EmployeeScreenIQ Blog

EmployeeScreenIQ founder Jason B. Morris will speak at the 2011 Arizona State SHRM Conference in Phoenix, AZ at the Phoenix Convention Center on Thursday, September 1, 2011 at 7:00 am and 5 pm PST.

Technology has dramatically changed the way companies compete for talent and screen prospective employees, but nothing approaches the impact of social networking. With the widespread use of Facebook, LinkedIn and other sites comes a wave of legal liabilities for both recruiters and screeners. Other emerging technology threats include online diploma fraud, employment mills that manufacture work experience, screen scraping and more. Employers need to develop best practices and policies in order to successfully manage Web 2.0 technologies.

The presentation, entitled “Recruiting and Hiring Liabilities: Protecting Your Organization from the Harmful Effects of Web 2.0,” will educate the HR community about the legal pitfalls of social networking and the related threats of online diploma fraud, employment mills, screen scraping and more. Attendees will learn which social networking sites are most popular with recruiters and applicants, and their impact on employment screening and the hiring process. Morris will also offer advice on how to develop a social media policy and spot the warning signs of diploma and employment mills.

For more information, please visit Arizona State SHRM website

About EmployeeScreenIQ:
Founded in 1999, EmployeeScreenIQ is a Cleveland, Ohio-based employment screening company offering a variety of employment screening services to mid- and large-cap organizations throughout the world, including those in North and South America, Europe and East Asia. EmployeeScreenIQ is accredited by the National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS), a distinction earned by only one percent of all employment screening companies. For more information, visit http://www.EmployeeScreen.com.

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Jon Hyman of Ohio Employer’s Law Blog fame just posted about yet another embarrassing episode for the EEOC.  This time they were ordered to pay Cintas Corporation nearly $3 million dollars for overzealous legal tactics.  This on the heels of the PeopleMark ruling earlier this year which resulted in a $750,000 judgment against the agency.  Jon also recently wrote about another ruling that went against the EEOC in the Kaplan Higher Education case which deals with the use of an employer’s use credit reports as part of the background screening process.  And at the same time they are unfairly saddling these corporations with unfounded lawsuits, they are wasting time and tax payer money which affects us all.  See Jon’s complete post below.

A Michigan federal judge has slammed the EEOC for its “reckless sue first, ask questions later strategy.” After 11 years of litigation, the court awarded the EEOC’s target, Cintas Corporation, $2,638,443.93 in attorneys’ fees, costs, and expenses from the agency.

The court justified its astronomical award based on the EEOC’s failure to investigate before filing suit, and dilatory tactics before and after filing suit:

• The EEOC did not investigate the specific allegations of any of the thirteen allegedly aggrieved persons until after the Serrano plaintiffs filed their initial complaint, and after it filed its own complaint years later.
• The EEOC did not engage in any conciliation measures as required by § 706 prior to filing suit on behalf of the named Plaintiffs.
• The EEOC did not identify any of the thirteen allegedly aggrieved persons as members of the “class” until after the EEOC filed its initial complaint.
• The EEOC failed to make an individualized reasonable cause determination as to the specific allegations of any of the thirteen named plaintiffs in this action….

During the course of its involvement in this case, the EEOC filed, and lost, over a dozen motions. Furthermore, Cintas was forced to file a number of motions because of the EEOC’s failure to properly respond to Cintas’ discovery requests. Cintas succeeded on all of these motions, and the EEOC’s conduct served only to prolong this decade-long litigation…. In his March 2, 2010 Order Granting Motion to Compel, Magistrate Judge Scheer stated, “There appears to be no purpose for [the EEOC’s] position [to withhold the questionnaires] other than to increase the difficulty and expense of the defense of this action by Cintas.”

Employers, if you’ve ever been sued by the EEOC, you know it is never fun to be in its crosshairs. Unlike you, the agency does not pay lawyers to litigate for it, and has seemingly unlimited resources to make your lives a living hell. Take heart, though, that there are judges who will hold the EEOC’s feet to the litigation fire. As this case illustrates, it is possible to beat the EEOC at its own game. But, it’s going to take perseverance.

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Did you know that you can follow all of our new and exciting stories on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn?

Twitter: @employeescreen

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/employeescreeniq

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/employeescreenIQ

Oh yea, and….we are hiring.  We have lot’s of positions opening up soon, visit our career page at:

http://www.employeescreen.com/careers.asp

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(Reuters) – Sen. Charles Schumer said on Sunday he would introduce legislation requiring major utility plants to run background checks on employees to help prevent security threats against power facilities.

Citing a recent U.S. Department of Homeland Security report that found insider sabotage at electric, gas, and water utilities was a significant threat to U.S. national security, Schumer said al Qaeda was known to be recruiting extremists to infiltrate and work in sensitive areas such as utilities.

“Power plants and utilities present a tempting and potentially catastrophic target to extremists who are bent on wreaking havoc on the United States,” Schumer said.

“Thorough background checks on all workers with access to the most sensitive areas of these operations are a must,” he said, calling the DHS report “a wake-up call that we must ensure those with access to our most critical infrastructure — and our power supplies — are not compromised by extremist influences.”

Currently only nuclear power plants are required to conduct FBI background checks on employees with unescorted access to facilities.

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Question: What do the producers of Sesame Street and the Iowa City Fair have in common?

Answer:  They both don’t want the publicity they drew when it was discovered that the fair hired a registered sex offender convicted in 2005 of lascivious acts with a 7 year old girl to wear a Cookie Monster costume and greet children.

I don’t know, just a thought, but do you think maybe the fair should have conducted an employment background check?  Between a criminal record search and a check of the sex offender registry they most surely would have discovered that maybe the should move on to the next applicant.  But hey, that’s just me.

According to Reuters,  “The owner of the costume company that hired Rogers says that they did not run a background check. The owner said that Rogers needed a job, so he was put to work almost immediately. Rogers would have also been sent to work at other private events and birthday parties if he hadn’t been discovered by a parole supervisor who recognized him at the fair.”

Thank goodness nothing happened.

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We just published The Verifier XXIII, Summer 2011 Edition, a publication intended as an educational tool and information resource for human resource professionals or anyone interested in keeping abreast of recent employment screening and background check industry developments.

Highlights of this issue include the following:

Articles:

• Trends in Employment Background Screening: 2011 Results
• Introducing iEmployeeScreen mobile: Background Screening News at Your Fingertips
• A Modest Proposal: Social Network Background Checks Still Concern Me
• Background Screening Under Fire by The EEOC and Others
• Background Screening and The Candidate Experience

Announcements and Legislative Updates

• EEOC Hearing Scheduled on Use of Criminal Background Checks
• Connecticut Passes Law to Curb Use of Credit Reports
• Maryland Gov. Enacts Law to Curb Use of Credit Reports
• EmployeeScreenIQ Gives Back to the Community

Check it out!

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Background checks uncover dirt on candidates

Background checks on this year’s field of 36 City Council candidates uncovered a felon, alcohol-related offenses, assault arrests, deadbeat parents, financial woes and a particularly vindictive divorce.

Each municipal election cycle, the Tulsa World relies upon records and databases from courts, jails, law enforcement and government agencies to vet those seeking public office.

The checks revealed current and past issues with 13 of the 36 candidates.

The city’s municipal primary is set for Sept. 13 and general election Nov. 8.

District 1: Democrat Jason Trent Jr., 45, is a convicted felon.

In 1994, Trent pleaded guilty in Tulsa County District Court for failing to return rental property, including a TV and VCR.

Trent was fitted with an ankle monitor, which he eventually cut off and left for Oklahoma City.

As a result, Trent was charged with escape, which he pleaded guilty to in 1995 and spent about 18 months at Jess Dunn Correctional Center in Taft.

“This all goes back to when I was addicted to crack cocaine and making a lot of bad choices,” he said.

“I’ll be honest with you, I was a straight up (screw) up.”

Trent said he has been “clean and sober” for 15 years, but when the Tulsa World brought up a 2001 charge for marijuana possession, he said he meant he was clean off of crack cocaine for that period.

Trent added he hasn’t used any illegal substances since that 2001 arrest.

In that case, Trent pleaded guilty in Tulsa County on charges of speeding, driving with a suspended license, obstructing a police officer and marijuana possession. He received a one-year suspended sentence.

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As you all know from reading our various articles on EmployeeScreen University, the State Government is critical to employment screening.  For starters, it must be operational to conduct any type of accurate background check in that jurisdiction.  For example, if a county court house is closed, one can’t enter said courthouse to pull records.  Well this week is no exception, due to budget negotiations, the Minnesota state government has hit a standstill and shut down operations.  Businesses can’t hire new employees because they can’t screen people properly.

Shutdown Creates Block on Background Checks

Some health care providers are struggling to do their jobs during the government shutdown.

State computer systems that let health care providers check the backgrounds of new hires have been shut down, so there’s no new way to bring on staff members.

The company can’t hire the caregivers needed, so they have to use existing staff to fill needs.

Home health care providers say they’re expected to take new clients during shutdown but are under state rules to not accept clients unless they have the staff to provide that care.

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Illegal-alien airline security shocker

By LARRY CELONA and BILL SANDERSON

In a colossal failure of 9/11 security measures, an illegal immigrant used the stolen ID of a Bronx man with an arrest record to get hired as an airline flight attendant, and flew several trips as a trainee before he was busted yesterday, authorities said.

Besides getting a job at American Eagle, Jophan Porter, 38, used the stolen ID to obtain a US passport, a US Department of Transportation ID card and at least three Florida driver’s licenses, law-enforcement sources told The Post.

Porter was caught after ID-theft victim Anthony Frair of The Bronx was denied food stamps because government records matched him to the airline job.

A law-enforcement source confirmed that Frair, 40, has an arrest record. Public records show a man with his name and age was busted in Florida in 2008 on domestic-assault charges.

It’s unclear how long Porter used Frair’s identity, sources said. American Eagle hired him in March, and he worked from the airline’s Miami base, said company spokesman Tim Smith.

Smith and spokespersons for several federal agencies couldn’t explain how Porter cleared the security checks needed to become a flight attendant — or why the airline didn’t realize the ID he had stolen belonged to a criminal suspect.

Smith couldn’t say whether the airline even did a Google search, which would have uncovered Frair’s arrest in Florida.

Porter was born in Guyana, and records show he’s also a former Bronx resident.

He was arrested at Miami International Airport early yesterday just after he’d returned from a personal trip to London on an American Airlines flight, Smith said.

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Wanted to give a special shout out to Lisa Dorhauer who is accused of stealing $46,000 from a charitable organization that provides social services for children.  You win this week’s award for the most despicable human being.  Here’s your reward.

Unfortunately, the organization she stole from could have done a better job conducting a background check as she had two theft convictions on her record from before she was hired.

Woman Accused of Stealing from Charity Had Criminal Record

A Williamson County woman accused of stealing $46,000 from a local charity had two theft convictions before she was hired, but the nonprofit didn’t look at her criminal record until after she was believed to be stealing.

Lisa Dorhauer, 55 , was arrested by Williamson County sheriff’s deputies Monday. She faces a felony theft charge and is accused of stealing while working as an administrative assistant for Lutheran Social Services of the South, which provides services for children, seniors and disaster victims. She is accused of embezzling money by submitting phony expense reports over a two-year period.

Dorhauer could not be reached for comment. She was released from jail Monday on a $15,000 bond.

“I think this is an isolated incident of one person who stole from the agency,” spokesman Scott Carroll said. “The agency still does a lot of good work. We provide services to a lot of people who need it.”

Court documents show that Dorhauer has two thefts on her record. But the information escaped the attention of Lutheran Social Services employees, even though they had records in their possession.

Carroll said the nonprofit ran a background check on Dorhauer when she was hired in 2007. It was done through the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services , which flags candidates considered to be a threat to children.

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