criminal background checks
This critical new bill to protect children in Colorado has just been rejected
The first state bill to require youth sports organization employees and volunteers to undergo background checks has failed. Colorado’s Senate Judiciary Committee voted 3-2 to kill the bill after it was determined that the proposed checks would not do enough to prevent sexual abuse in youth sports. Extracurricular sports clubs — that is, those that…
Read MoreWill new Pennsylvania background check law take things a step too far?
Starting this month, Pennsylvania schools have some new rules in place to protect children from potential abuse. But some are concerned that the state’s new background check law is inconsistent and leaves school districts to attempt to navigate a tricky situation. Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett signed a law that was a combination of 23 previous…
Read MoreEEOC criminal background checks: Will the government organization be forced to disclose its policies?
In October, we published a post about the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s current battles with BMW Manufacturing and Dollar General, in which the two companies requested that the government organization share its own policies for conducting EEOC criminal background checks. The EEOC refused, arguing that its own policies have nothing to do with either of…
Read MoreUber ‘safe ride’ fee getting taken to court
Uber introduced a “safe ride fee” of $1 per ride, intended to go toward improving safety for riders and pedestrians through driver background checks and drug screening. Two California residents have filed a class-action lawsuit against Uber regarding that safe-ride fee. This suit is just one more thing in light of continued problems for the…
Read MoreDon’t put all your eggs in one database when it comes to background checks
In their editorial, Michigan Rep. Mike Rogers and California Rep. Adam B. Schiff stated that all volunteers and potential hires working in these types of positions should be screened through the FBI’s Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System. Rogers and Schiff described the FBI fingerprint database as “the most robust criminal background check [system] available” and…
Read MoreHow to hire reliable seasonal workers
workers are less likely to undergo thorough screening, and are also more likely to steal from their employers. To protect your business this Christmas, make sure you hire quality workers. Contact previous employers. When the applicant fills out his or her job application, request a list of previous jobs as well as the names and…
Read MoreHere’s why schools should exercise caution when hiring all staff, not just teachers
sending a female student inappropriate text messages, and asking her to send him nude photos. Driver Paul King had allegedly been sexting the 16-year-old high school student for a month, and the local sheriff’s office suspects that King was sending texts to other female students as well. “He did state he thought he did try…
Read MoreNew ‘ban the box’ in Columbia, Mo. stops employers performing background checks prior to job offer
According to the National Employment Law Project, most ban-the-box laws allow federal or public employers to conduct background checks on job applicants after initial interviews are conducted, but prevent employers from asking on job applications if a candidate has been convicted of a crime. It is not very common for cities or states to push…
Read MoreNo Bad Santa: Background checks prevent problems for employers, parents alike
Many retail stores are already busting out the holiday music and cheery decór, and retailers and organizations are already going about hiring holiday helpers. While any business would do well to screen its holiday help — after all, businesses are more likely to be robbed by employees than shoplifters — it’s a different story altogether…
Read MoreBe wary of negligent retention when employing senior caregivers
There have been several recent stories regarding the negligent retention of caregivers who have taken advantage of their elderly clients’ finances, stealing thousands of dollars from them before being caught. Take for instance, the Utah caregiver that stole $140,000 from her 86-year-old client — after being trusted to pay bills on the senior man’s behalf…
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