Posts Tagged ‘Sue Weaver Cause’

07.16.2008

Podcast: Lucia Bone, Founder & President - The Sue Weaver Cause

by Jason Morris

Lucia Bone
Lucia Bone

employeescreenIQ’s Jason Morris spent some time talking to Lucia Bone, Founder & President of the Sue Weaver Cause. Lucia’s sister, Sue Weaver was raped and murdered by a service worker who was hired to do work in her home. Had the employer conducted a background check they would have known that the employee was a convicted sex offender. Lucia founded C.A.U.S.E. to educate employers about the need to perform background checks to ensure that they are not hiring the wrong individuals. Please take a moment to listen to this interview.

P.S. Yesterday, we posted a story that we found in New York’s Daily Star that told of a cable employee who entered a customer’s home while on the job and sexually assaulted her. We asked Lucia for comment on this story and she offered the following:

“Absolutely it is the responsibility of the company that uses contractors and subcontractors to make sure that they are being screened to the same criteria as if they were an employee. After all, they are representing the company that contracted them.

Many companies have been found liable for the actions of not only their employees but their subcontractors as well. Businesses have an obligation to their customers to make sure they are not sending convicted felons into their homes.

The Sue Weaver CAUSE, Consumer Awareness of Unsafe Service Employment, was founded in memory of my sister that was raped and beaten to death by a twice-convicted sex offender hired to do service work in her home. Her killer was a subcontractor of Burdines. Not only did the contractor go out of business, but the premier Florida retailer settled out of court for millions.

C.A.U.S.E. Certification is a program designed to better protect consumers and employers by offering a means of hiring safer employees, contractors and subcontractors. Such a program could and should have saved not only Sue’s life but many more. C.A.U.S.E. Certification is launching on August 27, the seven year anniversary of Sue’s murder, with a national awareness campaign to educate consumers and employers to the dangers of not knowing who you hire.”

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05.14.2008

Felons on Payroll of Well-known, Local Plumbing Company

by Jason Morris

This article is very scary.  My wife is hiring a plumber next week to fix one of our sinks, luckily its a friend of the family! There is no excuse for this. Putting people into harms way is unacceptable, negligent and lucky for everyone no one got hurt.  The story refers to some states that require a background check during the licensing process via the State Board.  I disagree, the background check should be conducted by the company.

I had the pleasure of getting to know Lucia Bone from The Sue Weaver Cause.  I met Lucia several years ago at a conference and we remain friends.  Lucia’s sister Sue was Raped and killed in 2001 by a contractor sent into her home:

Cathy Sue Weaver was raped and beaten to death in her suburban Orlando, Florida, home on August 27, 2001. With the intent of destroying any evidence, her killer then set her home on fire.

Six months prior to her death, Sue had contracted with a major department store to have the air ducts in her home cleaned. Unbeknownst to her, both of the men sent on the service call had criminal records. One of the men was a twice-convicted sex offender on parole. Six months later he returned to rape and murder Sue.

I have not had the chance to discuss the particular case with Lucia but I am certain she knows about it.  Companies have to be smarter, its their responsibility when putting people in positions where they have the opportunity to commit crimes.  Companies are insured against theft, errors and some areas of negligence.  A company can never insure themselves against their reputation.  I imagine Beacon Plumbing will have a difficult time overcoming this press!

Investigators: Felons on payroll of well-known, local plumbing company

By CHRIS INGALLS / KING 5 News

SEATTLE - The KING 5 Investigators have uncovered new and troubling information about one of Western Washington’s best known companies.

Last month we revealed how some Beacon customers may have overpaid for under qualified help. Beacon sent trainees to jobs instead of journeyman plumbers.

Now we’ve learned that Beacon Plumbing is sending felons into customer’s homes, including a man who served time for a notorious killing.

Kathy Hansen says she spent $1,900 on several Beacon plumbers who couldn’t find a fix for a leak in her basement ceiling. The one she remembers well is Jason Soler, who she says was yelling and angry at being called back to her house — so much so that family members kicked him off the property.

“I’m just glad I wasn’t by myself,’ Hansen said. “I’m glad there were people in my house that heard this guy. He was kind of threatening in the way he acted.”
Related Content

Kathy Hansen was surprised by all the problems she had with Beacon. But she didn’t know the full story about the man Beacon sent to her home until we played her a news story from 1999.

The story was about a death that shocked a community. A young man named Joey Levick had been beaten and left for dead by two men he had gone nightclubbing with, and one of them was Jason Soler.

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