What, Me Worry??

Laws have become too vague and the concept of intent has disappeared.

This is a great article that was posted a few days ago in the online version of the Wall Street Journal.  This topic furthers the EEOC‘s case for making sure one doesn’t have a “bright-line” policy when rejecting job applicants with criminal records.  The EEOC and many State Laws want employers to demonstrate job relatedness, the nature of the offense, whether the candidate was a repeat offender and how long ago the crime was committed.  Reading this article one must ask themselves, “How many times have I broken the law today?”  Setting up consistent standards when doing employment background investigations is more important now than ever before.

You Commit Three Felonies a Day

When we think about the pace of change in technology, it’s usually to marvel at how computing power has become cheaper and faster or how many new digital ways we have to communicate. Unfortunately, this pace of change is increasingly clashing with some of the slower-moving parts of our culture.

Technology moves so quickly we can barely keep up, and our legal system moves so slowly it can’t keep up with itself. By design, the law is built up over time by court decisions, statutes and regulations. Sometimes even criminal laws are left vague, to be defined case by case. Technology exacerbates the problem of laws so open and vague that they are hard to abide by, to the point that we have all become potential criminals.

Boston civil-liberties lawyer Harvey Silverglate calls his new book “Three Felonies a Day,” referring to the number of crimes he estimates the average American now unwittingly commits because of vague laws. New technology adds its own complexity, making innocent activity potentially criminal.

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I guess this guy never learned how to play Ding, Dong, Ditch.  He chose to stick around and the unsuspecting homeowners got quite a surprise.  Try explaining this one to your next employer after they’ve conducted a criminal background check.

Accused Nude Doorbell Ringer Pleads Not Guilty

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. – A man suspected of appearing nude at homes and ringing doorbells is being held on $60,000 bail after pleading not guilty to a series of charges. Peter Allen Steele, who is 6 feet 7 inches tall and weighs 250 pounds, entered his not guilty pleas Tuesday after being charged with seven counts, including driving under the influence, evading a peace officer, indecent exposure and entering a house without permission.

Authorities say the 38-year-old Steele led San Mateo County sheriff‘s deputies on a car chase on July 11 that ended with him streaking into a home and then into woods near Redwood City.

Deputies say it took a Taser and two shots from a bean bag gun to bring him down.

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I would love to be the company conducting this background check in the future.  Imagine being the interviewer and asking Mr. Moyer if he can explain the charges that were uncovered during the employment screening process.  “Mr. Moyer, it say’s here that you sexually assaulted a Disney character, care to explain?”  Almost as embarrassing as being caught having sexual relations with a horse! (See that story from last weeks blog)

Man guilty of groping Minnie Mouse at Disney

John William Moyer will face sentencing for groping Minnie Mouse at Disney World

A jury this morning found John William Moyer guilty of groping of a woman playing Minnie Mouse at Walt Disney World.

Moyer, 60, of Pennsylvania, was convicted of misdemeanor battery for the June incident this morning.

Judge Wayne Shoemaker imposed the sentence this morning.

“The verdict reinforces the fact that this type of behavior is not acceptable,” said Walt Disney World spokeswoman Zoraya Suarez. Disney officials also banned Moyer from entering any of the company’s resorts, Suarez said.

According to the sentence, Moyer has to write a letter of apology to the victim, Brittney Duncan McGoldrick. He also is under supervised probation for 180 days, must complete 50 hours of community service within four months, pay $1,000 in court costs and submit to a mental evaluation with treatment, if necessary.

Before sentencing, Moyer’s adult son spoke on his behalf.

“He’s a good man,” Emory Moyer said. “He’s a nice guy.”

Emory Moyer also described his father as a man who would never touch a woman inappropriately.

Later, Moyer spoke briefly to the judge.

“I am innocent, I am not guilty of the crimes that I’ve been charged with,” Moyer said.

Moyer has no criminal history and has never received a speeding ticket, he said. This was his first offense.

McGoldrick told prosecutors at the Orange County Courthouse on Monday she had pushed Moyer away from her after the incident.

“My first reaction I just pushed him down. I was doing everything I could to get his hands off my breasts,” Duncan McGoldrick said.

Jurors began their deliberations Monday afternoon.

“We’re just hoping for the only fair and just verdict in this case, which is ‘not guilty’,” said Zahra S. Umansky, Moyer’s attorney.

Moyer had been booked into Orange County Jail on June 7 and was released on $1,000 bail.

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I first heard about this guy a few weeks ago and thought his idea was absolutely brilliant.

Job Market Tough? Man Finds 50 Jobs In 50 States

Daniel Seddiqui Works As Brockton Rox First-Base Coach

BROCKTON, Mass. — For a California man, the nation’s sour economy was making it tough to find work, but instead of giving up, he decided to take his resume on the road.

His mission: to work 50 different jobs in all 50 states.

Daniel Seddiqui, 27, said the resume wasn’t happening. The recent college grad had flunked no less than 40 job interviews for work in his field of economics.

Read the full story.

Think of the life experiences this man has acquired in just under a year.  He’s 44 weeks into his 50 state journey. Follow along through his home page.

Of course, as a background check guy, I immediately thought of what his employment verifications would look like.  A bar in New Orleans, a maple syrup(er?) in Vermont. A rodeo announcer in South Dakota and a coal miner in West Virginia. EmployeeScreenIQ is in Ohio. His tour with us? Meteorologist for a Cleveland TV station.

A tip of the hat to Daniel. We usually complete verifications in 2-3 days. Something tells me our clients would understand this one taking a bit longer!

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This is a story that speaks for itself.  I just wouldn’t want to be the poor sucker looking for a job with Horse Molestation on my record.  Can you imagine the person who reviews this background check?  I didn’t know that someone could be a registered sex offender for having sex with non-humans.

Police: SC Man Charged with Having Sex with A Horse

COLUMBIA, S.C. – A South Carolina man was charged with having sex with a horse after the animal’s owner caught the act on videotape, then staked out the stable and caught him at shotgun point, authorities said Wednesday.

But this wasn’t the first time Rodell Vereen has been charged with buggery. He pleaded guilty last year to having sex with the same horse after owner Barbara Kenley found him in the same stable and was sentenced to probation and placed on the state’s sex offender list.

Kenley said she noticed several weeks ago her 21-year-old horse Sugar was acting strange and getting infections again. She noticed things in the barn had been moved around — dirt piled up and bales of hay stacked near the horse’s stall at her Lazy B Stables in Longs, about 20 miles northeast of Myrtle Beach.

“Police kept telling me it couldn’t be the same guy,” Kenley said Wednesday. “I couldn’t believe that there were two guys going around doing this to the same horse.”

She spent several nights at the stables, which are about four miles from her home, but didn’t find anything. So she installed surveillance cameras, and when she reviewed the footage from July 19, she couldn’t believe she was seeing the same man doing the same thing to her horse.

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