What are background checks worth? Big lesson in this recent case
July 14, 2009 by Sam NarisiPosted in: Background checks, In This Week's E-Newsletter, Latest News & Views, Law
Not all employers conduct background checks for every position they hire. But as this recent court case shows, sometimes they’re just plain necessary.
If there’s a type of job you’d think would automatically require a background check, it’s those that involve contact with children or the elderly. In fact, background checks for those positions are required by law in some states.
Not in Virginia, though, and the Cote De Neige Home for Adults in Newport News didn’t run checks for prospective nursing assistants.
The end result: The home hired Junious Boyd Batte, a convicted felon with a long criminal history including assault and battery.
Of course, without checking, the home didn’t know about the new employee’s past — until it came out that he’d sexually assaulted a resident.
The patient took the home to court for “negligent hiring.” The company was forced to pat $750,000 in damages.
Tags: background check, negligent hiring
July 14th, 2009 at 8:15 am
[...] Read more from HRRecruiting Alert [...]
July 15th, 2009 at 11:21 am
Gosh! How much easier would it have been for everyone if they had just ran a simple background check! And now a family, who trusted this nursing home to care for their loved one has to go through this horrible ordeal. Shame on this nursing home for cutting corners and for Virginia not passing a simple, common sense law.
Our firm uses Net Detective in additional to traditional methods. I’d be interested to see what other programs businesses rely on.
July 17th, 2009 at 9:05 am
Law or not, this has always seemed like a no-brainer! Background checks are a small price to pay to protect the company’s reputation, work force, clients, etc. We use Justifacts. I have used them with a prior employer also. Justifacts has wonderful service and quick response. They will customize what information you receive according to your company needs. The cost is very reasonable.
August 24th, 2009 at 1:44 pm
I work in the background industry and wanted to point out that, utilizing a web site that offers databases only and not court searches is definalty not a thorough background check.
Databases can be outdated and are only as good as the data that is entered into THAT database. When screening job applicants, spend the extra money and save yourself lots of headaches in the end.
Contact me direct if I can be of any assistance.
dwatkins@mbiworldwide.com