by Nick Fishman
Check out my recent Xtra Cheezhead post concerning the use of Social Networking Sites in Background Screening process.
I found a great interview in SmartMoney Magazine with employment attorney Jeanine DeBacker on the topic which highlights her thoughts on this practice and the potential for litigation.
by Nick Fishman
We’ve just released the latest edition of our Quarterly Newsletter, The Verifier. Please feel free to check it out.
by Kevin Bachman
An interesting article about doing background checks in Australia. It seems in theory that our Aussie friends are a few years behind us, but still seeing the importance of doing employment screening. Check out this article, Protect yourself from fraud in the Herald Sun.
by Jason Morris
Our friends at SHRM posted our trends article in Staffing Management Magazine this month. See our latest article 10 Background-Screening Trends to Track in 2008. Feel free to comment below! As always, all of our media postings can be found here.
by Nick Fishman
So three of my esteemed colleagues emailed me this story which was published in Ohio State’s student newspaper which reveals that three graduate students were admitted to the school with even though they were registered sex offenders. At the time of admission the school did not ask those that applied to enroll at the university if they had been convicted of a felony “in the past several years” as it now does.
Each person who emailed me the story wondered whether I would fry my own Alma Mater for this lapse in security the way that I have other academic institutions (see previous blog posts)over the past several months. The answer is yes and no.
One of these grad students was a teaching assistant who worked directly with students. Therefore, I’m towing the line on this one. There is no excuse whatsoever for a university not to conduct a background check at least on those that are charged with the education of its students. Furthermore, the school doesn’t claim that the loop hole has been closed by now requiring background checks. It says that it closed the loophole by asking if they had been convicted of a felony. Are you joking me? How many of those with felonies are going to answer honestly? There is no excuse for not requiring a background check.
I don’t know what to make of the remaining grad students who were characterized as “research associates” and didn’t have any supervision over others. I guess that falls into my next opinion or lack thereof about the next topic that arises from this article: Should schools conduct background checks on students? This question is being contemplated in many circles now and could be an emerging trend in the near future.
I’m sure most would expect me to immediately say “yes” to that question since I am in the business of providing background checks. I can see how knowing of particular offenses would cause a university to question a prospective student’s suitibility for enrollment. Let’s look at a couple of things. Most undergrads that enroll are 18 or under. What would a background check reveal? I know juvenile records cannot be used for employment, so I would assume that couldn’t be used for this purpose either. Next, what type of offense would constitute being denied admission and how can it be applied consistently? Until I get a clearer understanding of how a background check would be executed, what sources would be utilized and how decisions are made, I’m staying on the fence.
Next question. Should grad students be treated differently than their undergraduate counterparts? Maybe. Certainly if they are teaching other students. Even if they are not, grad students are typically older than undergraduates and arguably have higher standards for admission. The older part helps as far as providing a bigger picture for potential criminal records.
Since I have copped out a bit on this issue by not taking a side, I would like to invite your opinion or expertise on this subject. What do you think? And by the way, no comments about our heartbreaking loss to the Illini last weekend. We’ll bounce back against the enemy to the North this Saturday.
by Kevin Bachman
by Nick Fishman
Well, it certainly took them long enough to catch up to the rest of the country, but we are finally seeing some positive trends when it come to higher education institutions and background checks. I found this great article, Checking Up on Your Past on insidehighered.com (I’m sure today’s college students get a kick out of the name of this on-line publication).
The article focuses on last week’s annual meeting of the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources (who knew there was such a thing? but I bet you background screeners will be flocking to it from now on). Evidently, the topic of background checks was all the rage. Noteworthy in this article is a study conducted by Stephanie Hughes, an assistant professor of management at Northern Kentucky University on the use of background checks among universities. See a snapshot of results below.
- 13% of university’s polled never engage in criminal background checks
- 87% perform checks for some staff positions
- 40% screen for some faculty positions
- 26% conduct checks on some student workers
These are good stats, but a little misleading since “The way the survey was phrased, a “Yes” answer meant only that in some cases, a person in that category would be subject to a background check. That means that a college that would investigate a potential professor being hired in a field where security clearances are necessary or for work with young children would have answered Yes even if the vast majority of professorial hires are never subjected to a criminal background check.”
Good article and even better trend nonetheless.
by Jason Morris
One of the newest trends in the employment screening industry is the rise in International Background Checks. For years U.S. employers have searched for ways to screen their foreign employees with little success. In fact, for many years employeescreenIQ was one of the few companies that was able to adequately offer this service on a consistent basis. employeescreenIQ has not only serviced our thousands of U.S. clients internationally but also helped many foreign companies as well. Our client base spans many different nations including a few that our supporting our troops in the middle east. We were one of the first firms to be Safe Harbor Certified and have maintained this certification since 2004.
The National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS) has formed a new committee to help screening companies expand their services in a legal compliant manner. As many of you know I have been very involved in NAPBS since the beginning and I applaud the association on this effort.
See Release:
New International Alliance Aims to Strengthen Background Screening and Security Worldwide
American Organization Takes Lead Role in Effort
Durham, NC (PRWEB) November 5, 2007 — As global terrorism and violence have become a strong reality in our current era, security has developed as a focal issue for companies and organizations that seek to hire talent from other countries and/or establish operations abroad. In response, the representatives of the global background investigation and screening community have formed an international alliance designed to facilitate collaboration and networking among screening firms on all continents, and in countries as diverse as Canada and India. More
by Nick Fishman
We’re big ERE fans here and are honored that they published our release entitled 10 Background Screening Trends to Track in 2008.
Have a look.
by Nick Fishman
I hate to blatantly copy a post I’ve made elsewhere, but I’m rather impressed with myself (or at least the topic) on this one I recently posted on Xtra Cheezhead. See below.
Okay, so you’ve conducted a background check on a prospective employee and decide that they meet your standards. You extend an offer and that person accepts the job and becomes a valuable member of your team. Now that the person has been hired, most companies would not be inclined to consider further background checks. Well the times, they are a-changing.
While the concept of follow up background checks has been around for a long time and employed by security conscious organizations, you are seeing this emerging trend creep into the consciousness of your average business. It even has a shiny new name that many are using: “Infinity Screening”. I’m a big advocate of this practice because it allows you to evaluate your current employees for adverse information throughout their employment. An easy example is conducting annual Motor Vehicle Record check on those that drive company cars.
Please click on the link below to view the rest of this post:
http://www.cheezhead.com/xtra/2007/09/07/post-employment-screening/
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