CU Revamps Hiring Policies

CU is taking another look at the criminal records of its employees following the recent stabbing of a student by a former UMC worker.

The university recently finished criminal background checks on five employees, who were referred to the university through the Chinook Clubhouse. The outcome, however, is unknown to the public.

"The results of these background checks are private, protected personnel information available only to an employee's supervisor," CU spokesman Bronson Hilliard said.

New Foster Care Bill Includes Stringent Background Check

Sen. Tom Niehaus recently introduced Senate Bill 163, a foster care reform bill spurred by an incident in Clermont County — the Marcus Fiesel case.

The bill provides some requirements for additional background checks for foster parents. This would include a Bureau of Criminal Investigation and Identification background check and other additional checks that are required.

Background Check Catches Accused Child Molester

An accused child molester who fled from Merced in 2005 has been captured in Louisiana, Merced Police said Wednesday.

Merced Police were notified this week of the arrest Charles Robert Wilson, 31, by Bossier Sheriff's Office investigators, according the Cmdr. Tom Martin of the Merced Police Department.

Martin said in an e-mail that Wilson had applied for a job in a juvenile facility and a background check on his record revealed a $2 million warrant for his arrest from Merced.

Clinton Campaign Cites Flawed Background Check

A spokesman for Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's presidential campaign yesterday blamed a faulty background check for the campaign's failure to raise any questions about Norman Hsu, a previously unknown businessman who suddenly became one of its biggest fundraisers.

Though a commonly used public record search shows that Hsu had multiple business lawsuits filed against him dating to 1985, filed for bankruptcy in 1990, and was a defendant in two 1991 California court matters listed as possible criminal cases, the campaign said its computer checks used insufficient search terms that did not include the two middle names Hsu used in the California case. "In all of these searches, the campaign used the name Norman Hsu, which, like the search results of other committees and campaigns, did not turn up disqualifying information," Clinton spokesman Howard Wolfson explained.

Land Lord Fights Crime

Police have rounded up nearly 40 people in the past few weeks thanks to operation crack-hammer. Now, Elmira’s police chief is asking landlords to step up in the fight against crime

"Absentee landlords contribute to these problems by not screening their tenants but its not the landlord that's doing these things, they're not selling the drugs it's the occupants" says Elmira Chief of Police, Scott Drake.

Teachers Could Get Stuck With Tab for Fingerprints

More than 400,000 teachers and other school professionals in Texas might have to pay about $50 each to have their fingerprints taken under a new school safety law enacted this year.

Although teacher-group leaders were assured that the state would pick up the cost of the fingerprinting and mandatory criminal background checks, lawmakers did not include funding in the state budget, and efforts to find the money – about $25 million – through other channels have been unsuccessful.

Considerations for Better Background Checks

Executives faced with increasing concerns over the screening process for potential employees need to make better use of the tools already available to them, experts said.

Labor and employment attorneys say that the proper screening of employees is becoming an increasing problem faced by many companies. Some of the problems include making a hire that turns out to be the "wrong fit," hiring someone who is not qualified for the position and hiring people who are unproductive.

Background Checks for Contractors

The contractor responsible for fixing Government Plaza's leaky roof won't be doing any more work for Mobile County. But, it's not because the roof still leaks, it's because county officials say the man who is head of the company plead guilty more than a decade ago to fraud against the government.

Call for Better Background Checks for School Bus Drivers

State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli is calling for improvements to criminal background checks for bus drivers. His auditors found that many school districts and school bus companies will hire drivers, allow them on the road, while waiting up to 90 days for their criminal backgrounds to be cleared by the DMV.

After reviewing the records of 13 bus services in various parts of the State, the State Comptroller found that 12 percent of the bus drivers files did not include letters from the DMV indicating that their criminal history checks were complete.

Hyderabad IT Firms Put Employees Under Scanner

Following intelligence reports of a possible terrorist infiltration, employees of IT firms across Hyderabad have been put under surveillance.

Restrictions have been put on Internet access and the employees can use only the software approved by the management and can do only assigned work.

Blind Immigrant Wins Court Round For Citizenship

A judge has ordered the Unites State government to produce some background check documents on a blind Jordanian immigrant who has been fighting for years to become a U.S. citizen. The ruling could lead to a final decision in the case.

It’s the Federal Bureau of Investigation's name check of Zuhair Mahd, who sued the government, that's in question. The government said it performed the check before rejecting the man's application for citizenship, but the court said it wants proof the FBI check actually happened. The court wants to know the results of that check within 10 days.

Universities Need to Look into Background for all Employees

A background check of Kenton Drew Astin, 39, might have given University of Colorado officials pause before hiring him to work at the University Memorial Center. A check would have shown that he was accused of stabbing a 21-year-old man in Longmont before some 20 onlookers in 2001 and that he was later found not guilty by reason of insanity on charges of first-degree attempted murder, assault and felony menacing.