How Recruiters and Hiring Managers can Help Candidates Make an Informed Career Decision: Part 2

Joe Murphy of Shaker Consulting Group

The founder of Checkster, Yves Lermusi and I had a chance to speak at TaleoWorld.  Yves has spent most of his career examining the talent space.   I asked him what we can do to help the candidate make a more informed decision.  He suggests we give the candidate feedback from the results of pre-employment assessments and background checks.  Click play to hear what he has to say, then continue reading below the video. Continue Reading

Background Check Bill would Help Target Threatening Hires

A new bill would help home security companies conduct background checks on potential employees.
The Electronic Life Safety and Security System Federal Background Check Act of 2009 would provide installation and monitoring companies with resources to ensure employees they hire aren’t a threat to homes, businesses or families.
According to an article by the National Burglar & Fire Alarm Association, the legislation, introduced by Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer, would give companies the ability to check a potential employee’s criminal history against the National Crime Information Center, a federal criminal database.
“It’s a great piece of legislation that we’re proposing… and it allows us to be able to provide a tool for our members to be able to get background checks,” NBFAA President Michael Miller, said in the article.
“One of the issues that we have is (just getting) a criminal background license that’s either state only, local only or federal only and we need all three basically, because when we get employees that come to us from other states, the FBI federal background check is the one that assures us that we’ve got somebody that’s not a criminal,” Miller continued. “So it would be a fantastic tool to have for our members.”
Other establishments, such as banks, credit unions and private security guard firms, already have access to the information. More should be known about the bill later this month when members of the alarm industry visit Capitol Hill.

Background Checks for College Employees?

The University of Utah has been trying to create a policy on background checks for potential faculty and staff members, which has recently raised concerns about privacy, academic freedom and fairness.
Officials are looking to institute a policy that would ensure the school hires the best teachers and employees while at the same time protecting students, according to an article by The Salt Lake Tribune. While background checks are required by Utah House Bill 196, that bill states checks should be performed on those in positions that have significant contact with a minor or are security sensitive.
While some officials feel the checks are a necessary precaution, others think they might delve too much into one’s personal privacy.
“There might be an arrest for political protest in one’s past,” Paul Mogren, senate president and a campus librarian, said in the article. “We would want that to never preclude someone being offered employment. Other youth discretions may come up. Anything that comes up on the criminal is not grounds for not hiring someone.”
Many faculty members believe the checks should be outsourced and the school should bear the cost, even though the law allows the cost to be passed on to job applicants. Another issue is how the school would remain fair to all job applicants, and one recent suggestion is to perform checks on all hires, except those that aren’t eligible for benefits.
Background checks are nothing new at the school. In 2002, the health sciences division, which includes the hospital and medical school, began checks, even though medical faculty have almost no contact with students under the age of 21. The rationale was that health science employees have access to narcotics and patient records, and contact with patients. That policy has not been considered controversial.
“There was a concern that it would impact our ability to recruit faculty, but it has had absolutely no impact,” Richard Sperry, associate vice president of health sciences, said in the article. “People on our side of the fence expect it now.”
These policy checks exclude adjunct faculty, who number in the thousands. Most physicians in the state have an adjunct relationship with the U. medical school and most would have already been checked by their main Utah job employers.

Ohio School Makes Volunteer Background Checks Mandatory

The Lakewood School District, located in Lakewood, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland, has decided to make background checks mandatory for school volunteers.
At the beginning of this year, the district began requiring all school volunteers to be fingerprinted and have a criminal background check completed, according to an article by WKYC.
“We want to make sure we have done everything to keep our kids safe and secure,” Dr. David Estrop, Lakewood Superintendent, said in the article.
To date, about 350 volunteers have undergone background checks, costing the school district almost $8,000. The school district pays for its volunteers’ background checks to make sure they don’t have felonies or other serious crimes on their records.
The district thinks the mandatory background checks are an investment worth making, and other schools are performing volunteer background checks, but it should be noted not all districts may be able to spend the extra money. However, once background checks are completed, all parents can rest assured their children are in safe hands.
Many institutions, such as schools and hospitals, require volunteers to undergo background checks, but there is no law requiring companies to perform background checks on volunteers. While a background check might make a volunteer feel as though their privacy is being invaded, it could save much hassle for those involved.

Should Colleges Perform Background Checks?

Employers are increasingly conducting background checks on prospective hires, and some colleges are considering the idea of conducting background checks on prospective students.
While this idea is controversial, it could make it easier for college students to find internships or entry level jobs.
Many colleges ask applicants whether they have been subjected to any disciplinary action by a high school, college or university, whether they have been convicted of a violation of any state or federal law other than a minor traffic violation and whether they are on probation or suspension. According to an article by USA Today, applicants who answer “yes” are asked to explain their answers. Similar questions were added in 2007 to The Common Application, a form accepted by 298 colleges and universities.
However, formal background checks are another story, as many colleges don’t want to be accused of profiling or discriminating against students who have records. Also, it is suspected checks probably would find little on students whose juvenile court records are sealed.
Some education professionals think the time has come to conduct background checks on prospective students, while others think it’s a difficult and imperfect process.
“Even so, the idea appears to be gaining steam,” the article states. “Three years ago, Certified Background, a company in Wilmington, N.C., was doing background checks on students for fewer than a dozen colleges; today it does student checks for about 500 colleges.”
In most cases, the company would conduct routine checks on students in health fields as required by hospitals or clinics, and some schools are moving in the direction of doing checks at the admissions level.
Currently, Baylor University, the University of Oklahoma, Kansas State University and the University of Kansas have begun screening some student athletes.
“Virginia passed a law last year requiring colleges to provide information to police on incoming students, who are then cross-checked with sex-offender lists,” the article adds. “Meanwhile, the North Carolina Legislature recently considered whether to require that college students be fingerprinted.”
The University of North Carolina also recently began performing background checks on some students.

Background Check Violations

Improperly conducted background checks can cause as many problems as negligent hiring suits, as a Newport News call center recently found out. The company used LexisNexis Risk Management Inc., which has been accused of failing to let employees know of problems found in investigations and of creating too many issues for those who requested reviews. LexisNexis has agreed to pay a settlement that exceeds $20 million.
Christopher Colt North was the attorney representing the plaintiffs. On behalf of his clients he accused the company that the conducted the background checks of violating the Fair Credit Reporting Act. North said that he believes that this is the largest settlement for a case involving the 37-year-old piece of legislation.

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Effective Employee Verifications

In order to discourage illegal immigration the Bush administration has proposed “no-match regulation” for the process of employee verification. According to this plan employers would have 93 days to resolve name or social security/taxpayer identification number discrepancies.
At the end of this period if the issue has not been finished the employer is required to fire the individual in question or face civil and criminal penalties for employing undocumented workers.
Although this would decrease the likelihood of employers hiring illegal immigrants for any significant period of time, there is also a chance that many law abiding citizens will suffer from this plan. In Texas alone the Social Security Administration estimates that 10 percent of the state’s total workforce would have to be terminated, which would severely effect the area’s economy.

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