Pre-Employment Screening Background Check Blog for Employers, Human Resources and Security by ESR

ESR has recently been quoted ESR in the February, 2007 issue of HR Magazine published by SHRM in an article entitled, “Ground Rules on Background Checks.”

ESR president Lester S Rosen is quoted on the formation for the trade association for the screening industry, The National Association of Professional Background Screeners, or NAPBS.

According to the article:

Indeed, 85 percent of HR professionals surveyed reported that their organizations conduct–or hire outside agencies to conduct–background investigations on potential employees, according to separate 2006 and 2004 polls addressing background-checking practices among members of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). That’s up from 51 percent who said they did so in 1996. “A perfect storm of events grew the industry, and it grew largely without regulation, standardization, organization or coordination,” says Lester Rosen, an attorney and founder of Employment Screening Resources Inc., a pre-employment background-screening company in Novato, Calif. He chaired the steering committee that founded NAPBS. “It truly was the ‘Wild West’ in a lot of ways,” he says.

Taming that territory was a tall order, admits Rosen, author of The Safe Hiring Manual: The Complete Guide to Keeping Criminals, Terrorists and Imposters Out of Your Workplace (Facts on Demand Press, 2007).

The online version provides a link to an ESR site with a suggested RFP (Request for Proposal) form. See: http://www.esrcheck.com/backgroundscreeningrfp.php

ESR 2008 Schedule

February 28, 2007 Silicon Valley, CA Using the Internet and Social Networking Sites to Find and Screen Applicants” Santa Clara County Employer Advisory Group, Biltmore hotel, Santa Clara, CA

March 6, 2008 Kennedy Information National Audio Conference–“Background Checks and Recruiting — Avoiding Negligent Hiring.” Details to follow

March 26, 2008 Los Angeles, CA “Pre-employment Screening: Best Practices and Legal Compliance” HR STAR Conference

April 3, 2008 San Francisco, CA “Pre-Employment Screening and Background Checks” San Francisco Employer Advisory Council (EAC)

May 15, 2007 Las Vegas, NV Using the Internet and Social Networking Sites to Find and Screen Applicants” Kennedy Information’s Recruiting 2008 Conference and Expo, Las Vegas Hilton

June 5, 2008 Cooperstown, NY “Cutting Edge Issues and Best Practices in Background Checks and Employment Screening for Hospitals and Healthcare Organizations” Symposium sponsored by the Health Association of New York State (HANYS)

June 12, 2008 Santa Cruz, CA “Pre-employment Screening: Best Practices and Legal Compliance,” Santa Cruz EAC (Aptos Golf Course)

June 23/25, 2008 Chicago, Il “Negligent Hiring Mock Trial” and “Caution! Using the Internet and Social Networking Sites to Screen Applicants”. SHRM 60th Annual National Conference and Exposition.

July 14, 2007 Boston, MA “Preventing Employee Fraud at the Point of Entry: Legal and Effective Pre-employment Screening” National Conference for the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE)

July 16, 2008 San Francisco, CA “Pre-employment Screening: Best Practices and Legal Compliance” HR STAR Conference

July 18, 2008 Stockton, CA “Pre-Employment Screening and Background Checks” Stockton Employer Advisory Council (EAC), Stockton, CA

August 28/29 2008 New Delhi, India “International Background Screening: Best Practices in the US and in India and the Pacific Rim.“ The Second Annual International Pre-employment Screening Conference, The Taj Mahal Hotel, New Delhi, India

Contact ESR for further details. The ESR 2008 Speaking schedule will be available shortly.

ESR is pleased to announce new services that are available to U.S. employers:

1. In-depth Searches and Litigation Support ESR has introduced a new service, an “Integrity Check,” for businesses that need in-depth research on partners, key executives, prospective members of a Board of Directors, and other highly sensitive positions, It is also ideal for law firms for litigation preparation. See: http://www.esrcheck.com/IntegrityCheck.php
2. Vendor Checks ESR has introduced a new program to allow businesses to check their vendors. Businesses who would never allow an employee onsite without due diligence, can now ensure that the same due diligence is applied to vendors, independent contracts or temporary employees. For more information, contact Jared Callahan at jcallahan@ESRcheck.com or at 415-898-0044, ext. 240.

ESR announces that the Safe Hiring Certification Training is now available in four separate mini-courses, in addition to the intensive 30 Hour course. The smaller course allows participants to focus in on just those areas of immediate interest and need. This is the first and only online educational and professional development course designed for employers, human resources and security professionals, and anyone responsible for risk management and due diligence in hiring.

The Safe Hiring Certification Training is a self-paced, on-line course that can be accessed at any time from anywhere, including at work.

Features of this course include:

• Convenient 24/7/365 availability through any online connection
• 21 self-paced lessons on Safe Hiring practices
• A printable, 190-page workbook to facilitate note-taking and preparation for review quizzes
• Review quizzes after each lesson featuring more than 300 questions about safe hiring
• Easy access to useful Safe Hiring web-links
• Sample safe hiring forms to help guide your own form development
• Industry certification in Safe Hiring
• Additional audio pointers by author Les Rosen (requires speakers but not a requirement for course completion)

Through this course, participants will obtain the knowledge and skills necessary to implement and manage a legal and effective safe hiring program, including employment screening background checks. Upon successful completion, participants will receive a Certificate of Completion, marking a significant professional accomplishment. The $395 course is offered at no charge to ESR clients.

The course is available at http://esr.coursehost.com

More information is available at: http://www.esrcheck.com/ESRonlineSafeHiringCourse.php

• ESR wrote the book on background checks! – The Safe Hiring Manual, now in its third printing, is available from BRB Publications. Click here to read more. The definitive book on pre-employment screening, “The Safe Hiring Manual-The Complete Guide to Keeping Criminals, Terrorists and Imposters out of Your Workplace,” has undergone its third printing since its introduction a year ago. The new printing also contains updates and new material.

Employment Screening Resources (ESR) Rated Top Background Screening Firm in First Independent Industry Study. See the Press Release

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Please feel free to contact Jared Callahan at ESR at 415-898-0044 or jcallahan@esrcheck.com if you have any questions or comments about the matters in this newsletter. Please note that ESR’s statements about any legal matters are not given or intended as legal advice.

Employment Screening Resources (ESR)

www.ESRcheck.com

7110 Redwood Blvd., Suite C

Novato, CA 94945

415-898-0044

Who says there is no humor in the hiring process? Employers will enjoy reading the book, “Lexicon of Intentionally Ambiguous Recommendations (LIAR),” by Robert Thornton and available on Amazon. The book gives a whole new meaning to the term “damned with faint praise.” It answers the age old question of how to give a truthful recommendation without getting sued.

Here are just a few examples from this very clever book:

“Her ability is deceiving” (She lies, cheats and steals)

“No salary would be too much for him.” (He is not worth anything)

“It was a pleasure working with her the short time I did.” (Thankfully it was not longer)

“I am pleased to say that this candidate is a former colleague of mine” (I can’t tell you how happy I am that she left our firm)

“He’s a man of many convictions.” (He’s got a record a mile long).

“She gives every appearance of being a reliable, conscientious employee” (But appearances can be deceiving)

Any employers or HR or Security Professionals that want to share their own favorite way of giving ambiguous references, please send them to Jared Callahan at ESR by e-mail at jcallahan@esrcheck.com

A recent article in the SHRM 2008 Staffing Management Library underscores the need to screen even temporary hires. Although many employers have well thought out programs for their regular employees, temporary employees form staffing firms, 1099 workers or vendors pose similar risks. The article explained why screening temporary employees is critical, and offers suggestions on how a firm can protect itself.

The article also quotes ESR President Lester S. Rosen:

“Even if you have a person on a short-term assignment, you’re exposed,” added attorney Lester S. Rosen, president and CEO of the Novato, Calif.-based firm Employment Screening Resources. “They have the keys to the kingdom. Once they’re inside your building, they have access to your files and have the potential to do great harm.” ….

Rosen said that while staffing vendors “have traditionally not engaged in a great deal of screening because it slows down the placement time and adds to the cost,” they need to understand that they have “a huge risk” if they send unscreened employees to a workplace.

“They have to realize that every placement they make is potentially a game of Russian Roulette that can put them out of business,” he explained. “If you’re a staffing vendor, it only takes one bad hire to lose your reputation, lose a client and [potentially to] get sued.”

And even though an extended worker may be getting a paycheck from the staffing vendor, under “co-employment” law, employers may still be at risk of a negligent hiring suit if something goes wrong.

“If [temporary employees] cause a hostile workplace, hurt a member of the public or attack a co-worker, arguably employers are just as liable as they would be if this were a full-time, regular employee,” Rosen said.

The fact that the staffing vendor said it did background checks may not be much of a defense for an employer if the check was inadequate or ineffective. For this reason, it pays to do adequate due diligence to head off any potential lawsuits down the road.

After all, Rosen said, “Even the CIA will, every so often, hire a spy or a crook.”

The article discusses the need to evaluate the risks involved in utilizing an extended workforce and to develop an appropriate screening program. The screening may be performed by the same firm that checks new applicants. If done by the staffing vendor’s firm, then the employer can require that the same protocols be used that it uses internally.

For a full copy of the article, see http://www.shrm.org/ema/library_published/nonIC/CMS_024438.asp#TopOfPage

Contact Jared Callahan at ESR by phone at 415-898-0044 or e-mail at jcallahan@esrcheck.com for more information.

Employers have long recognized that conducting due diligence on new hires is a mission- critical task. Firms cannot afford to be sidetracked by employee problems such as workplace violence, theft, false resumes, embezzlement, harassment or trumped-up injury claims. Employers can be the subject of lawsuits for negligent hiring if they hire someone that they should have known, through the exercise of due diligence, was dangerous, unfit or unqualified.

However, with the mobility of workers across international borders, it is no longer adequate to conduct these checks just in the United States. A 2000 government study shows that 11.5% of the population consists of immigrants. In addition, an increasing number of workers have spent part of their professional career abroad. The number of countries from which employers seek additional information about applicants is expansive, and includes India, China, the Philippines, France, Germany, Russia, Brazil, Mexico, Australia, Japan and Canada, among others.

Because of the perceived difficulty in performing international employment screening, some employers have not attempted to verify international credentials or to perform foreign criminal checks. However, the mere fact that information may be more difficult to obtain from outside of the U.S. does not relieve an employer of their due diligence obligation.

Nor can employers simply assume that the U.S. government has conducted background checks if the worker was issued a visa. After the events of 9/11, the U.S. has increased checks on foreign visitors and on workers on government “watch lists.” However, the government checks are generally not aimed at verifying a credential or checking for criminal records for employment purposes.

Education

Verification of an educational degree earned abroad is critical to verify credentials and to avoid fraud. An employer needs to determine if an applicant in fact attended the school claimed and received the degree claimed. Statistics show that education fraud can run as high as 20%. The employer also needs to determine if the school is accredited and authentic. The world is awash with phony schools and worthless diplomas. If the employer is not familiar with a school, the employer should conduct its own research. A legitimate school will often have an e-mail address or phone number so that they can be contacted to verify a degree.

Employment

Foreign employment can also be verified by contacting the employer even though they are in a foreign country. Often such calls will be made in the middle of the night due to time differences. The critical step is to obtain as much information about the past employer as possible from the applicant. If the employer does not speak English, an interpreter may be needed.

In order to assist employers in the requirements worldwide, ESR has published a helpful chart showing what is required in each country around the world. See:

http://www.esrcheck.com/internationalscreening.php

In order to comply with international data and privacy protection laws, ESR does not send personal information offshore. The verifications are conducted from the U.S. The only exceptions are certain countries referred to as “Red Zones,” where due to unique circumstances, a local researcher may be needed.

In some countries, verifications can be especially difficult due to problems in that country with communications or other barriers. In the event a country does not utilize the English alphabet or an employer or school cannot communicate in English, it may be necessary to request applicant information in the language of that country. ESR provides forms in a number of languages, such as Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Italian, Spanish, Russian, French and German to name a few.

Contact Jared Callahan at ESR by phone at 415-898-0044 or e-mail at jcallahan@esrcheck.com for more information.