EmployeeScreenIQ Blog

The Fayetteville Observer is reporting that Cumberland county, North Carolina plans to “ban the box” on all government jobs.  For those not familiar with the term, “ban the box” refers to employers excluding the question on their job application which asks the applicant if they have been convicted of criminal activity.  While we’ve written extensively on this topic, I’ve never been a vocifierous supporter or detractor of this measure.

But given the EEOC’s recent hearing on the use of criminal background checks, I’m beginning to warm to the concept.  Banning the box will effectively give everyone a fair chance to be interviewed for a given position.  While not asking about an individual’s criminal history on the application will just delay this eventually coming out, it will give the applicant the opportunity to shine in the interview and even come clean about their past, offering an explanation about what happened and when.

Of course, the employer will still conduct a background check, but at least the candidate will have been allowed a fair chance to convince the employer that they are the right person for the job.  Perhaps measures such as these will make the EEOC moderate their position.

Continue Reading

Lying is so common these days, well, its kind of why the background screening industry exists.  As screeners we see it everyday, some could say we even become numb to it after a while.    Because of this I like to highlight stories I find on the internet that may give a little “shock and awe” to the general public.

This guy get’s my vote for moron of the week but I will let you be the judge.  A Pennsylvanian Pastor, Jim Moats,  had been telling his congregation for years that he was a former Navy SEAL.  In the wake of the Osama Bin Laden killing, a local paper interviewed him about his time as a SEAL during the Vietnam war.  The story smells a lot like past stories made up by current US Senators Mark Kirk and Richard Blumenthal.  In 2005, President George W. Bush signed the Stolen Valor Act into law–legislation that made it a federal crime to claim false military honors. A recent federal appellate court ruling determined that the law’s provisions were an unconstitutional abridgment of free speech. A version of the same legislation is now before Congress, with language designed to avoid the free-speech quandaries raised by the 2005 law.

My question is this, why not just go all the way and just say you are Osama Bin Laden, its easy enough!

Local pastor made up elaborate Navy SEAL tale

In the wake of the dramatic Navy SEAL raid on Osama bin Laden’s compound earlier this month, it was perhaps to be expected that some expansive soul would step forward to claim the prestige of a fabricated tour as a SEAL for himself. Such tall tales are not uncommon, after all, amid high-profile military actions.

This time the exposed fabricator was a preacher–though people who monitor this brand of public lie note that members of the clergy are often tempted into such misrepresentations. More curious still, the prevaricator in question seems to have lifted at least some details of his account from the 1992 Steven Seagal SEAL-themed blockbuster, “Under Siege.”

Yes, as his area newspaper, the central Pennsylvania Patriot-News, pulled together a dispatch on the exploits of the elite Navy operation, Jim Moats, the pastor at Christian Bible Fellowship Church in Newville, Penn., spun some fantastical details of his alleged time as a Navy SEAL during the Vietnam War.

Moats told his church for five years that he was a former SEAL, and even once wore the elite program’s gold Trident medal around town. He elaborated on that tale when his local paper contacted him last week as it was reporting a story about the rigors of SEAL training in the wake of the SEAL raid on Osama bin Laden’s compound.

Among other things, Moats said he was subjected to waterboarding when he trained at Little Creek Amphibious Base in Virginia Beach in 1971 and was assigned dishwashing duty for his bad attitude. “I had almost no discipline. I was as wild as they came. That was my nemesis,” he told the paper. “They weren’t looking for a guy who brags to everyone he is a SEAL. They wanted somebody who was ready but had an inner confidence and didn’t have a braggadocio attitude.”

Several former SEALs wrote into The Patriot-News casting doubt on the reverend’s account of his service.

“We deal with these guys all the time, especially the clergy. It’s amazing how many of the clergy are involved in those lies to build that flock up,” said retired SEAL Don Shipley. Shipley also speculated the waterboarding and kitchen details came from the action depicted in “Under Siege.”

More

Continue Reading

I am about to make a claim that is rather embarrassing as a background screening professional.  My childhood hero was the famous outlaw, Billy the Kid.  I grew up on horseback, I competed in cowboy style competitions at a very young age and always had the famous Billy Joel song, “The Ballad of Billy the Kid” playing in my head!  I was excited (yet still embarrassed) today when I saw that New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson is considering a posthumous pardon for this western legend!

According to Wikipedia:

Henry McCarty, better known as Billy the Kid, but also known by the aliases Henry Antrim and William H. Bonney (reportedly November 23, 1859 – July 14, 1881), was a 19th century American frontier outlaw and gunman who participated in the Lincoln County War. According to legend, he killed 21 men, but he is generally accepted to have killed four. Pat Garrett shot Billy the Kid down on July 14, 1881. Garrett tracked him after the outlaw escaped from the Lincoln County jail in a famous gunbattle that left two deputies dead.

Billy’s background check would look rather interesting with all the alias names he has gone by.  His criminal record is arguable at best and his death has been debated by historians for years.  According to a recent article:

The pardon dispute is the latest in a long-running fight over whether Garrett shot the real Kid or someone else and then lied about it. Some history buffs  claim Billy the Kid didn’t die in the shootout with Garrett and landed in Texas, where he went by “Brushy Bill” Roberts and died of a heart attack at age 90 in 1950.

If I can have it my way, I’ll stick with Billy Joel’s version:

Well one cold day a posse captured Billy
And the judge said “String him up for what he did.”
And the cowboys and their kin
Like the sea, came pouring in
To watch the hanging of Billy the kid.

Continue Reading

I have started out way too many posts with “Who’s guarding the guards!”  I decided to spare you with this one.  It appears a Bellevue NE man has been scamming the public offering fake FBI employment background checks.

Bellevue Man Accused of Background Check Scam

Bellevue, NE – Federal investigators have arrested a Bellevue man, accusing him of running a background check scam.

FBI agents took 51-year-old David Musk into custody on Wednesday.  Musk had previously been indicted on wire and mail fraud charges.  Investigators believe Musk formed a company then duped people into believing he could run FBI and Interpol background checks on people.

Authorities say he charged $600 per check.  The Feds say he scammed victims out of $170,000.

Investigators say private citizens are not capable of performing FBI or Interpol background checks.   Musk is slated to appear in court on Friday.

More

Continue Reading

Earlier in the week we wrote about Adam Wheeler who lied his way into Harvard. (And many other things)  This one just blows my mind.  Get ready for this.  Jesse Bernard Johnston III joined the Army Reserves as a sergeant but was not qualified to hold that rank.  According the the AP, Johnston’s only military experience was attending part of a 12-week Marine officer candidate course for college students in 2004.  This is pretty VERY scary.  Because of lax background check procedures many lives could have been at stake.  He was given security clearance and was in a position to lead troops into combat…..with no training.  Does this mean our military could possibly be infiltrated by terrorists and others wishing to do our country harm?  I think this story raises significant issues and kudos to the AP for uncovering it.  Background screening at all levels of government has come under fire over the last few years.  Is this just the tip of the iceberg?

AP INVESTIGATION: Texas man faked way into Army

FORT WORTH, Texas – A Texas man with no military experience tricked the Army into letting him enter a reserve unit as a noncommissioned officer earlier this year, a deception that placed an untrained soldier in a leadership position in a time of war, an Associated Press investigation has found.

The revelation comes just months after the Army drew criticism for failing to flag the suspicious activities of the Army psychiatrist now charged with killing 13 and wounding dozens of others at Fort Hood.

The case, detailed in court records and other documents examined by the AP, raises more questions about the Army’s ability to vet soldiers’ backgrounds as it faces continued pressure from Congress over its screening and records system. While the soldier never deployed overseas, some say the case demonstrates how easily someone could pose as a member of the U.S. military.

Jesse Bernard Johnston III, 26, joined the Army Reserve in February as a sergeant and was assigned to the Corps Support Airplane Company based at the Fort Worth Naval Air Station. But he wasn’t qualified to hold that rank, according to military records obtained by the AP. The records show that Johnston’s only military experience was attending part of a 12-week Marine officer candidate course for college students in 2004.

Maj. Shawn Haney, spokeswoman for Marine Manpower and Reserve Affairs, said Johnston didn’t complete the course’s final six weeks. “He was never considered a Marine,” she said.

The matter, currently under investigation by the Army, means a soldier received a security clearance and was in position to lead troops in combat even though he hadn’t gone through basic training or spent any time in the service. The Corps Support Airplane Company has been deployed in Iraq, providing pilots as well as intelligence and support personnel for an aviation battalion set up to destroy improvised explosive devices.

If it’s proven that Johnston gained his Army rank based on a phony Marine record, it would be the first documented case of so-called “stolen valor” in which the military was duped during the enlistment process, according to watchdogs of such fraud. Most cases involve attempts to get veterans’ benefits or other forms of financial gain. Congress attempted to crack down on military impostors in 2005 by passing a law that makes it a crime to claim false decorations or medals.

“This just raises some incredibly significant issues at a time when this country is involved in a global war on terror,” said Rep. Mike Coffman, a Colorado Republican who served with the Marines in Iraq and the first Gulf War. “If this person was able to penetrate the military fraudulently, you have to ask the question: Couldn’t somebody who was out to do harm to our country do the same thing?”

Coffman is pushing for the creation of a single database for all military records as a step toward eliminating fraud.

Army officials, citing an ongoing investigation, declined to provide details of Johnston’s enlistment or say whether he’s suspected of providing false documents or using some other means to make himself out to be an ex-Marine.

Questions about Johnston were raised by an officer who grew concerned when Johnston couldn’t satisfactorily explain how he got certain Marine medals and ribbons that he displayed. The officer, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the ongoing investigation, said he contacted Marine and Army legal authorities and learned from the Marines that Johnston never served.

More

Continue Reading

Ok, I hate to even write this posting because like many of you; I am a huge Pee-Wee Herman fan!  However, I would be negligent if I didn’t.  Hollywood makes it so easy.  I could spend the rest of my life writing blogs about stories they create!!  Today is no exception.  Pee-Wee Herman is mounting a huge comeback.   “The Pee-wee Herman Show,” opening next month in downtown Los Angeles at Club Nokia theater, cost millions to produce. It boasts 11 actors, 20 puppets and marks the show’s first production since 1982.

What would a background check on Pee-Wee Herman look like?  It wouldn’t be pretty, I’ll tell you that much!  According to Wikipedia:

In July 1991, while visiting relatives, Reubens was arrested in Sarasota, Florida for masturbating publicly in an adult theater while watching a triple bill of Catalina Five-O: Tiger Shark, Nurse Nancy and Turn up the Heat. Detectives would periodically visit pornographic theatres and observe the audience, arresting those engaged in indecent exposure. After having arrested other men, a detective who had been observing Reubens stopped him while he was on his way out. While detectives looked at his driver’s license, Reubens told them, “I’m Pee-wee Herman”, and then offered to do a children’s benefit for the sheriff’s office “to take care of this”. The next day, after a local reporter recognized Reubens’ name, Reubens’ attorney made the same offer to the Sarasota Herald-Tribune in exchange for withholding the story. This was not Reubens’ first arrest in the county; in 1971 he was arrested for loitering and prowling near an adult theater, though charges were later dropped. His second arrest was in 1983 when Reubens was placed on two years’ probation for possession of marijuana, although adjudication was withheld. The night of the arrest Reubens fled to Nashville, where his sister and lawyer lived, and then to New Jersey, where he would stay for the following months at his friend Doris Duke’s estate.

I wish it stopped there, but unfortunately it doesn’t.

In November 2002, while filming David La Chapelle’s video for Elton John’s “This Train Don’t Stop There Anymore”, Reubens learned that policemen were at his house with a search warrant, acting on a tip from a witness in the pornography case against actor Jeffrey Jones, finding among over 70,000 items of kitsch memorabilia, two grainy videotapes and dozens of what the city attorney’s office characterized as a collection of child pornography. Kelly Bush, Reubens’ personal representative at the time, said the description of the items was inaccurate and claimed the objects were “Rob Lowe’s sex videotape and a few 30- to 100-year-old kitsch collectible images”. Reubens turned himself in to the Hollywood division of the LAPD and was charged with possession of obscene material improperly depicting a child under the age of eighteen in sexual conduct. The District Attorney looked at Reubens’ collection and computer and found no grounds for bringing any felony charges against him, while the city attorney brought misdemeanor charges against Reubens “on the very last day” that the statute would allow.Reubens was represented by Hollywood criminal defender lawyer Blair Berk. In December he pleaded not guilty through Berk, who also complained that the city attorney failed to turn over evidence to the defense, which City Attorney Richard Katz countered that prosecutors were not required to do until after arraignment, after which they did; neither side disclosed the contents.

Now just to be clear, we would never, EVER use Wikipedia for background checks, its simply a source.

Mr. Rubens has several offenses in his lifetime.  Criminal recidivism rates for any offender is noteworthy and certainly justifies an employers right to screen employees.  For you screening professionals out there, we understand this opens a quagmire of legal issues under California reporting laws; we can debate that later! Lets hope Pee-Wee (Paul Rubens) is using this as an opportunity to turn his life around!

Continue Reading

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!

If you have stories you would like us to blog about or post please feel free to email us at blog@employeescreen.com

Continue Reading