Colleges and Universities in the United States have been performing lax background checks for years. We have written time and again about our nations schools and their reluctance to conduct searches properly. A College or University is no different than any company and some could argue their responsibilities to vet them is even greater. In our latest story at The Ohio State University a janitor opened fire on his co-workers, it could just have easily been a student! What do we know about this janitors responsibilities? Did he have master keys to student dorms? What if he was a rapist? I ask these questions because organizations sometimes fail to conduct a proper background check because that person is “just a janitor” or “just a clerk”, what harm could they cause? Remember Nan Toder? Nan was raped and killed in her hotel room by “just a maintenance manager”. Having unfettered access is like having keys to the kingdom!
In our most recent example, Nataniel Brown, showed extreme signs of violence at his last job. Before that, Amy Bishop, the University of Alabama shooter had a similar work history. Although there is now silver bullet a simple reference check or employment verification may have disqualified them from employment.
Recently our workplace violence white paper has received a lot of publicity, I wish it wasn’t ever a story. We don’t like to see people hurt and/or killed! However, we wouldn’t need the white paper if organizations vetted their employees properly. Perhaps a review of our Employment Screening 101 series is prudent at this time for those looking to review their current policies.
Our wish is simple, please don’t make us write about workplace violence again! Listen to our advice, do things properly, protect your employees and our children!
The Brown and Bishop shootings should be a wake-up call for colleges and universities – screen your new hires! Past behavior predicts future behavior, in my opinion at least.