not deny employment due to a positive answer. A common practice is to postpone the hiring decision until the case is resolved. If there is no conviction, the position remains open and the applicant is the most qualified, then the employer should hire. However, as might be expected, postponement normally results in the applicant seeking employment elsewhere. The same course of action holds true if the subject has an outstanding warrant.
The EEOC's issued statements indicate that, if asked properly, an employer may inquire about driving under the influence convictions (DUIs). The proper phrasing is, "Have you ever been convicted of a DUI?" A negative response on an application that is later discovered to be false by a background-screening agency establishes that falsification as grounds not to hire. Clearly, it is easier to deny employment for falsification of an application than for any other reason. Therefore, employers today must ask all possible legal questions on the employment application form and then perform a background check to confirm the truthfulness of the applicant's responses.
Verifying Information
Once a prospective employee's application has been obtained and thoroughly completed, the data provided must be verified, or data not provided must sometimes be uncovered. Many employers do not recognize that background checks fall under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Actually, credit is only about 20 percent of the act's provisions. As indicated below, any type of investigative report into a consumer's background is governed by the FCRA.
"The terms consumer report means any written, oral, or other communication of any information by a consumer reporting agency bearing on a consumer's credit worthiness, credit standing, credit capacity, character, general reputation, personal characteristics, or mode of living which is used or expected to be used or collected in whole or in part for the purpose of serving as a factor in establishing the consumer's eligibility for ... employment purposes ... "--Fair Credit Reporting Act
Employment is specifically recognized by the Act as a permissible purpose for conducting what is commonly called a background check.
In verifying background information, an employer may learn about negative information, such as a crime, that may not be construed as a job-related offense and for which employment cannot be denied. In other words, the EEOC holds that an individual convicted of a crime is not automatically ineligible for employment. Denial of employment must be job-related.
Many job applicants conveniently forget to divulge information specifically requested on an application. Such material omissions are, by themselves, grounds for denial of a position. Time and again, questions about an applicant's criminal past are checked no and a background check reveals the truth, providing a means to legally deny employment.
Acting on Verified Information
How does an employer use the information found in a background screen? The EEOC not only dictates that every decision be weighed against the overall analysis of a candidate, but that a conviction for a crime should be analyzed based upon the nature and gravity of the offense, the time lapsed since the offense occurred and the job applied for. A minor instance of vandalism that occurred as part of a high school prank 20 years before might have little significance for a sales candidate with a good selling record. However, any driving offence might have relevance for someone working at an auto dealership.
Can an employer deny employment due to a conviction? The key question is whether the conviction is job related. Whether the conviction was for a felony or for a misdemeanor is not an issue. Clearly, when hiring someone who can affect the company financially, such as an accountant, a manager or someone directly handling cash or credit cards, an embezzlement conviction can be considered job related. Battery, which is most often a misdemeanor, can be construed as job related, as it is a form of violence.
What about convictions for failure to appear, petty theft or DUI? An employer must analyze whether they have a sound business reason for denying employment in these and other gray area circumstances. Although criminal convictions must clearly relate to job responsibilities, employer awareness of legal liabilities for negligent hiring or negligent retention should send any applicant with a recent history of violent crime out the door.
Many employers consider good character a key ingredient in a job candidate. If good character is important within a company's philosophy, then a case could be made to deny employment based on crimes that indicate an abnormality or defect in the person's character.
The denial of employment for a DUI conviction, specifically, always seems to be a gray area. How many times did one drive drunk to get convicted? How many convictions does it take to deny someone a job based on character? If the applicant answered the DUI question no and the background check shows them to have lied, then the issue of character goes not to the DUI, but to the falsification of the employment application.
Conclusion
Today, employers are concerned about workplace violence, theft and falsified applications. Therefore, the only method of preventive hiring is to ask all appropriate criminal background questions and then verify those answers for authenticity through a complete background screen. In most cases, prospective employees with shady histories will fail to provide the requested information and can be dismissed for dishonesty on the application.
For those who are honest about their transgressions, employers can make an appropriate business decision. Does the negative information obtained indicate a sound business reason or unacceptable character for the position in question? If something goes wrong after hire, are you putting yourself, fellow employees and the public at risk? If so, then the best decision for the security and peace of mind of all concerned is a denial of employment.
Barry J. Nadell is president and a co-founder of InfoLink Screening Services Inc., Chatsworth, Calif., a nationwide provider of background screening and drug testing programs.
How far should you go with background screening?
By Barry J. Nadell, President of InfoLink Screening Services Inc.
Article originally appeared in the Security Products
While it's self-evident that a company should want to avoid hiring disruptive or dangerous employees, headlines continually provide examples of companies that have failed to address this point effectively in their hiring processes. Background screening -- professional or in-house -- is the accepted, cost-effective means of identifying such individuals. However, denying questionable applicants employment without incurring significant legal liabilities has become much more complicated.
Legal complexity has crept into the hiring process in ways that appear contradictory. On one hand, there is the legal doctrine of negligent hiring by which companies can be held accountable and penalized for poor hiring or retention decisions. A case in point is Ward v. Trusted Health, No. 94-4297 (Suffolk Superior Court). Trusted Health Resources Inc. hired Jesse L. Rogers in 1991 as an aide in a home health care program run by the Visiting Nurses Association of Boston. Trusted Health Resources never requested a criminal background on Rogers, but such a check would have revealed six larceny-related convictions in Massachusetts. Likewise, his bogus claims to have worked at a state agency and attended nursing classes at Northeastern University would have been uncovered.
Rogers was later convicted of stabbing to death John Ward, a quadriplegic under his care, and Ward's grandmother. The murders apparently were committed to cover up thefts from the household. Ward's parents brought suit against Trusted Health and VNA, winning compensatory and punitive damages of $26.5 million, sending Trusted Health into bankruptcy.
On the other hand are the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission (EEOC) guidelines against disparate treatment. Disparate treatment (or impact) is defined as different treatment of individuals based on color, religion, sex, age or any of the discrimination terms covered under Title VII. Simply put, businesses are expected to perform due diligence before hiring employees, but their decisions for rejecting applicants must not be discriminatory.
While these legal factors merit thoughtful consideration, they do not change an employer's underlying purposes to learn all appropriate information about an applicant, to verify the information provided or obtained and to act on that information to the good of the organization.
Obtaining Information
The first line of defense for eliminating undesirable employees is the job application. Since the application form should ask as many relevant questions as possible, a one-page application would be a fairly obvious example of an incomplete form. Crucial to the effectiveness of the application (and subsequent interviews) are the questions that may or may not be asked. In some cases, questions may be asked, but any negative information obtained is not, in itself, grounds to deny employment.
Can an employer ask about arrests and then deny employment in learning of an arrest?
In industries such as aviation or law enforcement, employers are prohibited from hiring where there has been an arrest. A similar prohibition exists for health care providers when the arrest is for drug or sex crimes. However, in most industries, an employer is prohibited from seeking from any source whatsoever a record of arrest that did not lead to conviction. Because of disparate impact, denial of a job due to arrest may only cause an employer to be in court more often than necessary.
Until the last few years, many employment attorneys were quick to take the easy way out of convictions and recommend asking, "Have you ever been convicted of a felony?" Today, however, due to variations in treating crimes from state to state, more employment attorneys are realizing that simply asking for felonies does not provide adequate information. For instance, a crime such as battery is a felony in several states, but only a misdemeanor in many others. Further, district attorneys often allow arrests for felonies to be plea-bargained down to misdemeanors due to overcrowding of court dockets.
Due to these factors, the recommended conviction question would be, "Have you ever been convicted of a felony or a misdemeanor?" or, simply, "Have you ever been convicted of a crime?" In either case the qualifier, "A conviction will not be an absolute bar to employment," is required by the EEOC.
A related question, "Have you ever participated in a pre-trial or a post trial diversion program?" is a question an employer may not ask due to the Americans with Disabilities Act. An employer may ask, "Are you currently out on bail on your own recognizance, pending trial?" However, court rulings have made it clear that the employer may not deny employment due to a positive answer. A common practice is to postpone the hiring decision until the case is resolved. If there is no conviction, the position remains open and the applicant is the most qualified, then the employer should hire. However, as might be expected, postponement normally results in the applicant seeking employment elsewhere. The same course of action holds true if the subject has an outstanding warrant.
The EEOC's issued statements indicate that, if asked properly, an employer may inquire about driving under the influence convictions (DUIs). The proper phrasing is, "Have you ever been convicted of a DUI?" A negative response on an application that is later discovered to be false by a background-screening agency establishes that falsification as grounds not to hire. Clearly, it is easier to deny employment for falsification of an application than for any other reason. Therefore, employers today must ask all possible legal questions on the employment application form and then perform a background check to confirm the truthfulness of the applicant's responses.
Verifying Information
Once a prospective employee's application has been obtained and thoroughly completed, the data provided must be verified, or data not provided must sometimes be uncovered. Many employers do not recognize that background checks fall under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Actually, credit is only about 20 percent of the act's provisions. As indicated below, any type of investigative report into a consumer's background is governed by the FCRA.
"The terms consumer report means any written, oral, or other communication of any information by a consumer reporting agency bearing on a consumer's credit worthiness, credit standing, credit capacity, character, general reputation, personal characteristics, or mode of living which is used or expected to be used or collected in whole or in part for the purpose of serving as a factor in establishing the consumer's eligibility for ... employment purposes ... "--Fair Credit Reporting Act
Employment is specifically recognized by the Act as a permissible purpose for conducting what is commonly called a background check.
In verifying background information, an employer may learn about negative information, such as a crime, that may not be construed as a job-related offense and for which employment cannot be denied. In other words, the EEOC holds that an individual convicted of a crime is not automatically ineligible for employment. Denial of employment must be job-related.
Many job applicants conveniently forget to divulge information specifically requested on an application. Such material omissions are, by themselves, grounds for denial of a position. Time and again, questions about an applicant's criminal past are checked no and a background check reveals the truth, providing a means to legally deny employment.
Acting on Verified Information
How does an employer use the information found in a background screen? The EEOC not only dictates that every decision be weighed against the overall analysis of a candidate, but that a conviction for a crime should be analyzed based upon the nature and gravity of the offense, the time lapsed since the offense occurred and the job applied for. A minor instance of vandalism that occurred as part of a high school prank 20 years before might have little significance for a sales candidate with a good selling record. However, any driving offence might have relevance for someone working at an auto dealership.
Can an employer deny employment due to a conviction? The key question is whether the conviction is job related. Whether the conviction was for a felony or for a misdemeanor is not an issue. Clearly, when hiring someone who can affect the company financially, such as an accountant, a manager or someone directly handling cash or credit cards, an embezzlement conviction can be considered job related. Battery, which is most often a misdemeanor, can be construed as job related, as it is a form of violence.
What about convictions for failure to appear, petty theft or DUI? An employer must analyze whether they have a sound business reason for denying employment in these and other gray area circumstances. Although criminal convictions must clearly relate to job responsibilities, employer awareness of legal liabilities for negligent hiring or negligent retention should send any applicant with a recent history of violent crime out the door.
Many employers consider good character a key ingredient in a job candidate. If good character is important within a company's philosophy, then a case could be made to deny employment based on crimes that indicate an abnormality or defect in the person's character.
The denial of employment for a DUI conviction, specifically, always seems to be a gray area. How many times did one drive drunk to get convicted? How many convictions does it take to deny someone a job based on character? If the applicant answered the DUI question no and the background check shows them to have lied, then the issue of character goes not to the DUI, but to the falsification of the employment application.
Conclusion
Today, employers are concerned about workplace violence, theft and falsified applications. Therefore, the only method of preventive hiring is to ask all appropriate criminal background questions and then verify those answers for authenticity through a complete background screen. In most cases, prospective employees with shady histories will fail to provide the requested information and can be dismissed for dishonesty on the application.
For those who are honest about their transgressions, employers can make an appropriate business decision. Does the negative information obtained indicate a sound business reason or unacceptable character for the position in question? If something goes wrong after hire, are you putting yourself, fellow employees and the public at risk? If so, then the best decision for the security and peace of mind of all concerned is a denial of employment.
Barry J. Nadell is president and a co-founder of InfoLink Screening Services Inc., Chatsworth, Calif., a nationwide provider of background screening and drug testing programs.
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