By Thomas Ahearn, ESR News Editor

With the end of the year 2010 now upon us, the time seems right to look back at how much the background check industry has changed since the year 2000. In slightly over a decade, background checks have gone from a luxury to a necessity, from a primarily  government run endeavor to a substantial private sector business with a large number of firms providing service, and from a mostly expensive time and labor consuming task to, in some cases, a totally automated paperless solution.

Due in large part to the shocking terrorist attacks that unfolded on September 11, 2001 and led to increased security on all fronts in the United States, the background check industry has increasingly helped employers keep criminals, terrorists, and imposters out of their workplaces. Other factors behind the increased use of background checks include well publicized incidents of workplace violence, multi-million dollar negligent hiring verdicts, a sharp rise in cases of resume fraud including some well publicized examples of fake degrees, and a national awareness of the dangers to children and other vulnerable groups when unqualified or dangerous persons are allowed access to them.

Below are comparisons of background checks in 2000 and 2010 in six critical areas that have changed in the industry:

1. Number of employers performing background checks:

• 2000: An estimated 50 percent of companies conduct background checks on their employees according to the 1996 Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) Workplace Violence Survey.
• 2010: A series of recent surveys from SHRM reveals that approximately three out of four U.S. businesses perform some type of background check as part of their pre-employment screening programs, with 76 percent conducting reference background checks and 73 percent conducting criminal background checks.

2. Industry standards for background checks:

Many changes have occurred with respect to background screening industry standards in the years between 2000 and 2010.

• 2000: There is no national trade association, industry standards, or definitive publications on background screening. Steve Brownstein, Publisher of the Background Investigator, holds the first ever background check industry conferences in Long Beach, California and then larger events in Tampa, Florida. Employment Screening Resources (ESR) founder and President Lester Rosen is the keynote speaker at these first industry conferences.
• 2003: As a result of the Tampa conferences, momentum builds for a professional trade association for the background screening industry. ESR President Lester Rosen serves as the chairperson of the steering committee that founded the National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS®), a non-profit trade association representing the interests of background check companies, and serves as the first co-chair. NAPBS seeks to “…promote ethical business practices, promote compliance with the Fair Credit Reporting Act and foster awareness of issues related to consumer protection and privacy rights within the background screening industry. The Association provides relevant programs and training aimed at empowering members to better serve clients and to maintain standards of excellence in the background screening industry.”
• 2004: ‘The Safe Hiring Manual – The Complete Guide to Keeping Criminals, Terrorists, and Imposters Out of Your Workplace’ by ESR President Lester Rosen is published, the first comprehensive book on employment screening.
• 2010: NAPBS launches the Background Screening Agency Accreditation Program (BSAAP) for a singular background check industry standard representing a background check company’s commitment to excellence, accountability, and professionalism. The Background Screening Credentialing Council (BSCC) is the governing accreditation body that ensures background check organizations seeking accreditation meet or exceed a measurable standard of competence. To become accredited, a background check company must pass a rigorous audit of its policies and procedures as they relate to six critical areas of the BSAAP: Consumer Protection, Legal Compliance, Client Education, Product Standards, Service Standards, and General Business Practices.

3. Sources for background check information:

• 2000: Background check information is mostly limited to traditional sources such as criminal records, driving records, verifications, and reference checks.
• 2010: With the advent of new technology like the Internet in general – and new media such as blogs, videos on YouTube, and social networking sites like Facebook in particular – there are many more potential outlets from which employers may gather information about job applicants.

4. The need for international background checks:

• 2000: Before the rise of outsourcing, much of the workforce is perceived to have lived, worked, and been educated inside of the United States, so the idea of international background checks for job applicants seems expensive and unnecessary to most companies. There are also limited resources available for such background checks.
• 2010: According to recent U.S. government statistics, there are 38.5 million foreign-born U.S. residents representing 12.5 percent of the population, more than 1.1 million persons became Legal Permanent Residents (LPRs) of the United States in 2009, and the unauthorized immigrant population living in the U.S. reached an estimated 10.8 million in January 2009 and grew 27 percent between 2000 and 2009. Given these facts, U.S. companies must be prepared to perform international background checks on job applicants with global backgrounds. Numerous resources are now available for background screening firms to conduct international background checks, as well as resources concerning international privacy and data protection.

5. Compliance issues concerning background checks:

• 2000: Background check companies must comply with the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), originally passed in 1970, that regulates the collection, dissemination, and use of consumer information and is enforced by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
• 2010: Background screening has become an intensely legally regulated endeavor. Background check companies must comply with a myriad of industry regulations in addition to FCRA requirements such as the Fair And Accurate Credit Transaction Act (FACT Act) of 2003 (which amended the FCRA), Sarbanes-Oxley, the Patriot Act, E-Verify employment eligibility verification, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) discrimination issues against protected classes pertaining to the use of criminal records and credit reports for employment purposes, and new consumer data privacy protections regulations such as “Safe Harbor” and privacy laws that protect the Personally Identifiable Information (PII) of consumers. Another source of intense legal regulations are state laws regulating credit reports and criminal records. California, for example, completely revamped its background screening laws in 2002 and added new requirements in 2010 when PII is sent offshore beyond the protection of U.S. privacy laws. Many states have their own version of the FCRA. 

6. Technology used in background screening:

• 2000: Most employers are required to fax orders to a background check firm. The idea of entering orders into an online system or making information available online is only in the beginning stages.
• 2010: Technology in the background check industry has increased substantially, with the use of online processes to not only enter orders but to have paperless systems with electronic signatures and integration into Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) so background checks can be ordered with the click of a mouse. With the advent of Web 2.0, employers may expect to see more advances in the technology for the background screening process. The downside, however, is that Internet entrepreneurs have seized upon background checks as a way to make quick money and in some instances are playing off the fears of Americans by offering cheap and instant checks that are based upon databases never intended to be a substitute for a background check. 

Much has changed in the background check industry in the years spanning 2000 to 2010.  Employment Screening Resources (ESR) – founded in 1996 in the San Francisco area – has kept pace with advancements in the many changes regarding background screening. ESR is recognized as:

• An accredited background screening firm by the NAPBS,
• The company that wrote the book on background checks with ‘The Safe Hiring Manual’ by founder Lester Rosen,
• The third U.S. background check firm to be ‘Safe Harbor’ Certified for data privacy protection, and
• One of the first background check firms to introduce an online system to place orders, view status of orders, and retrieve reports.   

To learn more about Employment Screening Resources in 2011, visit the ESR web site at http://www.ESRcheck.com or contact Jared Callahan, ESR Director of Client Relations, at 415.898.0044 or jcallahan@ESRcheck.com.

Happy New Year from Employment Screening Resources!

By Thomas Ahearn, Employment Screening Resources (ESR) News Editor

Lester Rosen, founder and President of Employment Screening Resources (ESR), a leading provider of background checks accredited by the National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS®), will speak about ‘The Risks of Using Social Networking for Employment Background Screening’ at the January monthly meeting for the Northern California Association of Health Care Recruiters (NCAHCR). The presentation, part of the ‘ESR Speaks’ background check speaking and training program, will take place on Wednesday, January 5, 2011 in Fremont, California.

Mr. Rosen – an Attorney at Law and author of ‘The Safe Hiring Manual – The Complete Guide to Keeping Criminals, Terrorists, and Imposters Out of Your Workplace’ – will explore the legal risks of using popular social networking sites like Facebook for background screening of job candidates. He is a recognized background check expert and frequent speaker nationwide on issues surrounding employment screening. Rosen was also the chairperson of the steering committee that founded NAPBS and also served as the first co-chairman.

For more information about ‘The Risks of Using Social Networking for Employment Background Screening,’ visit the ‘ESR Speaks’ page at http://www.esrcheck.com/Newsletter/ESR-Speaks/. For a summary of ‘ESR Speaks’ events for 2011, visit http://www.esrcheck.com/ESR_Speaks2011.php. Check back regularly for updates.

The Northern California Association of Health Care Recruiters (NCAHCR) promotes professional principles of health care recruitment and provides education for health care recruiters, hospital administration, and the community regarding recruiting, employment, and retention of health care personnel. To learn more, visit http://www.norcalahcr.org/.

Founded in 1996 in the San Francisco Bay area, Employment Screening Resources (ESR) is the company that wrote the book on background checks with ‘The Safe Hiring Manual’ by ESR founder and President Lester Rosen. Employment Screening Resources is accredited by The National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS®) Background Screening Credentialing Council (BSCC) for proving compliance with the Background Screening Agency Accreditation Program (BSAAP). ESR was the third U.S. background check firm to be ‘Safe Harbor’ Certified for data privacy protection. To learn more about ESR, visit http://www.ESRcheck.com or contact Jared Callahan, ESR Director of Client Relations, at 415.898.0044 or jcallahan@ESRcheck.com.

By Lester Rosen, Employment Screening Resources (ESR) President & Thomas Ahearn, ESR News Editor

Many employers do not realize they potentially face the same exposure from vendors, independent contractors, and temporary employees from staffing firms as they do from their own full-time employees when it comes to negligent hiring lawsuits. Risk management controls of employers often do not take into account the “need to know” through background checks of workers who are not on their payroll but are on their premises, with access to computer systems, clients, co-workers, assets, and the general public.

The law is absolutely clear that if a vendor, independent contractor, or temporary worker harms a member of the public or a co-worker, the employer can be just as liable as if the person were on the employer’s full-time payroll. All of the rules of due diligence – which include background checks – apply with equal force to vendors, temporary workers, or independent contractors. A business can be liable if, in the exercise of reasonable care, the business should have known that a vendor, temporary worker, or independent contractor was dangerous, unqualified, or otherwise unfit for employment. An employer has an absolute obligation to exercise due diligence not only in whom they hire on payroll, but in whom they allow on premises to perform work. Employers can also be held liable under the legal doctrine of “co-employment,” which means that even though the worker is on someone else’s payroll, the business that uses and supervisees the worker can still be held liable for any misconduct.

However, many employers have found out the hard way that workers from a vendor or staffing firm or hired as an independent contractor without proper background checks can also cause damage. When an employer is the victim of theft, embezzlement, or resume fraud, the harm is just as bad regardless of whether the worker is on their payroll or someone else’s payroll. No employer would dream of walking down the street and handing the keys to the business to a total stranger, yet many employers across America essentially do exactly that everyday when engaging the services of vendors and temporary workers with proper background checks.

So-called “temporary” workers can cause permanent problems for employers without the background checks that are performed on full-time employees. As hiring of temporary workers increases – and since the hiring of temporary workers is usually an indication of hiring full-time workers in the future – employers will become increasingly more concerned with background checks of temporary workers in the coming year. 

This is trend #4 of the Employment Screening Resources (ESR) Fourth Annual ‘Top 10 Trends in Background Screening’ for 2011.

Employers do have difficulty ensuring they have exercised due diligence regarding vendors and independent contractors since there is sometimes not a direct employer-employee relationship. However, an employer still has liability issues if a vendor or independent contractor causes harm to third parties. Case law from courts throughout the United States is clear that businesses have liability for acts of independent contractors. The duty of care must be exercised in all aspects of hiring, and it applies to retaining the services of a vendor or independent contractor. For an example of why employers should be sure staffing firms run background checks, read ‘Staffing firm supplies embezzler with felony fraud conviction but not liable to Employer’ by Employment Screening Resources (ESR) President Lester Rosen at: http://www.esrcheck.com/wordpress/tag/recruiters/page/2/.

The practical issue for employers is how they ensure that vendors or workers hired by third parties are safe and qualified. Fortunately, there are a number of cost-effective avenues available to employers to protect their businesses, their workers, and the public. Employers can insist in any contract for any service that any time a worker comes on premises, that worker has been the subject of a background screening. This has become a practice gaining widespread acceptance in American businesses. An employer must have a hard and fast rule — no worker supplied by a third party is allowed to work unless the worker has a background check.

However, just ensuring that a staffing firm does background check can be insufficient unless the employer:

• Verifies that a legitimate and qualified background screening firm is being used.  Employers should at a minimum insure the use of a background screening firm that is a member of the National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS) and, better yet, that the background screening firm is accredited by NAPBS.
• Verifies that the background screening protocols are the same as the employer uses for their own hires.
• Agree to a methodology for dealing with potentially negative information. Some employers insist that if any derogatory results are found that the employer be advised.
• Verifies that the release form being used by the staffing firm allows the workplace to view the report if needed. Equally important is that there be language in the release that confirms that the background check process does not create or imply an employer-employee relationship with the workplace where the staffing firm is sending the worker. 

Many employers in order to ensure a uniform and consistent process, will require a staffing firm to utilize the same background screening firm the employer uses for their own hires. 

Government job statistics show why background screening of temporary workers is so necessary. According to ‘THE EMPLOYMENT SITUATION — NOVEMBER 2010′ report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), although the unemployment rate edged up to 9.8 percent and the number of unemployed persons was 15.1 million in November, temporary help services continued to add jobs over the month with temporary employment rising by 40,000. Employment in temporary help services has risen by nearly half a million jobs – 494,000 – since September 2009.

The number of persons employed part time for economic reasons is currently 9.0 million. Overall, employment in temporary services showed gains throughout 2010 and should remain strong into 2011, increasing the need for background checks of temporary workers.

• ‘THE EMPLOYMENT SITUATION – OCTOBER 2010’ – Employment in temporary help services increased by 35,000 in October.
• ‘THE EMPLOYMENT SITUATION — SEPTEMBER 2010’ – Professional and business services added 28,000 jobs in September, with temporary help services accounting for most of the gain.
• ‘THE EMPLOYMENT SITUATION – AUGUST 2010’ – Temporary help services employment was up 17,000 jobs over the month.
• ‘THE EMPLOYMENT SITUATION — JULY 2010’ – Employment in professional and business services and temporary help services showed little change over the month.
• ‘THE EMPLOYMENT SITUATION — JUNE 2010’ – Professional and business services employment continued to increase in temporary help services with 21,000 jobs in June.
• ‘THE EMPLOYMENT SITUATION — MAY 2010’ – 431,000 jobs were added but mostly temporary worker for the once-in-a-decade U.S. Census. Temporary help services added 31,000 jobs over the month.
• ‘THE EMPLOYMENT SITUATION — APRIL 2010’ The April 2010 jobs report showed the highest labor force increase in four years, reflecting the hiring of 66,000 temporary workers for the once-in-a-decade 2010 census.

As reported earlier on ESR News, even though the U.S. Census performed background checks for all applicants and employees according to the ‘BACKGROUND CHECK FAQ’ page, incidents involving temporary Census workers hired by the government serve as a prime example of why background checks of temporary workers is so important:

• Census Bureau Adopts Stricter Rules for Background Screening of Census Workers 
• Alleged Crime by Census Worker Casts Spotlight on Government Background Checks

Examples other that the U.S. Census as to why temporary workers need employment screening include firms that routinely hire nighttime janitorial services without appropriate due diligence including background checks, and fast food industry routinely hiring suppliers and service firms that come into their restaurants to clean or deliver supplies. Without knowing who has the keys to facilities, employers give total strangers unfettered access to their business — and are totally exposed to the risk of theft of property, trade secrets, damages, or even workplace violence.

With more people looking for employment, there is a need for more employment screening. Whether the work is temporary, part-time, or full-time, an effective employment screening program can help any business succeed in any economy by ensuring a safe workplace. Employment Screening Resources (ESR) – a leading background check provider accredited by the National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS) –offers a complete array of vendor screening services.

For information on an effective background check program for vendors, staffing, and temporary workers, visit http://www.esrcheck.com/services/vendor_screening.php. To read the article ‘Staffing Vendors, Co-employment, Background Checks, and Lawsuits’ by Lester S. Rosen, President of Employment Screening Resources (ESR), visit: http://www.esrcheck.com/wordpress/2010/06/28/staffing-vendors-co-employment-background-checks-and-lawsuits/. For more general information on background checks, visit Employment Screening Resources (ESR) at http://www.esrcheck.com.

Employment Screening Resources (ESR) is releasing the ESR Fourth Annual ‘Top Ten Trends in Pre-Employment Background Screening’ for 2011 throughout December. This is the Fourth of the Top Ten Trends ESR will be tracking in 2011. To see an updated list of ESR’s ‘Top Ten Trends in Pre-Employment Background Screening’ for 2011, visit: http://www.esrcheck.com/Top-Ten-Trends-In-Background-Screening-2011.php.

Founded in 1996 in the San Francisco Bay area, Employment Screening Resources (ESR) is the company that wrote the book on background checks with ‘The Safe Hiring Manual’ by ESR founder and President Lester Rosen. Employment Screening Resources is accredited by The National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS®) Background Screening Credentialing Council (BSCC) for proving compliance with the Background Screening Agency Accreditation Program (BSAAP). ESR was the third U.S. background check firm to be ‘Safe Harbor’ Certified for data privacy protection. To learn more about ESR’s Leadership, Resources, and Solutions, visit http://www.ESRcheck.com or contact Jared Callahan, ESR Director of Client Relations, at 415.898.0044 or jcallahan@ESRcheck.com.

Sources:
http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm

http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/empsit.pdf

http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.t08.htm http://www.census.gov/hrd/www/jobs/background.html

A new decision by the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has clarified the issue of whether a private employer can legally consider a job applicant’s bankruptcy under U.S bankruptcy law in making an employment decision. The Court ruled that when it comes to private employers, Congress intentionally only protected current employees from discrimination under bankruptcy law, and that job applicants were not protected. However, employers should still approach the use of bankruptcy records with great caution. (more…)

By Lester Rosen, Employment Screening Resources (ESR) President & Thomas Ahearn, ESR News Editor

An article titled ‘Fake Michigan doctor had hospitals fooled’ by the Detroit Free Press shows why employers should run background checks that include education and credential verifications on medical professionals to ensure they are licensed after a 15-year charade in which a man passed himself off as a doctor ended with a routine background check.

A 58-year-old “doctor and PhD researcher” in Michigan who lined up millions of dollars in research grants and consulting fees directing simulated medical exercises to train hospital staffers resigned after being uncovered as a fraud when calls to the University of Wisconsin confirmed the man had simulated a few facts about himself, the Free Press reports.

The ruse had hospital administrators wondering how a person with no medical or doctoral degree could have fooled some of the best in medicine for so long. After billing himself as a doctor, researcher, and certified pilot – with only the latter being true – the falsifications were revealed during a routine background check on a federal grant application.

The Free Press reports that for some reason the phony doctor’s résumé with false references was not vetted by either medical administration or human resources departments at the hospital, and the embarrassing episode has prompted tighter scrutiny of applications. Fortunately, the fake doctor never treated patients and did not apply for physician admitting privileges.

A medical ethicist at Michigan State University quoted in the article said the case shows that medical and academic institutions should follow the rules that should in place to catch possible falsifications. “Always check credentials. There’s just no excuse for not checking credentials. It’s kind of a no-brainer.”

This story – and other such stories about phony professionals falsifying employment histories or education credentials – shows the need for employers to run background checks on all professionals since they cannot simply assume they are licensed.

As reported earlier on ESR News, education and credential falsification is a surprisingly common occurrence, and a rapidly growing problem, as evidenced by the following stories:

• Background Checks Help Avoid Fraudulent Academic Claims
• Former Texas A & M Administrator Charged with Fraudulent or Fictitious Degree for Allegedly Lying on Resume and Job Application
• Unrecognized, Fake and Dubious Online College Accrediting Agencies
• What Does an Employer Do if Applicants Lie About or Fake Their Education

Employment Screening Resources (ESR) – a leading provider of background checks accredited by the National Association of Background Screeners (NAPBS) – offers background screening that include verifications of credentials and education. ESR has extensive procedures to ensure that any school is legitimate and not a so-called “diploma mill” (also known as a “degree mill”), an organization that awards academic degrees and diplomas with substandard or no academic study and without recognition by official educational accrediting bodies. The terms “diploma mill” and “degree mill” may apply to:

• A “real” degree from a fake college.
• A fake degree from a real college.

ESR also has a wealth of material on the subject of academic fraud including an article by ESR’s founder and President Lester Rosen, “The Basics of Educational Verifications” at http://www.esrcheck.com/wordpress/1090/the-basics-of-education-verifications. In addition, the Additional Links page in the ESR Resource Center contains information on states with lists of fraudulent schools as well as how to find real accredited schools at: http://www.esrcheck.com/services/resources.php.

Founded in 1996 in the San Francisco Bay area, Employment Screening Resources (ESR) is the company that wrote the book on background checks with ‘The Safe Hiring Manual’ by ESR founder and President Lester Rosen. Employment Screening Resources is accredited by The National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS®) Background Screening Credentialing Council (BSCC) for proving compliance with the Background Screening Agency Accreditation Program (BSAAP). ESR was the third U.S. background check firm to be ‘Safe Harbor’ Certified for data privacy protection. To learn more about ESR’s Leadership, Resources, and Solutions, visit http://www.ESRcheck.com or contact Jared Callahan, ESR Director of Client Relations, at 415.898.0044 or jcallahan@ESRcheck.com.

Source:
http://www.freep.com/article/20101214/NEWS06/12140350/1318/-Fake-doc-had-hospitals-fooled