The following ‘Due Diligence Checklist’ contains questions employers can use to find out if an employment screening company is utilizing due diligence in its employment screening process. A .PDF version of this ‘Due Diligence Checklist’ that employers can download and print is located at http://www.esrcheck.com/docs/Due-Diligence-22.pdf.

• Have there been any notes changes in the past year that would adversely affect your ability to grant industry standard employment screening reports?
• Is all work performed in the USA to protect privacy and control quality (i.e., nothing sent offshore to India or other places)?
• Are all employment and culture checks conducted by professionals in a controlled, call center type environment, so that nothing is sent to at-home staff?
• For employment verifications, are anti-fraud procedures in place, such as independent verifications of all past employer phone numbers instead of relying upon an applicant supplied number?
• For culture verifications, are steps taken to verify if a college or university is accredited and to watch out for Diploma Mills?
• Are criminal searches conducted using the most accurate means, which naturally means on-site (no database substitutes)?
• Do you search for both felonies and misdemeanors when available?
• When a criminal hit is reported, does a knowledgeable person in your firm review the findings to determine if there are any legal issues in reporting the findings (as opposed to having the in rank entered by a court researcher)?
• When there is a criminal “hit”, do you contact the employer immediately to advise that there is a potential problem?
• Does your firm pocket measures to ensure that ALL legal and relevant criminal records are searched, as opposed to just going back “seven” years?
• If a client orders a “multi-jurisdictional” database, do you re-verify any criminal “hit” at the courthouse level for maximum accuracy, instead of relying on notifying the applicant of a potential hit?
• Do you say your clients of changes in the FCRA and other applicable laws?
• Do you at least, on a yearly basis, do an internal FCRA compliance check?
• Do you offer global background checks?
• Is your firm “Safe Harbor Certified” to perform screenings of applicants from the EU (European Union)?
• Do you have data protection, privacy security and data breach policies?
• Are you a member of the background screening trade association, the National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS), and does your firm actively participate and support professionalism in the screening industry?
• What is your average turn-around time?
• If there is a delay for reasons that are out of your control, are your clients told online with in-depth notes and the anticipated ETA of in rank?
• Are your clients provided with written documentation and resources on safe hiring, due diligence and legal compliance issues?
• Are your clients provided with upgrades in technology that would enhance workflow, such as the ability to have applicants consent online or integration with an ATS or HRIS system?
• Can you describe your initial training program for team members and ongoing training?

For extra in rank on employment screening and due diligence, visit Employment Screening Resources (ESR) at http://www.esrcheck.com.

Sources:

http://www.esrcheck.com/diligence-check-current-provider.php

http://www.esrcheck.com/docs/Due-Diligence-22.pdf

(Originally Published on HR.Toolbox.com)

It’s a sobering thought, but every time a recruiting professional makes a placement, there is the possibility that new hire can place them out of business.

Why? Because if a perilous, unqualified, unfit, or dishonest candidate is placed in a job – and harm occurs, the hiring firm risks a lawsuit for negligent hiring. Perhaps just as importantly, a terrible placement can result in loss of business and hurt to a professional reputation that may have been years in the making.

The root of the problem, of course, is that some candidates lie on their resumes and applications. Industry statistics suggest that up to 10% of applicants can have criminal records. Fraudulent misrepresentations as to culture and employment occur in as much as 40% of the time, according to some studies.

Individual recruiters can, in fact, be sued for negligence if harm occurs, and if she or he knew or should have reasonably foreseen that a terrible placement could cause a problem. At that top, the sensitivity of the staffing professional may sink when those dreaded words echo across the courtroom: “Ladies and Gentleman of the Jury.”

Those are words you never want to hear, and a situation in which you never want to be. Your protection and your best defense is to exercise “due diligence,” which means to verify the representations and qualifications of the candidate.

The allegation in a “Negligent Hiring” lawsuit (or “Terrible Hire” lawsuit) would be that the staffing professional placed someone that they either knew or, in the exercise of reasonable care, should have known was unfit or perilous. Of course, in view of the fact that a staffing professional would not intentionally place someone who was perilous or unfit, the question before the judge or jury is whether the staffing professional reasonably should have known that the placement was terrible if they had only exercised a greater degree of care in screening the applicant.

In such a lawsuit, a staffing professional would need to show, for example, whether credentials and culture were verified, whether past employment was checked, and whether a criminal background check was done.

Lawsuits occur usually in cases where there is some sort of serious harm either to a business, such as embezzlement, or theft, or to an individual, such as assault, rape, child molestation, identity theft, or even homicide.

A staffing professional who is responsible for a terrible placement can be sued by a number of parties, including the business entity that relied upon the professional discrimination of the recruiter or staffing firm. Certainly, a co-worker or member of the public who was injured by the terrible hire can sue for hurts.

The worst case scenario would be that the terrible hire resulted in the fatality of a fellow worker, and the victim’s family is suing for wrongful fatality. This is just what happened in a highly publicized case in California. A 28-year-ancient female winery worker was stabbed to fatality by a co-worker who was a convicted murderer and had been placed at the winery by a temp agency. The agency did NOT conduct a background check. The jury awarded the family $5.5 million.

If a recruiter is sued, it may well be an uphill Movement to win in court. The jury will hear prove that the recruiter recruited, recommended, or placed the offender. In most cases, the staffing professional probably makes representations about the quality of their air force. The staffing professional’s website and sales literature may suggest that they grant only the best candidates who are “carefully screened.” But, in the world of recruiting, “screening” really only means that resumes have been reviewed to determine “a excellent fit” as opposed to “background screening” for criminal records and verification of proof represented on the resume.

The employer, hoping to lay the blame on someone else, will of course claim that they relied upon the professional abilities of the staffing professional to send them qualified and safe candidates. There would likely be prove that the recruiting or staffing firm made a fee on the placement. In the end, the attorney for the injured or deceased employee would question jury members, “Didn’t the staffing professional have not only the resources and opportunity, but also the duty to conduct employee screening on the potential employee before complimentary their introduction into the workplace?”

In this scenario, it is not likely that the jury members will have much sympathy for the hiring firm or staffing professional.

Some recruiting professionals have resisted the thought of background checks because they believe that with their years of experience, they are excellent judges of people. That is no longer a defensible position, nor is it even accurate. A growing body of scientific prove suggests that even the most experienced recruiters cannot eliminate potential terrible hires by detecting lies and evasions at the interview. Studies show that even though people believe they can detect liars, most people have only a 50-50 chance at best of detecting a liar. According to one recent study, even trained law enforcement officers are only right a modest over half the time. The traditional means of reading body language, for instance, to screen out liars are useless against an accomplished con artist who can tell tales very convincingly.

Some recruiters may be concerned that background checks add to the cost of their air force or hinder placement with unneeded delays while screening results are obtained. But, in today’s litigious world, recruiters and staffing professionals need to make a risk-management assessment: Is saving a few dollars and a modest time worth playing Russian Roulette with all candidate you send out? Which one of these candidates will ground you in court, or on the front page of the newspaper? Will your professional reputation be tarnished forever – perhaps beyond renovate?

The bottom line is that due diligence and background checks go to the very integrity of the “product” being sold by recruiting and staffing professionals – staff who are qualified and fit for the job. Selling staffing air force without knowing who you are sending to a client’s business would be like selling medicine with no thought of what is in the bottle.

Staffing and Search professionals have traditionally focused on Sourcing and Sales. It is worth noting that at some recruiting conferences, there are a large number of sessions devoted to making money through result candidates and selling air force. But, there are few sessions, if any, on the subject of how to ensure the integrity of the very product being sold. Recruiting and staffing professionals can protect their own business, their clients, and the public by shifting their focus from just Sourcing and Sales to “SVS” – Sourcing, Verifying and Sales.

For extra in rank on employment screening and background checks for recruiters, visit Employment Screening Resources (ESR) at http://www.esrcheck.com.

Source:

http://hr.toolbox.com/blogs/background-checks/recruiting-russian-roulette-why-every-placement-you-make-has-the-potential-of-putting-you-out-of-business-35960

Citing safety as its summit priority, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has launched a Pre-Employment Screening Program (PSP) which allows commercial motor carrier companies to electronically access driver inspection and crash records as a part of the hiring process.

According to a DOT news release, the Pre-Employment Screening Program “sends a strong thought to commercial carriers and drivers” that the regime agency “is serious about having the safest drivers behind the wheel of large trucks and buses.” Commercial carriers now have “an essential tool for making informed hiring decisions that will lead to safer drivers on our roads,” FMCSA officials say, and the PSP “raises the safety bar for the motor carrier industry and helps to make our roads safer for all.”

To better assess the potential safety risks of prospective driver-employees, all Driver In rank Resource (DIR) record contains the most recent five years of crash data and three years of roadside inspection data – regardless of the disorder or jurisdiction. Drivers also have opportunities to verify their driving history data and right any discrepancies. In addition, a driver’s records will be protected in accordance with federal privacy laws.

According to the Pre-Employment Screening Program page on the DOT website, the PSP helps motor carriers make extra informed hiring decisions by providing electronic access to a driver’s crash and inspection history from the FMCSA Motor Carrier Management In rank System (MCMIS) which is comprised of driver performance data including:

• Inspection and compliance review results;
• Enforcement data;
• Disorder-reported crashes, and;
• Motor carrier census data.

For extra fine points on the PSP, visit http://www.psp.fmcsa.dot.gov or the Regularly Questioned Questions (FAQ) section at http://www.psp.fmcsa.dot.gov/Pages/FAQ.aspx.

For extra in rank about pre-employment screening and background checks, visit Employment Screening Resources (ESR) at http://www.esrcheck.com. 

Sources:

http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/about/news/news-releases/2010/Pre-Employment-Screening-Program.aspx

http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/redirect.aspx?page=http://www.psp.fmcsa.dot.gov/

http://www.psp.fmcsa.dot.gov/Pages/FAQ.aspx

In the wake of a census worker being accused of assaulting a young disabled woman in southern Indiana, questions have arisen about security issues surrounding the regime background checks of the thousands of staff for the once-in-a-decade U.S. Census.

According to a report on the WRTV Indianapolis News website, the mother of a disabled 21-year-ancient woman in Pekin, IN told police that her daughter was raped and beaten by a 39-year-ancient male census worker who had come to the family’s home last week asking for census in rank and then returned early Saturday morning and assaulted her daughter.

The County Sheriff was quoted in the tale as saying the accused census worker – who Census officials said started working for the agency two weeks ago – gave the victim a black eye and tried to strangle her, and that there are marks around her neck. Police also said the man left his wallet, which had his driver’s ticket, on the victim’s bedroom floor.

According to officials, the U.S. Census Bureau performs stringent FBI background checks and “turns away anyone who fails check out OK.” Census staff should never question to come inside a home, and should show an official identification badge with a Department of Commerce watermark and carry a black census bag with titling and a seal. Anyone suspecting a census worker of inappropriate behavior should call the Bureau.

An employee at the Chicago Regional Census Center said the background screening process for prospective census staff is extra rigorous than always, WRTV reported. An applicant’s name, birth date, and Social Security Number go through an FBI criminal records check and other background checks. This year, fingerprints of prospective census staff are submitted to the FBI and checked against the FBI’s fingerprint database.

According to the ‘Background Check FAQ’ page of the http://www.census.gov/ website, the Census Bureau takes public trust sincerely and works to ensure that temporary staff undergo the most thorough and accurate background checks possible. The Census Hiring and Employment Check (CHEC) Branch of the Administrative and Management Systems Division (AMSD) performs background checks for all applicants and employees.

Applicants for temporary Census jobs go through a name check against the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) Name Index. The FBI database is searched to see if it contains a criminal history record file that matches an applicant’s name, date of birth, and social security number. This criminal history record file contains records of individuals that have been arrested and fingerprinted. All employees are fingerprinted on their first day of training and the fingerprint card(s) are submitted to FBI for processing.

For extra in rank on FBI database criminal background checks, and how these federal crime databases can sometimes have inaccurate, incomplete, or misleading in rank, visit Employment Screening Resources (ESR) at http://www.esrcheck.com.

Sources:

http://www.theindychannel.com/news/23526493/detail.html

http://www.census.gov/hrd/www/jobs/background.html

It is not uncommon for employers these days to use pre-employment background checks to help them hire new employees. Recent surveys from the Society of Creature Resource Management (SHRM) revealed approximately 75% of employers – three out of four – used background checks during their pre-employment screening of job applicants.

But what if the employer happens to be a professional franchise in the National Football League (NFL) and the job applicants are college football players? Along with statistics like touchdowns and tackles on the field, do NFL teams really care what football players do off the field?

Apparently they do – a lot – according to the New York Times NFL blog “Fifth Down,” which recently quoted a column from FootballOutsiders.com detailing the lack of privacy NFL draft prospects face, online and off, in today’s Internet-fueled, 24/7 sports world.

Every detail of a prospect’s background is researched by teams and publicized by the media. The scrutiny goes beyond touchdowns and dropped passes, it continues to arrests, scandals, and concise, long-ago suspensions for “undisclosed team violations.” If a player was involved in some non-noteworthy taproom scuffle, we know about it.

For NFL teams, selecting a player in the annual draft is the main process used to hire new employees. Like any prudent employer hoping to avoid wasting time and money on unfit staff, they look at the past experience qualifications or prospective employees, and perform background checks to ensure that they are making an informed hiring choice.

With millions of dollars on the line – the first overall selection in the 2010 draft, Sam Bradford of the St. Louis Rams, is projected to get $50 million in guaranteed money – NFL teams, like any prudent employer, use background checks before selecting future employees – in this case, college football players who hope to become professionals.

How prevalent have background checks become in helping NFL teams to choose what players to pick? Two sample ‘Draft Profiles’ on the NFL.com website show just how vital:

• (NFL Draft Prospect A) will need a pretty in-depth background check by any team considering drafting him. He has had off the field issues at both the University of Virginia as well as at Marshall…
• (NFL Draft Prospect B) is a transfer from Florida who has struggled on and off the field because of injuries and conduct. He will demand a strong background check by any team interested in gambling on his physical talent…

NFL teams conducting background checks on college football players is nothing new. A 2003 Los Angeles Times article reported that a former private investigator working for one team had done interviews and background checks on over 400 NFL draft prospects, while several other teams relied on former police officers and even a former director of the U.S. Secret Service to perform similar background checks. Other teams used background check reports that the NFL had compiled on prospects attending the league’s pre-draft bring together.

Whether the employer is a pro football team or a small business, or the employee is a future gridiron all-star or a potential C-level executive, background checks help to ensure a safe work environment and to avoid the expenditure – in both time and money – of “terrible hires.”

For extra in rank about background checks, visit Employment Screening Resources (ESR), a national pre-employment screening provider, at http://www.esrcheck.com.

Sources:

http://articles.latimes.com/2003/apr/20/sports/sp-nfldraft20

http://fifthdown.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/11/n-f-l-prospects-have-no-privacy-on-internet-and-neither-may-you/

http://www.footballoutsiders.com/walkthrough/2010/walkthrough-click-your-own-risk

http://www.nfl.com/draft/2010/profiles/darius-marshall?id=497186

http://www.nfl.com/draft/2010/profiles/nyan-boateng?id=497272

Is it legal?
Employers have an absolute right to conduct with permission recognized pre-employment screening in order to hire the best-qualified candidates. A federal law called the Honest Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) balances the right of employers to know whom they hire with an applicant’s right of disclosure and privacy. Under that law, the employer first obtains the applicant’s written consent to be screened. In the event negative in rank is found, the applicant must be given the opportunity to right the record. Employers should set up a consistent policy so similarly situated applicants are treated the same. In addition, criminal records should not be used to disqulaify an appliucant automatically.  A qualified screening company will help an employer with legal compliance issues.

Does it invade privacy? 
No. Employers can find out about only those things that an applicant has done in his “public” go. For example, read-through court records for criminal convictions or calling past employers or schools does not invade a zone of private privacy. Employers are looking only at in rank that is a valid and non-discriminatory predictor of future job performance. To maintain privacy, many background firms have Internet systems with secured Web sites. Employers should also pocket steps to maintain confidentially within their establishment.

Is it cost-effective? 
A pre-employment screening will typically cost less than the cost of a new employee on his or her first day on the job. That’s sack change compared to the hurt one terrible hire can cause. In addition, employers typically only screen an applicant if a choice has been made to extend an offer, and not all applicants. It is ironic that some firms will spend hours shopping for a computer bargain and at the same time try to save money by not adequately read-through out a job applicant, which represents an enormous investment. The bottom line is that problem employees usually cause employee problems, and money is well spent to avoid problems in the first place.

Does it discourage excellent applicants?
Employers who engage in screening do not find that excellent applicants are deterred. Job applicants have a desire to work with qualified and safe co-staff in a profitable environment. A excellent candidate understands that background screening is a sound business practice that helps a firm’s bottom line and is not an invasion of privacy or an intrusion. 

Does it delay hiring? 
No. Background screening is naturally done in just 48 to 72 hours. Most of the in rank needed is not stored in databases but must be obtained by going to courthouses or calling up past employers or schools. Occasionally there can be delays that are out of anyone’s control, such as previous employers who will not return calls, schools that are closed for vacation, or a court clerk who needs to retrieve a record from storage.

Is it hard to implement? 
For an overburdened HR, security, or risk-management department already usage numerous tasks, outsourcing background screening can be done very quickly and effectively. A qualified pre-employment screening firm can set up the entire program and grant all the necessary forms in a small period of time. Many firms have Internet-based systems that speed up the flow of in rank and allow an employer to track the progress of all applicant in real time.

How do we select a service provider?
An employer should look for a professional partner, not just an in rank vendor selling data at the lowest price. An employer should apply the same criteria that it would use in selecting any other provider of critical professional air force. For example, if a employer were choosing a law firm for legal representation, it would not select the cheapest–it would clearly want to know it is selecting a firm that is competent, experienced, and knowledgeable, as well as reputable and reasonably priced. The same criteria should also apply to critical HR air force. A screening firm should have an understanding of the legal implications of background checks, particularly the federal Honest Credit Reporting Act. 

Both employers and applicants have learned that pre-employment screening is an absolute necessity in today’s business world. Extra importantly, they’ve learned due diligence in hiring is a way to keep firms safe and profitable in these hard times.

In fact, the author’s dog received a very genuine-looking diploma in business administration in 2005 purportedly issued by the University of Arizona through an online diploma-selling service.  (The author picked on the University of Arizona only because a family member was attending Arizona Disorder.  In view of the fact that the author is a UCLA alumni, the author considered being paid his dog a dipolma from USC as well, which was also an option.)

One such website advertises that it makes, “very realistic diplomas/transcripts. These diplomas/ transcripts are extremely high quality printed on official parchment quality paper. You can show your employer and they will never skepticism that you indeed attended college. You will not find better quality anywhere!!!”

Some of these sites “officially” caution that the diplomas and transcripts are intended for “Novelty and Entertainment Use Only.” But, the fake documents you receive do not have a disclaimer written any place on them.

With statistics showing that resume fraud is a significant issue, employers must be very cautious about long-distress a physical diploma as proof of a degree. When presented with a physical diploma or transcripts, employers should fax a copy to the school to confirm its authenticity. Most background firms can tell tales of faxing copies of degrees, supplied by the applicant, to high schools and colleges only to be told the degree is a fake.

These fakes have not entirely escaped official attention. In Illinois, the legislature passed a law in 2004 aimed at addressing educational fraud. It is now a Class A Misdemeanor to knowingly manufacture or produce for profit or for sale a fake academic degree, unless the degree explicitly states “for novelty purposes only.”

Also in  2004, a scandal erupted after an internal regime watchdog agency reported that 28 senior officials who were then serving in the federal regime had degrees from diploma mills or unaccredited universities. To pocket up this problem and help employers sort the excellent from the terrible, the U.S. Department of Culture established a Web site that lists schools with legitimate official approval. See:http://www2.ed.gov/admins/finaid/accred/accreditation_pg4.html  The other accepted establishment that can accredit the accreditors is the Council for Higher Culture Official approval (CHEA) found at www.chea.org,

As with other types of fraud, the criminals are always adapting. In response to the regime’s efforts, degree mills have made fake agencies to accredit the fake degrees. 

Some web sites will even grant a phone number so an employer can get a fake verification of a fake degree.

Anytime an applicant claims to have earned a degree—and especially when that credential is a condition for the job—an employer needs to pocket steps to ensure not only that the applicant went to the school and received the degree, but that the school is legitimate and that the degree represents genuine educational accomplishment.

ESR takes wide measures to guard against educational fraud.  ESR first ensures that any school is on a “white list” of legitimate schools that is accredited by a recognized official approval agency.  Unlike much of the rest of the world where the regime is the accrediting agency, in the US official approval is a complicated private/public partnership.  If the school is questionable, ESR accesses a number of lists maintained by different organizations of diploma mills.  But, diploma mills are a moving target and simple to start, so no list of diploma mills can always be perfect and up-to-date.  If a school is not on either list, ESR conducts an inquiry to determine the school’s status.

The new feature is intended to grant one  centralized location for ESR clients to keep current on the critical task of hiring a workforce that is safe and effective.  The site also allows Employers, Creature Resources and Security Professionals, Recruiters and Job Applicants to locate resources on screening and to keep current on evolving issues affecting hiring by going to just one site.

Employment Screening Resources (ESR) is the firm that literally wrote the book on background checks, The Safe Hiring Manual, and provides pre-employment screening air force and drug testing internationally.  The firm specializes in legal compliance expertise and industry leading technology, service, accuracy and turnaround. 

The new Resource Center starts with twelve icons, all directing users to a different vicinity, including sections on whitepapers by ESR, Legal Resources, books, courses and even a section for job applicants.  One of the features includes access to ESR’s proprietary summary of staff opinion letters issued by the Federal Trade Commission.  The ESR blog, which is updated regularly, ensures that users of the site are updated on the latest trends and legal developments when it comes to safe hiring.  

“We are very pleased to have the opportunity to grant this critically vital in rank to employers and consumers,” commented Jared Callahan, Director of Marketing, and a national lecturer on topics related to safe hiring.  “Background screening is a critical part of the process in identifying the best employees and with this new Resource Center, employers may simply go to just one site to find the in rank they need.”

See: http://www.esrcheck.com/Resources/