We will kick off this weekends wrap up with a timely story from the National Football League (NFL). Like my Cleveland Browns, the Oakland Raiders just can’t catch a break. Fortunately for them they have a marker in the W column. Unfortunately for them they have a bit of controversy off the field. They are bracing for the possibility that coach Tom Cable could be arrested soon for an alleged assault on an assistant coach. If charged, Cable could be suspended by the league. If convicted Cable could run into serious problems if his next team decides to screen his criminal background. More on that story here!
Making history today is Justice Sonia Sotomayor the first Hispanic justice of the United States Supreme Court. Replacing retired Justice David Souter she will begin the new term with some interesting cases. Background checks and gun laws will definitely be on their docket this year. Most notably will be McDonald v. Chicago. In 2008, the justices ruled in a case from the District of Columbia that the Second Amendment bestows an individual right to keep and bear arms. Because the case originated in a federal enclave, the justices passed on the question of whether the Second Amendment also applies to states, thus calling into question gun regulations in those jurisdictions. The justices have now taken up this question and are expected to decide whether citizens in Chicago — which has one of the most restrictive gun regulation regimes in the country — also enjoy the same Second Amendment rights as do their brethren in the District. This case was recently granted and is expected to be heard some time in early 2010.
In workplace violence news Forbes Magazine ran a story, Experts: US worker-on-worker violence under-reported. Stemming from the murder at Yale Universtiy of Annie Le, they write about some interesting statistics. Workplace homicide has dropped dramatically, to 444 such cases last year from twice as many in 1995, according to government statistics. And most of those deaths occur in robberies of taxi drivers and clerks. The worker-on-worker homicide rate hovers around a hundred a year nationwide, leaving little data to help predict who is likely to kill a co-worker, said Tom Tripp, co-author of “Getting Even: The Truth About Workplace Revenge.” More on this story Click Here
In a follow up to a story we wrote about extensively a few months back….Investigator: Bozeman’s Internet background checks weren’t voluntary. If you remember this one, the City of Bozeman MT was asking job applicants to supply investigators with their passwords so they could access their Facebook and Myspace accounts as part of the pre-employment screening process. The city suspended the policy in June of 2009 after they came under fire for the practice. However, it appears as part of their investigation into the procedure they have found hiring managers got carried away with the practice! More on this story Click Here
This one should scare you if you have elderly relatives in Florida. Florida lawmakers vow changes after learning of laxness, loopholes in checking child and elder care workers – Florida legislators pledged to overhaul state law to require that caregivers for children and the elderly undergo background checks before they begin work and to close loopholes that have let thousands of felons get jobs in day care and nursing homes.
The proposed reforms come after a Sun Sentinel investigative series last week identified disturbing flaws in the background screening system that allow people to work with Florida’s most vulnerable residents before the caregivers have been vetted. More on this story Click Here
And finally a Kidnapping plot proves the importance of background checks. The man accused of plotting to kidnap two young girls from a bus stop and hold them for ransom made his first appearance in court on Friday.
Police say Ruben Garcia-Rosario parked his car near the girls’ bus stop to take pictures of them. Rosario is an illegal immigrant who had done some painting at the family’s house, according to investigators.
Would you let someone in your house without properly screening them?
More on this story Click Here
Well that’s it! Have a great week and check back regularly for stories and comments in the background screening world!
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