Comments on: HR director may lose job after hiring 15 ex-cons

By: cathy

cathy — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 21:05:23 +0000

How about a topic on undocumented workers?

By: Michael

Michael — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 17:24:44 +0000

Brad – Mark is correct. Even though they are 1099, they are still representing your company. Any legal issues could result in your ‘negligent’ hiring practices. It is best practice to screen them as you would any other employee. You could use a different screening package for your Sales force vs. Warehouse folks or administration folks, but they should still go through a screening.

By: Mark

Mark — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 17:07:22 +0000

Hi Brad, we screen all 1099 contractors. Yes you should be concerned. You need to look up the legal term “negligent entrustment”. The employee screening/background check company we use (mentioned in my previous post) set us up with the ability to have our contractors pay for their own background check and we receive a copy of the results. You are legally able to screen them but they must sign a consent and authorization.

By: Brad

Brad — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 14:36:20 +0000

What about 1099 contractors? Should I be concerned about not running background checks on them?
What is my exposure or liability if they are self employed contractors? I am interested in getting some feedback on this. Let’s say if I were to bring on some 1099 salespeople for instance. Should I spend any time and/or money on screening these individuals since they aren’t actually employees? I assume I am legally able to if I choose to, aren’t I?

By: Martha

Martha — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 01:26:24 +0000

We use Quick Search in Dallas to do background screening here in Dallas. When working with a background screening it is critical you know what you are getting. Do not rely just on a database for your results.

By: Michael

Michael — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 19:39:37 +0000

Dan: You are absolutely correct about the E-Verify. IT IS ONLY FOR POST HIRE.

When pursuing a background check provider, you should make sure to to ask yourself this question, “Does this sound to good to be true?” The general rule of thumb is if it does, then it probably is. This is one area you do not want to cut corners to save a few bucks. Properly conducted background is one of the best ways to keep your company’s turnover rates down which will in turn keep overall company cost down.

Carolina Connections, Inc (www.carolinaconnectionsinc.com) is a background screening provider that always does what they say they are going to do and will work closely with their clients to provide the proper background screening program. And yes, you should be aware of any company that says they can give you a National Criminal Record that covers all states. IT DOES NOT EXIST!

By: James

James — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 15:39:03 +0000

The vetting process when selecting a new hire is not simply running a background check. Unfortunately, as this article depicts, this is often the case. Research shows that most background check companies don’t, or in most can’t provide accurate answers to questions about items which come back on a completed background check because they lack qualified personnel to do so. At Compliant Background Screening Partners, LLC our staff are former federal & state investigators, human resources and compliance professionals. We answer all questions with regard to any “hit” which may be returned on a background check. Having a screening company with staff who has the experience and knowledge to interpret these “hits” is a must. Can your screening company answer your questions?

By: Mark

Mark — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 15:08:32 +0000

Jill, I work for a hospital HR department and we use a company called TrustScreening (http://www.trustscreening.com) that specializes in employee screening background checks, drug testing and assessment tests. They have been very reliable and have provided outstanding customer support and training to us. Also their prices are reasonable compared to other companies.

When you’re looking at a background check firm make sure that you know exactly what you are getting in the background check. We learned the hard way with a previous company we were using that we needed to ask exactly what was included in the check. There are Federal and state laws that limit what can be reported in a background check.

By: Dan

Dan — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 12:57:58 +0000

Carla: First off, E-Verify can ONLY be used after an applicant has been hired and NOT for pre-employment purposes, therefore it would be illegal to use E-Verify to “determine if it is accurate”.

Secondly, this example is somewhat flimsy in making the point that employers need to actually read and act upon the results in the background investigations. The bigger problem is actually finding records. Most private companies prefer to use a “one stop shop” for a “nationwide” criminal search. They should really read what they are paying for as most of those searches are nothing more than DOC records and publicly available court records from select counties and states.

http://WWW.backgroundcheckcentral.com is a great source for employee screening.
888-677-9700

By: Carla

Carla — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 20:20:04 +0000

It is very iportant to note that no background check will e accurate if the applicant has a false social security #. First have it verified through E-verify to determine if it is accurate otherwise you could hire a criminal who has someone else’s social security # and it will incorrectly come back clear. This happened to someone I know and his company hired an ex-con with a major record and it caused a huge mess and bad publicity. The company that did the background check said that they verified the info with the social security that was given.