Background Checks on Summer Interns?

Another school year is coming to a close, summer is just a few weeks away and hundreds of thousands of students who have been vying for coveted summer internships will soon begin their work. For the students, these internships can be invaluable learning opportunities and are often necessary stepping-stones for their career paths or higher education.

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Why You Need To Background Check [Infographic]

Your new potential hire has just left your office following a final interview. You feel great about their attitude and they appear to have the pedigree of a top candidate. They have all the signs for success: a resume full of great experience, stories about converting tough clients, and the charisma/charm and character you’ve only ever read about in hiring books.

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Accuracy in Employee Background Checks is Cited as Priority by NAPBS in 2013

The National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS) released 5 tips for conducting effective employee background checks in 2013.

The Association’s guidance is targeted to all employers that utilize employment background checks to vet employees for job opportunities. Company roles in human resources, legal compliance, risk management, finance and general management should review the full press release.

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Amidst Boy Scout Child Sex Abuse Scandal, Delaware Valley PA Boy Scout Council Adheres To Rules, Background Checks

They’re being called the “perversion files” – a record of previously confidential files listing the names of 1,200 Boy Scout of America officials and scoutmasters who are accused of abusing young boys over a period of two decades.

The files released Thursday, October 19 contain more than 15,000 pages detailing accusations of the sexual abuse against scout leaders and officials between 1965 and 1985. The list of names in the documents were deemed “ineligible volunteers” and include those who are accused of sexual abuse towards the minors they came into contact with during boy scout meetings and functions.

Police are now responding to 523 of the alleged cases. The files were kept confidential – until now – and represent all that the Boy Scouts of America could have done to protect their young members, but didn’t. Continue reading

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State Laws Restricts Employers’ Use of Social Security Numbers

In recent years identity protection has become an increasingly big deal. Specifically, the handling of Social Security Numbers (SSNs) by companies has been reworked in a number of states in order to better safeguard their employees against identity theft. The sudden concern arose primarily due to companies putting employee’s financial information at risk for years by asking for SSNs in places they really do not need to be. Identification cards, employment applications, pay stubs, mail, or even the electronic transmission of SSNs via the internet all unnecessarily heighten the risk for identity theft. With today’s criminals consistently finding new ways to exploit inadequate security systems, it’s important that companies and employers strive to cut down on excessive exposure of sensitive information.

In most states across the U.S. it is illegal to do the following:

  • · Publicly display or post more than the last four digits of SSNs.
  • · Print SSNs on employees’ badges, parking permits or timecards.
  • · Require people to use their SSN to access a website unless encrypted or over a secure connection.
  • · Use more than the last four digits to access a website unless a password or other unique identifier is also required.
  • · Use more than the last four digits of an SSN as an employee number.
  • · Send SSNs through the mail, unless the documents are applications or other such forms; and then SSNs must not be visible through a windowed envelope.
  • · Keep unsecured files containing SSNs and allow non authorized personnel access to such files.

The California Office of Privacy Protection has put together a set of recommendations, click here, for any entities who wish to tighten up their SSN practices.

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Penn State University Implements Updated Background Check Policy

Prior to the NCAA and Big Ten Conference sanctions, board of trustee decisions following the Freeh Report and the release of chilling voicemails left by Jerry Sandusky on a victim’s phone, the looming question of Penn State’s next steps still remain. The image of the university is undoubtedly tarnished after the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse trial revealed university officials sat idle as children were victimized by the former assistant coach to the prestigious football team.

The university is still the subject of a number of investigations and the current president, Rodney Erickson says the university is cooperating fully. [Read more] Following the sanctions levied by the NCAA and Big Ten, credit ratings provider, Moody’s Corporation announced that it may cut the university’s current “Aa1” credit rating. A downgrade from Moody’s could make it more expensive for Penn State to borrow money – the school is already $1 billion in debt. [Read more]

Financial woes aside, the university has already begun taking steps to make a dent in replenishing the image it once had; removing the Joe Paterno statue from campus may not be enough.

Erickson announced earlier this month that the university would adopt a new background check procedure. On July 5, all current and future job candidates (including third-party candidates) must undergo a criminal background check prior to working for the university. HR99 as it’s called incorporates a “more comprehensive procedure that also ensures compliance with recently issued new guidance by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on background checks.”

Associate vice president of Human Resources, Susan Basso, says that “to provide the safest possible environment for our students, faculty, staff and visitors it is imperative that Penn State implements consistent and thorough background check procedures.”

First Contact HR has always recommended that higher education adhere to EEOC guidelines and adopt a comprehensive background check policy that meets their specific needs. No college or university is the same, yet identity verification, criminal records research, sex offender registry checks, employment and education verification and motor vehicle records review are all recommended services for any potential staff member of an educational institution.

Regarding the effectiveness of background checks, Jerry Sandusky had a criminal background and was even denied a volunteer coaching job in 2010 after Juniata College conducted a background check.

 

HR Professional Opinion:

Higher education institutions should audit their current practices and conduct an objective risk assessment. Student safety and security should be high priority and never subordinate to other objectives of the institution. Conducting comprehensive background checks that are in compliance with federal, state and local laws are key in protecting the institution’s reputation, hiring and retaining the right talent, while creating a culture that matches the institution’s goals, objectives and vision.

Higher education should evaluate all new hires, volunteers and contractors, considering the following factors against the work to be performed or held, the work performance location, and the degree of risk to the organization:

  1. Any loyalty or terrorism issue;
  2. Patterns of conduct (e.g., alcoholism/drug addiction, financial irresponsibility/major liabilities, dishonesty, un-employability for Negligence or misconduct, criminal conduct);
  3. Felony and misdemeanor offenses;
  4. Drug manufacturing/trafficking/sale;
  5. Significant honesty issue (e.g., extortion, armed robbery, embezzlement, perjury);
  6. Criminal sexual misconduct;
  7. Serious violent behavior (e.g., rape, aggravated assault, arson, child abuse, manslaughter);
  8. Illegal use of firearms/explosives; and
  9. Employment related misconduct involving dishonesty, policy violations, criminal or violent behavior.

Further, prior to taking any adverse action against any subject, First Contact HR recommends consideration of the following:

  1. The nature, extent and seriousness of the conduct;
  2. The circumstances surrounding the conduct;
  3. The frequency of the conduct;
  4. How recently the conduct occurred;
  5. The individual’s age and maturity at the time of the conduct;
  6. The presence or absence of rehabilitation and other pertinent behavior changes;
  7. The potential for pressure, coercion, exploitation, or duress;
  8. The likelihood of continuation of the conduct;
  9. How, and if, the conduct bears upon potential job responsibilities; and
  10. The individual’s employment history before and after the conduct.

 

 

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First Contact HR Top Background Screening Trends in 2012

With the increasing number of employers conducting background checks, public concerns have arisen pertaining to the method, use and fairness of such checks in potentially barring applicants from employment.

First Contact HR has compiled a list of the most significant trends that are shaping the background screening industry.

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U. Penn Dean, and Former NYU Staffer, Resigns over Fabricated Doctorate

(Univ. of Pa. photo)

On April 26, 2012 a vice dean of the University of Pennsylvania School of Education resigned after questions of his academic background arose. Doug Lynch, a trusted faculty member at the University of Pennsylvania, claims that he has a doctorate. His resume states that he earned his doctorate from Columbia University in 2007, yet Columbia said that he has not yet earned his Ph.D. Additionally, on the Fels institute of Government webpage, Lynch was listed as “Dr. Lynch.”

Prior to quietly resigning following an investigation by the University of Pennsylvania into the authenticity of his claimed doctoral degree, the Philadelphia Inquirer published an article about Lynch being placed on leave. Read more

 

HR Professional Opinion

Fabricating facts and figures on a resume is fraud – and while it is not necessarily a crime, it is certainly a “misdemeanor offense” in the working world. Resume fabrication commonly includes lying about receiving a degree or certification, exaggerating numbers like GPA and dates worked on a particular project or job, inflating titles, providing a fake address, etc.

Those who get caught not only tarnish their reputation, but bad press is directed towards the organization that hired the individual guilty of fraud. Basically, resume fraud doesn’t look good for anyone, hence the importance of conducting education verifications in a pre-employment background check.

This is not the first time we’ve seen organizations in the limelight for hiring employees with fabricated backgrounds. Remember these?

  • Ronald Zarrella, Bausch & Lomb chief executive officer claimed to have graduated from New York University’s Stern School of Business. He actually only attended the MBA program from 1972-1976, yet never graduated.
  • George O’Leary, ex-Notre Dame football coach resigned five days after being hired after admitting to resume fraud. He claimed that he received his master’s degree in education from New York University, yet he never received that degree. He also lied about playing college football for the University of New Hampshire. This was also inaccurate.
  • Dave Edmondson, chief executive of RadioShack claimed to have received degrees in theology and psychology from Pacific Coast Baptist College in California. As it turns out, Edmondson only completed two semesters and that psychology wasn’t even a degree that was offered by the college.

 

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Juaniata College Conducted Background Check, Sandusky Denied Job

After applying to a volunteer coaching position in May 2010 at Juaniata College in Huntingdon, PA, college officials who did their due-diligence turned Jerry Sandusky down. Hiring personnel at the college denied Sandusky the position after conducting a background investigation and were made aware of the ex-Penn State assistant coach’s alleged improper behavior at a previous school.

Sandusky is currently at the forefront of a sexual abuse scandal, where he is being charged with 40 counts of molestation charges towards young boys over a 15-year period.

Although he failed a background check and was told by the Pennsylvania college’s administrators that they did not want him associated with their sports program, Sandusky still managed to serve as a “consultant.” Read more

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