by Jason Morris

In the employment screening business sometimes we are faced with industries that require very specific searches. One of these searches is called an OIG (Office of Inspector General) GSA (General Services Administration) Search. Both of these are government disbarment list searches.

What does this mean?

In a nutshell, various industries are required to verify that a candidate is not on a government disbarment list of firms and individuals excluded by the Federal government from receiving federal contracts or federally approved subcontracts and from certain types of federal financial and non financial assistance and benefits.

According to the Government Services Administration (GSA) Website:

The EPLS (Excluded Parties Lists System) was established to ensure agencies solicit offers from, award contracts, grants, or financial or non-financial assistance and benefits to, and consent to subcontracts with responsible contractors only and not allow a party to participate in any affected program if any Executive department or agency has debarred, suspended, or otherwise excluded (to the extent specified in the exclusion action) that party from participation in an affected program.

Reference FAR Subpart 9.4 (Procurement Programs) and Executive Orders 12549 and 12689 and the Government-wide Nonprocurement Suspension and Debarment Common Rule [68 FR 66533] (Nonprocurement Programs) provide the guidance for using EPLS.

The EPLS is a Federal government system maintained by GSA as required by FAR Subpart 9.4 and Executive Orders 12549 and 12689. EPLS data is received and maintained by Federal debarring/excluding agencies only.

According to the Office of Inspector General (OIG) website:

For many years the Congress of the United States has worked diligently to protect the health and welfare of the nation’s elderly and poor by implementing legislation to prevent certain individuals and businesses from participating in Federally-funded health care programs. The OIG, under this Congressional mandate, established a program to exclude individuals and entities affected by these various legal authorities, contained in sections 1128 and 1156 of the Social Security Act, and maintains a list of all currently excluded parties called the List of Excluded Individuals/Entities.

Bases for exclusion include convictions for program-related fraud and patient abuse, licensing board actions and default on Health Education Assistance Loans.

The effect of an exclusion (not being able to participate) is:

· No payment will be made by any Federal health care program for any items or services furnished, ordered, or prescribed by an excluded individual or entity. Federal health care programs include Medicare, Medicaid, and all other plans and programs that provide health benefits funded directly or indirectly by the United States (other than the Federal Employees Health Benefits Plan). For exclusions implemented prior to August 4, 1997, the exclusion covers the following Federal health care programs: Medicare (Title XVIII), Medicaid (Title XIX), Maternal and Child Health Services Block Grant (Title V), Block Grants to States for Social Services (Title XX) and State Children’s Health Insurance (Title XXI) programs.

· No program payment will be made for anything that an excluded person furnishes, orders, or prescribes. This payment prohibition applies to the excluded person, anyone who employs or contracts with the excluded person, any hospital or other provider where the excluded person provides services, and anyone else. The exclusion applies regardless of who submits the claims and applies to all administrative and management services furnished by the excluded person.

· There is a limited exception to exclusions for the provision of certain emergency items or services not provided in a hospital emergency room. See regulations at 42 CFR 1001.1901(c)

Check with your employment screening firm to see if an OIG or GSA search is relevant to your industry.

by Jason Morris

Dear Loyal Readers,

Beginning Saturday April 12th I will be leaving for the National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS) conference in New Orleans, LA.  I will be at this conference until Wednesday April 16th. Due to my absence I will be unable to blog this series every day.  I look to continue this as a daily blog on Thursday April 17th.  However, you may see a few random “Employment Screening 101″ posts by others from employeescreenIQ or myself if I am able to post.

Future topics will include:

• Substance abuse testing
• FAA Searches
• I-9 Automation
• Global Screening
• IQ Review

And much more!

The good news is I will be speaking at the conference.  Please be sure to stop by and hear my topic ” The History of NAPBS and the Background Screening Industry “.  Looking forward to seeing some of you there!

by Jason Morris

Many industries are required to search the Office of Foreign Asset Control’s (OFAC) Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) List.   Some of the industries that are required to search this list include, those in the Financial Sector, Money Service Businesses, Insurance Industry, Exporters and Importers, Tourism & Travel, Credit Reporting, some Non Profits and Corporate Registration Agencies.   According to the OFAC website:

The Office of Foreign Assets Control (”OFAC”) of the US Department of the Treasury administers and enforces economic and trade sanctions based on US foreign policy and national security goals against targeted foreign countries, terrorists, international narcotics traffickers, and those engaged in activities related to the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. OFAC acts under Presidential wartime and national emergency powers, as well as authority granted by specific legislation, to impose controls on transactions and freeze foreign assets under US jurisdiction. Many of the sanctions are based on United Nations and other international mandates, are multilateral in scope, and involve close cooperation with allied governments.

employeescreenIQ takes this search a step further; actually about 45 steps further to be exact.  The employeescreenIQ Homeland Security Check is an instant, inexpensive tool that mitigates foreseeable risk to your customers, employees and physical assets.

The Homeland Security Check is designed to cross reference your applicant’s name against over 45 worldwide known terrorist and fugitive databases that include individuals, organizations and companies considered to be a threat to global and national security. The Homeland Security Check database is updated daily as the various lists are modified. This service is available to all employeescreenIQ clients and ensures compliance with the USA Patriot Act.

Some of the data sources cross-referenced by the employeescreenIQ Homeland Security Check include the following:

• Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) List of Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) and Blocked Persons
• Politically Exposed Persons List
• FBI Most Wanted Terrorists List
• FBI Top Ten Most Wanted List
• U.S. Secret Service Most Wanted Fugitives
• United Nations Consolidated Sanctions List
• Interpol Most Wanted List
• European Union Terrorist List
• Royal Canadian Mounted Police Most Wanted
• Australia Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade List
• Russian Federal Fugitives
• Scotland Yard’s Most Wanted
• World’s Most Wanted Fugitives

This is an inexpensive way to strengthen your background screening program. Homeland security is everyone’s responsibility! Performing this search helps you protect both your organization and your country.

by Jason Morris

Contacting business and/or personal references can be valuable source of information about your applicant’s general image, work habits and character as perceived by others. These Reference Interview can also offer insight into the candidate’s trustworthiness, reliability, competency and integrity and help one candidate stand out from the field.

Many times in employment background screening organizations tend to look at negatives; information to disqualify an individual for employment. Unlike countywide criminal searches and employment and education verifications most often a reference interview will note positive attributes of an individual. I remember a few years ago when we had two great candidates for an Account Executive position; both candidates were essentially equal in every way however one had a stellar reference that put her over the edge.

It is important that I divulge that I am not in favor of reference interviews in place of employment verifications. The candidate will often provide names of references they know will say favorable things about them. In employment verifications, you are contacting their former employers who tend to be less biased in their remarks. Plus, if the past employer does provide favorable remarks, it is usually much more reliable. Bottom line, a reference interview is a good compliment or added level to the employment verification.

by Jason Morris

According to a careerbuilder survey in 2006 57% of hiring managers say they have caught a lie on a resume.   Topping the list were lies about past employers (18%), Academic degrees (16%), Technical skills (15%) and Accomplishments (8%).   employeescreenIQ figures show that around 56% of all resumes screened show some sort of discrepancy, even after eliminating ‘common mistakes’ from the overall statistic.

 Just ask the former Notre Dame Football Coach George O’leary or the former Dean of Admissions at M.I.T. Marilee Jones; if you lie on your resume you will be caught!  It always amazes me that even after signing a disclosure allowing an employer to conduct a background check an employee will still submit false information.  Because of these statistics more and more employers are verifying education and employment on all job applications and resumes.

A resume is nothing more than a sales pitch, it’s the candidate’s opportunity to tell you exactly what you want to hear (or what they want you to hear).  Last May I was quoted throughout an article in SmartMoney Magazine brilliantly titled, “White Lies on Resumes Raise Red Flags for Employers”.  This article outlined some great examples of corporate embarrassment:

 Of course, high-profile resume padding is nothing new. In 2002 Bausch & Lomb’s chief executive, Ronald Zarella, was found to have lied about having a master’s degree in business administration from NYU. Kenneth Lonchar, finance chief of Veritas Software, resigned in 2002 after the company learned he misstated his educational credentials, including falsely claiming to hold an MBA from Stanford. Sandra Baldwin, president of the U.S. Olympic Committee, left office in 2002 after admitting she lied about having a Ph.D. in English (she never actually completed her dissertation). And the list goes on.

The emergence of defamation claims were common place in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s.  Courts began upholding defamation lawsuits based on negative employer references that could not be established as fact.  This led to employers divulging only basic information such as dates of employment, title and salary.

Neutral reference policies are no longer a concern for employers as many courts have begun to uphold the theory of “negligent referral” .  Rob Thomson, Communication Manager of employeescreenIQ wrote an excellent article for our newsletter a while back called “Employment Verifications: Less May No Longer Be More!”  In it he states:

 Negligent referral is defined as “the failure of an employer to disclose complete and factual information about a former or current employee to another employer.” For example, suppose a former employee causes damage or harm at the new workplace that might have been predicted based on prior behavior that was known, but not disclosed, in a neutral employment verification by the former employer. This may also be considered negligence, even if the employer has a documented neutral reference verification policy.

In recent years many states have enacted “job reference immunity statutes” which presumably provide protection for employers that choose to provide more in-depth information about former employees. The consensus of these statutes in the legal community is that while they codify immunity for employers providing employment references, in practice they may not provide a significant upgrade in protection over existing employment laws. Job reference immunity statutes generally establish a presumption of good faith on the part of the former employer, meaning that it must be shown that the employer knowingly provided false information, or acted with malice, depending on the statute, to establish negligence.

Conducting education and employment reference checks is one of the most important services offered by employment screening firms.  Historically companies have been littered with employees that were under qualified and overpaid based on previous positions.  Spending a little money can save a company a lot of heartache and embarrassment.  I have consulted with hundreds of HR Departments, and I ultimately leave it with them like this; whether you do it or we do it for you, it absolutely needs to be done.

by Jason Morris

I have to admit it; today’s topic isn’t going to confuse readers into thinking I might be Nelson Demille. There just aren’t many exciting things I can say about Motor Vehicle Records (MVR), so I am going to keep it short and sweet!

A MVR is an important search for applicants who are required to operate their vehicle for business purposes and/or driving a company vehicle. Records show history over the past 3-7 years and are available in all 50 states and Washington DC. Reports include all personal identifiers as well as offenses and citations.

It’s rare that a MVR search would be used to disqualify someone from employment. MVR’s are typically used to show patterns and, or for various compliance purposes.  In general, employers are not looking for a single DUI.  They are looking for patters of these types of issues.  Results should be used with caution and all federal mandates and guidelines should be followed.  For instance, take into consideration the weight and gravity of the offense in relation to the job responsibilities.  This will help satisfy any EEOC and, or FCRA concerns. Several States require a special release for their particular State.  The Drivers Privacy Protection Act (DPPA) governs the parameters of the search and should be taken into consideration when ordering the service.

by Jason Morris

We have written frequently about the use of credit reports in employment screening. While the use of these reports is somewhat controversial, when used appropriately, they can be extremely beneficial when making hiring decisions. We never recommend using the employment credit report as the sole decision not to hire someone.  It should simply be reviewed to get a snapshot of an individual’s personal responsibility.

Employment credit reports are recommended for “C” Level Employees, anyone in Finance & Accounting, those that deal with financial records or large amounts of cash, and those that have access to sensitive information. There are also specific industries that mandate an  employment credit report and those should be followed as well.

The search will produce a full credit report from one of the three nationwide credit bureaus: Experian, Equifax and, or Transunion.  This report offers insight into the applicant’s reliability and a sense of their personal responsibility. Reports include derogatory credit information, public filings (bankruptcies, liens and judgments) as well as previous addresses. This can be another great tool for identifying other counties that the applicant may have lived and is especially useful for companies whose candidates will have check-writing privileges or other access to company funds.

Some States have limitations on the use of credit reports. This article was posted to our website a few months ago with some examples. I am also enclosing a link to a great article we wrote on Frequently Asked Questions about pre-employment credit reports.

We recommend stringent oversight in investigating other Title VII issues raised with the EEOC when credit reports are used for employment purposes. Your employment screening firm should be able to offer guidance on all these issues! Stay tuned to employeescreen University for more articles on this subject.

by Jason Morris

For Today’s posting I am going to discuss another underutilized search, the Federal Criminal History Search. Typically used for higher level hires, the Federal Search can be an effective way of identifying individuals not found in the State Court System. There are many crimes that don’t necessarily fall under local laws, they fall under federal jurisdiction. These crimes may include: tax evasion, embezzlement, counterfeiting, kidnapping, bank robbery and many other “white collar” crimes. This search lists criminal filings in any of the nation’s Federal District Courts. Federal district court searches are the first option we recommend for a client that wants to go above and beyond a comprehensive felony and misdemeanor court search. Because not all crimes are handled at the local level, running the federal district court search in the same geographical areas as the countywide searches delivers an added layer of protection.

Imagine this. You own a large company in the financial sector. You hire a recruiter to find a “C” Level executive to fill an important position. You hire a competent employment screening firm to conduct a thorough background check on the candidate. You select from a menu of very thorough criminal searches including a Countywide Felony & Misdemeanor Search and a National Criminal Database Search. You make the hire only to later find the following case: “SEC Brings Civil Fraud Claims against Former CFO” Now just as a disclaimer, I don’t know Gregory Reyes, I have never even heard of him, I simply did a bit of research on Google to find a “C” level executive who has been convicted of a federal crime. My point is this; a simple Federal Criminal History Search would have uncovered this case had you utilized this type of criminal search. Please note, no other type of Criminal Search would have uncovered this record, it’s only found at the Federal Level. While you can’t use Google to find this information during a background check (a subject we will cover later), you customers and employees can, imagine the embarrassment!

In conclusion, we certainly understand budget constraints when doing a background check. Hiring for a higher level position should include a higher level of vetting. Typically a background check should cost no more than the candidates’ first days’ salary. Don’t save money by putting your company or organization at risk.

by Jason Morris

Today, we will explore the benefits of the National Database Criminal Search, a service that has kindled much debate over the last ten years. What was once a threat to a comprehensive accurate criminal search has become a valuable tool in employment screening. If you read this past Friday’s post on Countywide Felony & Misdemeanor Searches you would have a good understanding of how an accurate criminal search is conducted in the United States. However, in the past few years National Criminal Searches have improved as they have compiled more and more records.

Before reading further, it is important to read the following disclaimer: We in no way, shape or form recommend the National Database Search as the primary or only resource for conducting criminal background checks. It is simply a valuable complimentary tool for conducting a more thorough search.

These National Criminal Searches are basically aggregates of millions of records from various sources in the United States. These records are obtained by these commercial vendors from several different sources including: County Court Houses, State Departments of Incarcerations, State Record Repositories, Probation Departments, Townships, Sex Offender Registries etc.. This blog posting will not be about why you should NOT use these databases as a standalone search. Instead, it will demonstration why you should consider this type of search IF AND ONLY IF you do it properly.

The Negligent Hiring Doctrine basically says “If you could have known, you should have known”. Adding a National Criminal Search onto a comprehensive County Search is quickly becoming a standard and arguably a good one. Our estimate is that even the best National Criminal Search holds about 5% to 8% of all the reportable offenses in the U.S. . We have done the tests and even when taking a small sample of 300-400 applicants, a few major offenses would have been missed had a National Criminal Search not been conducted. The numbers don’t lie. For the cost of one additional County Criminal Search; major criminal records would have been missed.

There are FCRA implications to consider. Section 613 of the FCRA identifies two ways a CRA can report negative information. The first is to use what is called “Contemporaneous Notice”: basically notify the consumer that something negative was found on the report and to dispute it they must go back to the screening firm to correct it. Many of us, myself included, feel this is an unfair practice and in many cases will unfairly eliminate someone from consideration for a position. The second method is simple; make sure the information is accurate and reportable before reporting it to the end user. This is a practice subscribed to by most of us in the retail employment screening marketplace. We have had many NAPBS discussions about this and most of us agree that this is the best practice and thus the most fair for consumers.

What does this mean in English? When a possible criminal hit is found in the National Criminal Search, take that record and validate its existence by going to the source, the county courthouse. Once it is confirmed that its disposition is accurate and it does in fact belong to the subject you are checking, it will be reported.

In conclusion, when developing the criminal component of your employment screening program, begin with a Social Security Number Trace. Identify all the places the subject has lived, worked and attended school and all the names they have used. Take this information and conduct a Countywide Criminal Search. In addition consider including a National Criminal Search. You have the tools at your disposal. Using them properly allows you to rest easier at night knowing you have a safer working environment.

by Jason Morris

Today I will begin a twenty part series entitled “Employment Screening 101”. Well, we just launched the employeescreen University initiative so the 101 title is only fitting. This series will explore each of the services offered by employment screening companies and dissect the components and the outcome of that particular search. I have been in the employment screening industry for about 15 years; in 1999 we founded Background Information Services, Inc. which last year became employeescreenIQ. I do believe there has been an evolution in the services consumer reporting agencies provide, however the principles have remained the same; we help clients to confidently make intelligent hiring decisions.

The first element of any background check should be the Social Security Number Trace (SSN Trace). The SSN Trace is an incredibly valuable tool if used properly. Typically a SSN Trace is conducted using one of two sources, a trace using one of the three major credit bureaus; Experian, Transunion and Equifax or a database that aggregates from several different sources the aforementioned bureaus.

Using SSN Trace information, we are able to authenticate that the Social Security Number provided by your applicant is associated with an individual of the same name, that the approximate date of issue range of the SSN equates with your applicant’s birth date, and that the address history associated with that SSN corresponds with the areas of the country where your applicant has lived, worked, attended school, or spent other significant time. The SSN Trace is a crucial component of criminal history research as the address history is the roadmap used to select court jurisdictions that should be researched for criminal records. Additionally, the SSN Trace will provide any alias names that have been associated with that SSN; the same courts should be checked under all relevant and/or unique alias names. Any effective, reliable, and FCRA-compliant criminal background check begins with a SSN Trace.

Be sure to check back tomorrow for Part 2, The Countywide Felony and Misdemeanor Search!