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Importance of Re-Screening
Employees
A recent story from the Columbus
(OH) Dispatch shows the importance
of re-screening employees after they
pass their initial background
checks. In this particular case,
re-screening may have prevented a
crime.
According to the newspaper article,
Tristan J. Quintero passed a
background check five years ago that
enabled him to get a job caring for
mentally disabled people in Ohio.
Since the state didn't require
post-hire background checks, workers
were supposed to report subsequent
offenses that could disqualify them
from employment themselves.
However, the man never told anyone
that he had been convicted on
weapons charges in 2008 and indicted
again in May 2009. He was
still working on May 28, 2009 when,
according to police, he left the
apartment of his disabled client and
raped a neighbor.
ESS recommends that all employers
have a program in place to re-screen
their existing employees to ensure
they are still in compliance with
your company standards.
For more information please contact
Chuck Perry at
ChuckP@EmployScreen.com or by
phone at 1-800-826-4426.
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Bill Could Limit Use Of
Credit Reports For
Employment Screening
An individual's credit scores and
credit reports are generally used by
banks and other lenders that are
considering whether that person
would constitute a risk - but should
they be used by employers?
A new bill introduced by some
Democrats in the House of
Representatives aims to disallow
employers from using data contained
on credit reports to help make
hiring decisions.
H.R. 3149, the Equal Employment for
All Act, is sponsored by
Representatives Steve Cohen of
Tennessee and Luis Gutierrez of
Illinois.
Speaking at the bill's launch, the
two congressmen raised concerns
about the mounting financial
pressures faced by people who are
coping with unexpected difficulties,
such as job loss and medical bills.
Gutierrez pointed out that the major
obstacle standing in the way of some
people's financial recovery is
securing employment. But if they
continue to be denied a job because
of their credit report, it could
lead to a vicious cycle.
"Right now the number of U.S.
employers conducting pre-employment
credit checks is on the rise and too
many Americans are caught in the
preventable cycle of debt,"
Gutierrez said.
"They have been hit hard by an
economy in crisis, they have fallen
into bad credit and as a result they
cannot do the one thing that would
enable them to climb out - get a
job."
The bill does make allowances for
credit scores to be checked within
some limited categories of
employment, such as jobs involving
national security or a large amount
of financial responsibility.
However, Gutierrez emphasized that
those are exceptions rather than the
rule, and said that the ability to
perform most roles is unrelated to a
person's credit history.
Those who defend the practice of
employer credit checks say that
human resource departments do not
get access to account numbers or
credit scores and are simply looking
for red flags, according to U.S.
News & World Report.
The Fair Credit Reporting Act
currently states that employers must
let job candidates know if a credit
check is part of the screening
process. If someone is denied based
on the information in their credit
report, they can dispute the
information.
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The Cost of Failing to Conduct
Adequate Pre-Employment Background
Searches
A jury awarded $750,000 to a
disabled man who was a resident at
Cote De Neige Home for Adults after
he was sexually assaulted by a
worker at the facility. The lawsuit
was brought against the assisted
living facility for their failure to
conduct an adequate pre-hiring
background search before hiring a
certified nursing assistant.
Junious Boyd Batten, the CNA who was
allegedly involved in the sexual
assault, currently faces five counts
of forcible sodomy, three counts of
carnal knowledge and one count of
abuse and neglect for incidents that
occurred between 2006 and mid-2007
while he was employed by Cote De
Neige.
According to claims made in the
lawsuit against Cote De Neige,
Batten was a known criminal--both
before and during his employment at
Cote De Neige. The lawsuit claims
Batten was charged with 13 criminal
offenses-- including four criminal
convictions (public intoxication,
two assault and battery charges and
one contempt of court charge) during
the course of his employment as a
CNA.
Too often, in situations such as
this, facilities are let off the
hook because they claim they lack
knowledge about an employees violent
tendencies. While this case may be
extreme-- in terms of the extensive
list of criminal charges Batten
faced before and during the course
of his employment-- this verdict
should serve as a reminder to all
facilities that they must do a
pre-employment job screening and
continually supervise all employees.
Incidentally, this verdict includes
$500,000 in compensatory damages and
$250,000 in punitive damages.
Consequently, even if this facility
files for bankruptcy the owner of
the facility will remain responsible
for payment of the punitive aspect
of this case.
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Drug Screening
Price Reduction
Due to our increased volume of drug
screening, we have been able to
negotiate a "lower price" with our
labs and therefore pass the savings
on to you.
In addition, we have new Instant
Oral test kits available.
For a complete listing and price
matrix,
Click Here.
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