It’s well into the holiday season now, and a familiar sight to see while shopping for those last minute holiday gifts are the Salvation Army Red Kettle bell ringers. If you’re feeling the spirit of the season and you decide to donate to the cause, it may surprise you to hear that the Salvation Army did not perform a background check on the volunteer taking your money. See video below by WKYC:
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
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.
First Contact HR wants to give our fans and Mailing List subscibers the chance to win a gift!
Click “Like” at facebook.com/firstcontacthr and then join our mailing list for a chance to win a Prize Pack from First Contact HR!
Givaway starts Friday, October 28, 2011 12:00AM EST and ends Friday, November 18, 2011 11:59PM EST
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According to a recent survey conducted by the National Retail Federation (NRF), approximately 97 percent of all retailers in the U.S. utilize background screening procedures in the hiring process.
Retailers know the importance of keeping their employees and customers safe, which is why they use different types of background screening components, including checking criminal, credit, motor vehicle/driving records, as well as drug history, social security number traces, and education and identity verifications.
The findings released by the NRF were based upon a survey of 96 individual retail and restaurant companies. “Nearly all retailers polled (96.6%) utilize background screening as part of their applicant hiring process.”
For information on the background screening services First Contact HR can provide in the retail space, click here.
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
City of Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter signed an ordinance that will prohibit employers from requiring job applicants to disclose their criminal backgrounds until after the first employment interview.
After a first interview, employers may perform a background check or request the disclosure of an applicant’s criminal record history.
The ordinance prohibits city agencies and private employers from knowingly inquiring about criminal backgrounds, including arrest records on the employment application. The ordinance is applicable to all employers with workforces of ten or more persons in the City of Philadelphia. As a result, this ordinance will require applicable employers to update their interview and screening process, including the employment application.