Laws are Key to Cleaning up Locksmith Business

The last thing you want is to hand a criminal the keys to your home.

But when you call a locksmith in this state, you never know who's going to show up — a professional or a scofflaw trying to cheat unsuspecting customers.

Florida doesn't regulate the industry that consumers trust with access to homes, businesses and cars. That means no licensing, no competency tests, no background checks.

Bill to Combat Elder Abuse Gathers Dust on Capitol Hill

Jennifer Coldren said her grandmother became depressed and had a stroke after the rape in May 2006. She decided to care for her at home, no longer trusting the nursing home. A nursing home aide, who had been hired before a background check was completed, was convicted of the crime in March. It turned out he had a criminal record and would not have been hired if the nursing home had waited for the background check.

"Every time I pick up the paper, it seems you hear more and more of [abuse] going on," Coldren said. "I had never really noticed it before this happened."

Background Checks Delay New Hires at Sea-Tac Airport

About 400 people hired this month for jobs at Sea-Tac Airport can't start work until the Transportation Security Administration completes new background checks.

Workers hired for cargo and baggage handling as well as restaurants in secure areas need to pass a regular criminal background check plus a new terrorism database search.

Senator Plans to Appeal Decision on Failed Background Check

State Senator Jim Barone said he will challenge a decision that will prohibit him from serving on the board of a group involved in racing in southeast Kansas.

Last Friday, the Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission voted that Barone did not pass a background check. It did not explain its decision.

Gaps in Colorado Database May Let Offenders Slip By

Colorado’s background checks for school employees have weeded out dozens of teachers and teacher applicants with criminal convictions and misconduct allegations, including sexual abuse, state records show.

From 2001 through 2005, the Colorado Department of Education suspended, denied or revoked licenses for 151 teachers. Fifty-one of those cases involved sexual misconduct, according to an Associated Press analysis.

Work & Family Mailbox

Q: I need to hire a nanny. Can you offer tips for background checks? How can I cover the basics without launching an FBI investigation?
D.P., Plano, Texas

A: For candidates over 18, a background check is a good idea and can usually be done for roughly $100 to $200 or less. The first step is to verify a candidate's Social Security number and past addresses; this tells you where to search for any arrest or criminal records, says Michael Gerard, executive director of Sitter Cafe (www.sittercafe.com), Solon, Ohio, an online sitter search service. Second, you'll need a county criminal-records check from each county where the candidate has lived, to uncover any assault, theft, check-kiting or disorderly conduct cases -- "the common types of convictions you're looking for," Mr. Gerard says. Third, you'll need a check of criminal and sex-offender records in the states where the candidate has lived. You also should have the candidate's driving and credit records checked, Mr. Gerard says.

Green Card Plan Needs to be Thought Through

Don't you sometimes wonder what science-fiction world our government officials are inhabiting? These are clearly worlds without mathematics, reason, physics.

It's from just such a world that we get news from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services reporting that the feds are planning to make immigrants who carry old-style green cards without expiration dates pay for new cards that must be renewed every 10 years.

Each new card must be applied for. Each carries a price of $370, requires a criminal background check, photos and fingerprints. If the background check shows a conviction that could include even misdemeanors - deportation.

Mother of Va. Tech Shooting Victim Pushes Background Check Bill

The mother of a student killed in the attacks at Virginia Tech says she'll be in Washington D.C. to push for tougher background checks on gun purchases on Tuesday - the six-month anniversary of her son's death.

Lettie Clark, of Columbia County, said she plans to meet with congressional leaders about a proposed bill that would overhaul the nation's background check system.

Don't Be A Victim: Background Checks

You come into contact with a number of people who interact with you and your family everyday: your child's soccer coach, your landscaper or your handyman, to name a few. Chances are they're all on the up and up, but if they’re coming into your home, you should raise the appropriate questions with them.

"There are essentially unhealthy people out there, predators that come into our lives looking like and acting like they're just good-natured people,” said Robert Siciliano, a security expert.

Judge Rejects Request to Halt NASA Background Checks

In a surprise ruling, a federal district court judge in California decided late Wednesday that a section of a NASA background check asking contract employees about past drug use did not violate the Fourth Amendment. The judge had said on Monday that he was likely to issue a preliminary injunction against the questionnaire.

ID Cards Trialled for Background Checks

A trial of the ID card system for criminal records checks has been dubbed a success by the Home Office but criticized by lobbyists as pointless.

The joint pilot between the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) and the Identity and Passport Service (IPS) tested the use two online services requiring passports or ID cards for background checks on people who want to work with children.

Failure to do a Background Check Backfires

Retired orthopedic surgeon Forney Fleming was just what the doctor ordered, or so Texans for Lawsuit Reform thought.

He was eager to bash plaintiffs' lawyers, particularly those who targeted doctors. So TLR, a business group that has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars bashing plaintiffs' lawyers and winning restrictions on judgments against physicians and other defendants, signed him up as a volunteer speaker.

Inaccurate Background Check Derails Job Hunter

During the past year, former real estate office manager Paul Davis sent out more than 100 resumes and applications and wondered why his efforts resulted in only two calls.

After talking to one helpful human resources manager, he was told he would find the answer by looking at his criminal background.

Revised UM Policy Will Require Criminal Background Checks of New Hires

Anyone who wants to work for the University of Missouri System will be subject to a criminal background check by a private contractor once a revised personnel policy takes effect on Oct. 1.

Newly hired, rehired or promoted employees and department transfers will be subject to the background checks. The new policy will apply to applicants for faculty and staff full-time, part-time and temporary positions. The policy will not apply to student workers.

Checking up on the Officials

Thirty-one NCAA Division I conference commissioners will meet over the next two days at the Big Ten Conference offices in Park Ridge, Ill. Big West commissioner Dennis Farrell expects background checks for officials to be a hot topic after a sports betting scandal involving a referee rocked the NBA.

Tim Donaghy pleaded guilty on Aug. 15 to two federal charges after the FBI investigated allegations he gambled on games he officiated and made calls to influence the point spread. Farrell said the case has given the NCAA and its conferences reason to wonder if they are doing enough to preserve the integrity of college athletics.

Utah's Concealed-Weapon Licenses are no Longer Easy to Acquire Abroad

Though Utah's concealed-gun permit has won the hearts of self-defense advocates nationwide - about half the permits are issued to residents of other states - an emergency change in rules will keep it from becoming equally popular around the globe.

A legislative committee learned Tuesday that about 1,000 citizens of foreign countries have earned Utah's wallet identification card signifying they can pack a gun out of sight in Utah and any of 30 U.S. states that have a reciprocity agreement with Utah.