Tag Archives: Criminal Record

Screening only one facet of avoiding, or catching, a criminal

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The headlines on the Jerry Sandusky trial are a clear indication that there needs to be more than background checks in order to protect children from predators. For those not familiar with the case, Sandusky is the former Penn State assistant football coach who is currently facing 52 counts tied to what prosecutors say was his sexual abuse of at least 10 boys over a span of 15 years. The state says Sandusky met many of his alleged victims through The Second Mile, a charity for underprivileged youths that he founded.

Avoiding the hiring of someone with a criminal record that could pose a threat to your company or your employees is one thing. But catching a criminal is another, and a background check doesn’t always reveal one. Sandusky, though his trial is ongoing and he hasn’t been convicted of any crime yet, had no criminal record leading up to this recent arrest.

Last week the national Amateur Athletic Union (AAU), one of the nation’s largest volunteer sports organizations, announced aggressive actions to implement the measures put forth by two independent task forces. The first steps include requiring that all adults involved in AAU activities – from volunteer coaches to AAU staff – undergo detailed background checks. The second is adopting clear policies and procedures designed to ensure that young athletes are never left alone with individual adults. And the third step is requiring all AAU volunteers and staff to report any incidents of suspected child abuse to law enforcement and to officials of the AAU and related sports clubs.

The action was prompted after child sexual abuse allegations were lodged against an ex-president of the group, according to news reports. In total, there are 42 recommendations for changes in AAU policies, procedures and protocols, all designed to make young athletes safer. The recommendations cover six broad subject areas: culture, protocols, screening, participation, training and reporting.

The fact that screening, employment screening and volunteer screening, is only part of the recommendations is a good indication that every employer and every organization across all industries should have a multi-tiered system in place for preventing – or at least catching — such abuse.

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Clearing up myths about background checks

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With the use of background checks increasingly in the news, employees and job seekers across all industries are becoming more wary of what details about their personal and professional histories are being researched, reviewed and used against them during the hiring process.

The vast majority of employers use fair, unbiased measures to help them determine the best applicant for a particular job. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t a slew of misconceptions out there regarding employment screening. Here are a few of the most common misconceptions, which all employers should be aware of as you journey through the hiring process.

Myth 1: Background check policies are the biggest reason the unemployment rate is so high. This is untrue. Background checks do keep the occasional applicant from securing the job, but background check policies are put in place to ensure the best applicants are hired and retained. The goal is to hire, not to keep a position unfilled.

Myth 2: If you have a criminal record, you won’t be hired. While having a criminal record could pose some difficulties during the hiring process, that depends on how long ago the crime was committed, the nature of the conviction, among other things. According to one survey, less than 10 percent of applicants with criminal records are denied employment.

Myth 3: Employers factor in your credit score when deciding whether or not to hire you. Not true in most cases. Credit checks are typically done when the job in question involves handling money and keeping track of finances. Even so, most employers use what’s called an Employment Credit Report, which does not include a credit score.

Myth 4:  Applicants aren’t given a chance to correct or argue findings. Actually, by law employers are required to give job applicants a copy of their background check and allow them to clear up any misinformation.

As with most areas of business, communication is key. Make sure your policies are clearly stated, and strictly followed. And give prospective employees the chance to clear up any misinformation that might have been uncovered during the process.

Don’t make assumptions when hiring seasonal workers

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More assumptions are made about summer and seasonal workers than perhaps any other segment of the workforce. Think about it: If you hire seasonal workers in the summertime, how many of them are young adults? Do you assume what kind of past they have based on the way they dress or where they go to school? Do you assume they’re too young to have a criminal record? Do you assume, if they worked for you last summer, or perhaps several summers in a row, that they haven’t gotten into any trouble in the nine months since you last saw them? If a highly respected, returning employee has brought a friend, cousin or brother to apply for a job with you as well, do you assume anything about their employability based mostly on the personal reference given to you by your current (or former) employee?

Employers need to make intelligent decisions on their seasonal and summer workforce that are based on facts, not assumptions. Many employers don’t bother with typical employment screening processes for seasonal employees, believing it to be too much hassle and too much money to spend on short-term workers. But your business is worth being careful with employees all the time, not just certain times of the year or with certain types of positions.

As you begin advertising for summer positions, and as the job applications start coming in, along with familiar faces of past seasonal employees popping into your office to see about summer work, make sure you’ve got impartial employment screening practices in place, so that you can be sure you’re hiring the most trustworthy employees, not just the familiar ones, or the ones you assume will be best.

 

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Woman fired over 40-year-old shoplifting conviction

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A woman was fired from her customer service job at Wells Fargo Home Mortgage in Milwaukee recently for a 40-year-old shoplifting conviction, calling into question not just rules about background checks, but judgment calls regarding the policies that employers establish regarding what is turned up by employment screening tactics.

According to news reports, Yolanda Quesada was escorted out of the office where she’d worked full-time for five years and had been given recognition awards, service excellence pins and certificates of appreciation.  The reason: A background check conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation had turned up two shoplifting arrests, both from 1972, when Quesada was 18. She admits she stole clothing from a Milwaukee department store on both occasions; she was fined $50 for the first, and placed on one year of probation for the second.

Quesada’s former role with Wells Fargo did not include the handling of money, but company spokesman Jim Hines said “Because Wells Fargo is an insured depository institution, we are bound by federal law that generally prohibits us from hiring or continuing the employment of any person who we know has a criminal record involving dishonesty or breach of trust.”

Being bound by law to honor certain rules regarding the criminal records of employees or potential employees is understandable, but employers across all industries should use this example as a reminder to not only set fair practices in regards to employment screening, but to use good judgment and common sense when interpreting the results and comparing facts on background checks and criminal records with the tasks that the prospective employee will be in charge of. Every decision on the employment of an individual comes down to a judgment call; let’s use good judgment to hire good people.

 

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Airport security badges issued before background checks complete

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Recent news reports that several new airport security employees were given their security badges before their background checks were complete raises concerns about whether other employers take short cuts on employment screening protocols that could compromise the safety of the public and/or fellow employees.

The Transportation Security Administration confirmed that some new employees were issued their security badges even though the third and final step in the background check process had not been completed. The delay was due to a backlog from a computer switchover, the TSA reported.

During the screening process, new employees are required to verify their identity. Then, they are matched to a terrorist watch list. If they are on the list, then they are tossed out. Next is a verification of a prospective employee’s criminal record. Finally, there is a security threat assessment conducted by the TSA. That check is pending for many of the new employees, but airports have been given the OK to grant the badges without that step being completed. The TSA has said security access is limited for those with the provisional badges, and there is no security threat in issuing the badges prematurely.

However safe the public is despite this lapse in protocol, the public relations nightmare it has caused is reason enough for all employers to make sure that their pre-employment screening processes are followed to the letter. No shortcuts should be allowed, for safety and financial concerns, as well as possible legal ramifications.

 

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Employment verification takes the padding out of résumés

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When we think of pre-employment screening, employers often think of conducting background checks to turn up any criminal record a job applicant has or running a credit report to see if the potential hire is financially trustworthy. But the pre-employment screening process actually should start with something much simpler — verifying the information contained in the applicant’s résumé.

A lot has changed about the hiring process, but a résumé is still often the first thing you see regarding a potential employee. Yet would-be employees continue to pad their résumé with half-truths and outright lies, which makes employment verification a critical step in the hiring process.

As an employer, you need to do your homework on each and every applicant you are seriously considering, to make sure you’re getting someone with the depth of experience and education they purportedly have. The most common details on a résumé that are “enhanced” include: 

  1. Education. Doublecheck the fact that the applicant received the degree listed from the university listed. Also check to make sure the educational institution is an accredited college or university, not one of the many “diploma mills” out there.
  2. Length they’ve held a title. Sometimes an applicant will list an ending title beside the dates of their employment with a particular company, making it seem like they’ve been in a managerial or executive position for far longer than they have. Find out how long they held the most recent title and what responsibilities they had.
  3. Singular responsibility for group success. Applicants often enhance the contributions they made to a company’s bottom line or new initiative, regardless of how personally involved or responsible they were for that success.
  4. Salary. Make sure the current salary they list is what they’re actually earning, not what they think they’re worth.
  5. Computer skills. Employees know how critical it is to have certain computer-related skills, but listing a bunch of programs and applications in which they’re “proficient,” or saying that they’re “social media savvy” isn’t necessarily the case. Find out whether those specific programs and skills were used at their last job(s), or whether they just think you want them to be knowledgeable in those areas.

 

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FTC warns background check mobile apps makers they must comply with FCRA

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With the ever-increasing trend of conducting background checks on job applicants, there has been a glut of new employment screening services and mobile apps that advertise the ability to quickly and inexpensively produce a criminal record on your would-be employee, blind date or new nanny. But one thing we’ve known in the industry for years is that there are no short cuts to proper pre-employment screening. Now the Federal Trade Commission is demonstrating their agreement, issuing letters to the makers of six such mobile applications, warning them that the apps must comply with the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

The FTC warned the apps marketers that if they believe the background reports they provide are being used for employment screening, housing, credit, or other similar purposes, they must comply with the FCRA.

Some of the apps include criminal record histories, which could be used in employment and tenant screening. According to the letters, the agency has made no determination whether the companies are violating the FCRA, but encourages them to review their apps and their policies and procedures to be sure they comply with the law.

Don’t trust your business to any mobile app created by anyone other than a trusted employment screening service provider. The last thing an employer needs is to be inadvertently accused of wrongdoing, when they were just trying to do the right thing.

 

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More job applicants performing background checks on themselves

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Job applicants conducting background checks on … themselves? According to some industry experts, the latest trend in pre-employment screening is something called the “self background check,” where the prospective employee conducts a background check on themselves just to see what kind of personal and professional information is available in the public domain.

Self background checks can enable a job applicant to see just how much information a prospective employer can find out about one’s criminal record, educational background and job experience, before handing in a resumé laced with half-truths or taking the leap from a current job to a new one that might not pan out. It’s along the same lines as obtaining one’s credit report to make sure there are no surprises before applying for a loan.

While we encourage this trend of job applicants making sure their public information is accurate, we advise employers to continue to conduct their own professional pre-employment screening on every prospective employee.

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Juniata College passed on Sandusky after background check

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The child molestation case against former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky got worse last week when two more victims came forward with allegations that he sexually assaulted them during their time in The Second Mile, the children’s charity Sandusky founded.

Sandusky now faces criminal accusations from 10 young men and more than 50 charges stemming from what authorities say were assaults over 15 years on boys in his home, on Penn State property and elsewhere.

It was also reported that in May 2010, a year and a half after an initial investigation was launched into Sandusky’s conduct with young boys, he applied for a volunteer football coaching position at Juniata College in central Pennsylvania and was denied based on a background check. The background check showed a high school where Sandusky previously volunteered was investigating him, and though officials at Juniata didn’t know or ask for details, they decided to pass on Sandusky.

This brings to light the importance of not just conducting background checks but heeding the warning signs that pre-employment screening services dig up. Though Sandusky had no criminal record or any formal charges against him, Juniata College officials used their judgment based on all the facts they were given and made the best choice for their organization.

Given the scandal Penn State now has on its hands, Juniata College is an example of the immeasurable benefits of conducting a thorough background check on every potential employee or volunteer.

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Employment screening services tackle criminal record searches state by state, county by county

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It would be super-convenient if there was some magical nationwide database that held every criminal record of every person ever arrested or convicted of a crime. Unfortunately, that database does not exist. While there are private databases that hold millions of records from all 50 states, none claim to have all records from all states. And while many states have adequate databases of the crimes committed by residents of their states, they do not include crimes committed by current state residents while they lived in other states.

Using these private databases can be a good back-up measure, a resource to use to double-check the background information gleaned from other sources. But they shouldn’t be considered an exhaustive search.

The smartest thing for an employer to do is to hire a professional employment screening service that can attack the background check process thoroughly and systematically. Gathering previous addresses and former names used by the applicant in the last 10 years is a good first step, that way criminal records can be found in all states, counties and towns where the applicant has resided in the last decade.

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A professional pre-employment screening service will take care of such details for you, and will therefore give you the most thorough and trustworthy results.