Juaniata College Conducted Background Check, Sandusky Denied Job

Posted on December 16, 2011 by firstcontacthr

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

Background Screening and Minors, Concerned Parents

Posted on November 29, 2011 by firstcontacthr

In light of the events that have unfolded at Penn State and Syracuse Universities, it is important to recognize the unfortunate events that occurred, but also shed light on how the scandals happened. The incident has shocked the country – Penn State University’s former football coach, Jerry Sandusky is being charged with 40 counts of sexual abuse towards minors and the university’s revered football coach, Joe Paterno was fired.

Sandusky is the pinpoint in a wide-ranging investigation that involves eight boys over a 15-year period. Similarly, Syracuse University authorities allegedly ignored sex abuse allegations in 2002 against basketball coach Bernie Fine. A former ball boy for Syracuse University, Bobby Davis, and his girlfriend at the time, claim to have gone to university police back in 2002 with child-molestation allegations. The two have decided to come forward again in response to the media spectacle at Penn State – this time, hoping they will be heard.

The allegations facing administrators at both universities are cause for any parent or school to worry especially when the trust and care of minors are involved. The reaction to these two events by parents is overwhelming – many are questioning the hiring process for the administrators, teachers, coaches and the like who spend time with children. The incidents that have occurred also highlight the lack of background checks performed on individuals who work closely with children.

In one case, a group of parents whose children participate in Baltimore County Department of Recreation and Parks programs are demanding the adoption of background checks for all coaches and volunteers (Read more). In another recent case, Hollywood casting assistant, Jason James Murphy has caused anxiety amongst the parents of child actors who worked under Murphy. Murphy is a convicted child molester who served five years in prison for kidnapping and molesting an 8 year old boy. Parents of child actors are especially concerned since the casting process is typically a time where a child would be unsupervised by a parent or guardian (Read more).

Had background checks including federal court criminal records searches, statewide criminal records searches and criminal history reports, been performed some of these events could have been avoided. It is important to question whether or not background checks are performed amongst those our society trusts with minors to help eliminate the chances of pedophiles and predators preying on children.

Education Background Screening and Human Resource Stories in the News Last Week

Posted on November 15, 2011 by firstcontacthr

Pennsylvania takes retroactive steps to prevent convicted felons from working in school districts.

A new law signed by Pennsylvania Governor, Tom Corbett, mandates background checks on public, private and vocational school workers. School district administrators must notify all employees of the law and return a form reporting any criminal history to the Pennsylvania State Education Association completed by employees. Certain convictions will lead to employment suspensions or even termination including first-, second-, or third-degree felonies, aggravated assault, kidnapping, and other crimes. Read more

How background checks are conducted in Clark County, Nevada Schools.

The Las Vegas Sun investigates how background checks are done, after a teacher in a Clark County school was arrested on suspicion of drug possession and theft of school property. In an investigative interview, the chief human resources officer and former interim chief human resources officer of the Clark County School District answered questions on their background check procedures. Read more

Update: Background Checks Dealing with School Workers Clarified.

A new law, §1-111 Act 24 of 2011, mandates that all Pennsylvania elementary schools must background screen all new hires and existing staff for criminal history. The form that current staff must fill out asks employees to check “arrested,” “convicted,” “never been arrested,” or “never been convicted,” however the law states that only convictions of employees need to be reported. In a response to concerns surrounding this contradiction, a statement was released to clarify the law.

A publication from Fox Rothschild LLP states that “these amendments restrict those people that a school is allowed to hire, but they have almost no direct impact on the employment of those already employed. Some school administrators have mistakenly stated that these amendments require schools to fire a current employee where a prior conviction for a barred offense comes to light. While this may be true in some limited cases, it is generally not so, and neither this statute nor the companion provision in §5-527 requires termination of employment.” Read more

Convicted felon employed at middle school steals jewelry, computers

After a middle school janitor was charged in connection to jewelry and computer thefts, the School Committee Chairman of a Massachusetts school wants to know more about the school’s criminal background screening procedures. Court documents showed that the janitor pled guilty to assault and battery and breaking and entering charges in the past. Also, he was allegedly in an outpatient drug treatment program for an opiates addiction. Initial reports in the same case were for stolen MacBook Computers, iPads and other equipment. How did a criminal get employed at an elementary school? Read more

Is your Company’s Social Media Policy in Violation of the NLRB?

Posted on September 6, 2011 by firstcontacthr

With the popularity of social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and MySpace at an all-time high with regards to usage at home and in the workplace, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is cracking down on companies’ social media usage in the workplace.

The problem? Companies are creating social media policies that they expect employees to adhere to; however these policies may violate the National Labor Relations Act. Such violations can lead to legal and monetary risks if not corrected. In many cases, both unionized and nonunionized employees have been terminated for posting unfavorable material to do with their jobs on social networking sites.

One of the main determinants for whether or not a company follows the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) when letting an employee go based on social network posts is if the social media post by the employee was a concerted complaint or just a personal gripe. Read about what happened when Wal-Mart, JT’s Porch Saloon, and Martin House fired employees who posted “negative” comments via their social media pages.

Another violation of the NLRB is conducting an internet or social media search on an applicant without potential new hire’s consent. Companies that take matters into their own hands by conducting such searches must have signed written consent to do so. What’s more is some companies will simple “Google” the applicant or search through the individual’s social media profiles. This practice can lead to an applicant who is unfairly judged based on information such as religion or sexual orientation.

To learn more about internet searches, read our past blog post “Internet Background Searches – Should YOU Use Them?”

Internet Background Searches – Should YOU Use Them?

Posted on August 10, 2011 by firstcontacthr

It’s no surprise that basically anyone and everyone can conduct a simple background check on whoever they like. With companies like EasyBackrgoundCheck.com and nationally-recognized BeenVerified.com, individuals and companies can input basic information about a person and obtain “background” information on that individual.

While it is fine for people to use internet background check services like these for personal use, it is important to realize that these companies are simply “public record aggregators,” and thus not a replacement for traditional pre-employment background screening or private investigative services.

Internet aggregation services are a cheap and quick way to get a bit of information on a stranger or person of interest, but are certainly not acceptable for hiring purposes. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) information that is supplied by a 3rd party vendor for hiring purposes needs to be both accurate and current (not older than seven years). Furthermore, companies and organizations that are in fact going to use the information obtained from these internet aggregation sources for employment purposes, must obtain the applicants consent before doing so. In the case of hiring, the job applicant must provide an organization with signed written consent for performing an internet background check.

Companies and organizations that have written consent from applicants to do a background check still need to make sure that the information is accurate – in many cases, the information is not. BeenVerified.com for example even states: “we do not represent or warrant that the results provided will be 100% accurate and up to date.”

More often than not, those conducting internet background checks via aggregation services are not able find the right person to investigate either because their name is too similar to another person (think, “John Smith”) or the person has taken steps to protect their internet privacy (think, “do not call list”… but more like the “do not internet background check me online list”). How could an individual do this without countless hours spent searching online? You might ask.

Well, there are a number of ways individuals can hide, block and even remove information about them so that internet background check websites cannot find them. Read this article by BGR.com explaining all the ways you can put yourself on the “do not internet background check me online list” for all the major internet aggregation sites such as BeenVerrified.com.

The best practice available for a company or organization that is looking to conduct background checks on job applicants and employees is to use a trusted company such as First Contact HR. To see what background screening services First Contact HR can provide to individuals and companies, Visit: FirstContactHR.com

Know your Online Reputation… Before your Potential Employer Does

Posted on July 12, 2011 by firstcontacthr

Simple online searches and social network profile browsing has hindered people’s reputations and even compromised employment opportunities in some cases. Whether you like it or not, articles, pictures, sound bites, videos and blog posts with (or relating to) your name are likely to make an appearance in the search engine rankings.

You may be asking yourself, “so what if an old picture of me surfaces in a Google search?” Well, a recent negative tweet and a couple vacation photos later, you may find that your online reputation appears less than stellar.

Employers have trusted background screening companies like First Contact HR for years, but some are taking a more serious approach to protecting themselves and their clients. Now, more than ever, employers not only want the top talent to fill their open positions, but they want those people to be squeaky clean in personal demeanor and in their online presence. While criminal record, motor vehicle history, and drug testing are all standard practices in background screening, some employers will manually search the social media landscape to determine your reputation online.

A simple Google or Yahoo! search can tell you if you are in the clear, but there’s no telling what will eventually surface when anyone can post something on internet sites like Facebook and Twitter without your knowledge. There are personal steps that you can take to prevent negative connotations associated with your “Googled” name such as kindly asking friends to remove embarrassing photos of you and even signing up on social media sites to prevent others from using your name.

If you think you might already be treading in the murky online waters with your reputation, there are more serious measures you can take to try and eliminate compromising online material. Internet profile aggregation companies, help job seekers minimize the amount of false or misrepresented information about themselves online. Other companies offering services to help you understand/clean up you online reputation are ClaimID, Profilactic, Spokeo and Ziki.

Check out the video below from abc.com detailing the importance of maintaining your online reputation.

Listen to First Contact HR Principal, Leon Singletary’s May 26 Talk Radio Interview

Posted on July 5, 2011 by firstcontacthr

On May 26, 2011, Leon Singletary discussed First Contact HR’s services as well as offered industry insights on Critical Mass: Coast to Coast on OC Talk Radio. Hosted by Ric Franzi, Leon and Ric talk about the role full-service background checks and HR security plays in mid-market company’s hiring decisions.

When asked about guiding principles used to grow the firm, Leon says “[we] have a number of values that really start with client focus, you know, [we] believe that it is the core of our business and it’s really a differentiator for us…” To listen to the entire interview click the play button below or click here.

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Welcome to the FCHR Blog

Posted on May 16, 2011 by firstcontacthr

This is the official company blog for First Contact HR. Here, you can expect to find content ranging from hiring insights from professionals in the filed of human resources, company newsletters, information about upcoming events and industry presentations, and general information of what’s going on with First Contact HR!

About: First Contact HR provides employment screening services, including drug and alcohol testing, identity validations, criminal and credit records research, attitude and knowledge testing, driving records, identification badges and employment and education verifications.