Background Checks - PInow.com Investigations

New Background Check Proposed for Employees at Facilities for Disabled

2011-01-06T12:18:00.002-07:00

When Illinois facilities that care for disabled people hire new staff, they are required to conduct criminal background checks. For most applicants, licenses must be verified.

But many facilities don't have to check whether new hires have ever been cited for abusing children — either their own kids or those living in care centers.

That may soon change as a state panel on Tuesday expressed support for expanding background checks for workers who care for the developmentally disabled.

Read more here.

Background Checks, and Their Boundaries

2010-12-02T10:38:00.000-07:00

OfficeDrop scans paper documents into digital files. Its clients include hospitals that want to archive patient records and a minister with too many hand-written sermons. Prasad Thammineni started the company in 2007 and opened his doors to clients a year later.

THE CHALLENGE Checking the backgrounds of job candidates to ensure that only trustworthy employees handle client documents (without violating candidate privacy or breaking the bank).

THE BACKGROUND Mr. Thammineni, who is 41, left the Wharton School three years ago with a business education and 8,000 pages of notes. Reluctant to bury years of labor in boxes, he scanned the notes into his computer, where he could search them by keyword. When friends started asking him to scan their work, too, the idea for OfficeDrop was born.

Read more here.

Is an Employment Background Check Ever Too Invasive?

2010-10-06T12:05:00.001-06:00

Generally speaking, the government can ask for background checks for employees of defense contractors.

But are there limits to what the government can ask? At what point — if at all — does a government query into the drug use history of a low-level employee violate that employee’s constitutional right to privacy?

An interesting question, and one that eight Supreme Court justices were called upon to ponder today down at One First St., N.E. (As Solicitor General, Justice Kagan weighed in on behalf of the government; thus she has recused herself from hearing the case as a justice.)

According to this account by the LA Times’s David Savage, the justices gave a “skeptical hearing” to the 28 Caltech scientists challenging the government’s use of background checks. Caltech runs the Jet Propulsion Laboratory under a contract with NASA. Click here for the transcript of the arguments.

The scientists won at the Ninth Circuit, which held that questions violated their constitutional right to privacy.

According to Savage’s story, the justices all (with the possible exception of Justice Sonia Sotomayor) sounded as if the were inclined to uphold the background checks.

That said, they explored the limits of what the government should be allowed to ask. Justice Antonin Scalia, staying true to his “textualist” method of constitutional interpretation, said there was no such privacy right. “I don’t see it anywhere in the Constitution,” he told Dan Stormer, a Pasadena lawyer who represented the Caltech employees.

Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito said they would not close the door to all such claims. “Isn’t there some right to tell the government: ‘That’s none of your business’?” Roberts commented.

Alito said he questioned whether the government could ask people to fill out forms revealing what they ate, what they read or whether they smoked cigarettes and to describe their sex lives. “Is that OK?” he pressed Neal Katyal, the acting U.S. solicitor general.

Probably not, Katyal agreed, but he urged the justices to rule that the government can ask open-ended questions of its employees and contract workers.

Read more here.

U.S. Allowed Terrorists on No-Fly List to Buy Guns

2010-09-01T12:47:00.001-06:00

The only thing stupider than allowing a known foreign terrorist into the United States may be allowing that terrorist to buy guns.

Current U.S. law allows this happen. It also allows known terrorists on the no-fly list to buy guns.

Perhaps worse still, the U.S. government has approved background checks for watch-listed terrorists to possess explosives in the United States.

From March 2009 through February 2010, according to prepared congressional testimony from Eileen Larence, the Government Accountability Office's director of homeland security and justice issues, 272 NICS background checks turned up individuals on the terrorist watch list. All but one was for a firearms purchase. The other was for explosives.

"One of the 272 transactions involved an explosives background check, which was allowed to proceed because the check revealed no disqualifying factors under the Safe Explosives Act," Larence testified.

Of the 271 firearms-background checks that revealed the prospective gun purchaser was on the terrorist watch list, only 22 resulted in the would-be purchaser being denied a gun. The other 249 transactions were allowed to proceed.

Some of the watch-listed terrorists allowed to buy guns were on the no-fly list. "According to FBI officials, several of the 272 background checks resulted in matches to watch list records that -- in addition to being in the FBI's Known or Suspected Terrorist File -- were on the Transportation Security Administration's no-fly list," Larence testified. "In general, persons on the no-fly list are deemed to be a threat to civil aviation or national security and therefore should be precluded from boarding an aircraft. According to FBI officials, all of these transactions were allowed to proceed because the background checks revealed no prohibiting information under current law."

According to Larence's testimony, presented to the Senate Homeland Security Committee in May, in the six years from February 2004 through February 2010, 650 separate individuals on the terrorist watch list went through NICS background checks because they were trying to purchase guns or secure a license for explosives. Because some made multiple transactions, the total number of attempted gun or explosives transactions involving watch-listed terrorists who underwent FBI NICS checks during the period was 1,228.

Read more here!

Cobb to Conduct Background Checks at New Courthouse

2010-07-26T10:59:00.001-06:00

MARIETTA – Cobb County officials are enhancing security at the courthouse construction site in downtown Marietta amid complaints illegal aliens are working there.

The new measures, announced last week, include background checks for all workers, county officials said.

“We have a responsibility to the public, the judicial system and the citizens of Cobb County to make sure this site is both safe and secure,” Cobb County Sheriff Neil Warren said in a news release. “Our focus is on ensuring that every worker on the site has gone through a complete background check.”

Jobs for Georgians in February exposed that illegal aliens were working on the courthouse, the Marietta Daily Journal previously reported.

“Cobb County has had enough of any perception of illegals working on projects,” the Marietta Daily Journal recently quoted Commissioner Bob Ott as saying. “We need to make sure we are comfortable in saying we only have legal workers working on projects.”

The sheriff's office will be implementing the new security requirements, county officials said. The new courthouse should be finished by the end of the year, according to county officials.

“The county has worked closely with Turner Construction to make sure that all employment verifications required by state law have been met," County Manager David Hankerson said in a news release. “Our Board of Commissioners have listened to the public and made this issue a high priority.

Read more here.

New Efforts to Shorten Airport Security Lines with Background Checks

2010-06-18T11:40:00.003-06:00

The stereotype of the business traveler dashing to catch a plane with minutes to spare was long ago retired; 9/11 and unpredictable security lines took care of that. And any hopes that private companies could run faster alternative lanes proved too optimistic after the companies closed down a year ago.

Lines at security at Denver International Airport the day before Thanksgiving last year. A company, AlClear, will run a private security program there.

But there may be life yet in the E-ZPass-style lanes.

A new crop of successors has risen up, and in recent weeks two airports, Indianapolis and Denver, have been named as the first airports to get the revived programs. While the companies’ odds of success this time around remain uncertain, one factor working in their favor may be pressure from members of Congress, business travel groups and some airports for a reprieve from the sometimes lengthy waits at checkpoints.

Legislation is pending in Congress that would direct the Transportation Security Administration, which balked at the earlier private efforts, to support a new registered traveler program for passengers deemed to be low risk.

At the same time, a two-year-old United States Customs and Border Protection program called Global Entry, which allows fliers undergoing background checks to bypass immigration lines returning home at the end of the trip, is getting a lift from a new publicity campaign aimed at increasing enrollments. Global Entry is now at 20 airports in the United States, including Kennedy Airport in New York, Miami, Los Angeles and other large international gateways.

Read more here.

States Stepping Up To Limit Pre-Employment Credit Checks

2010-04-28T12:46:00.002-06:00

If you're unemployed and suffering from bad credit, a growing number of states' lawmakers want to remove one barrier between you and a new job: a credit check.

Across the United States, legislators are working to remove employee credit checks as an obstacle to job seekers with poor credit. Based on a survey conducted in 2009 by the Alexandria, Va.-based Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM: undefined, undefined, undefined%), 60 percent of employers said they conduct credit checks on at least some prospective hires. That means if your credit report includes negative items -- such as unpaid bills, foreclosures or even high debt levels -- it could potentially prevent you from getting a job.

That may change. A significant number of elected officials nationwide believe that in a difficult economy, a poor credit history shouldn't be a determining factor for job applicants.

"This is an obnoxious practice that has been excluding a number of perfectly acceptable, perfectly qualified job applicants," says Connecticut State Rep. Matthew Lesser, a Democrat who twice introduced a bill seeking to prevent the widespread use of employee credit checks.

Lesser isn't the only lawmaker fighting to help job applicants overcome poor credit. Since 2007, three states -- Hawaii, Washington and Oregon -- have enacted legislation limiting employers' use of credit information. So far in 2010, data from the National Conference of State Legislatures show that lawmakers from 18 other states and the District of Columbia have introduced legislation that aims to limit the use of credit information in employment decisions. Additionally, an amendment to the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act was introduced to prohibit the use of most employee credit checks nationwide. "You see this black stain of bad credit tarnish a lot of communities in my state and, I suspect, in states across the county," Lesser says.

Read more here.

State May Hire Vendors for Background Checks

2010-03-29T12:32:00.002-06:00

The state is looking at hiring vendors to assist in doing background checks on companies seeking state tax credits, and it's also gathering information on other states' practices, economic development chief Greg Main said last week.

The steps are among several under way at the Michigan Economic Development Corp. as it revamps processes after the state granted a $9.1 million Michigan Economic Growth Authority program tax break to a company headed by a convicted embezzler.

Gov. Jennifer Granholm last week announced changes aimed at improving state transparency and accountability in regards to MEGA, including establishing a “business integrity verification program.” The program will include requirements that tax credit applicants fill out a questionnaire and submit other documentation.

MEDC President and CEO Main said the questionnaire will be “designed to provide assurance that the key persons in a particular company are upstanding people, that don't have felony convictions, other civil actions in their background that would impugn their business integrity.”

Read more here and be sure to check out and subscribe to our free weekly newsletter, The Round Up, for more news and upcoming events.

Lawmakers Look Into Background Checks For Universities

2010-02-22T12:32:00.001-07:00

he University of Alabama in Huntsville and the Alabama lawmakers may look into the background check polices of state universities. This is wake of the UAH shooting which left three dead.

The head of the powerful house education budget writing committee says lawmakers are shocked by the incident. "Oh, just devastated. I know kids who go to the school there. Just devastated to hear about the shooting," Representative Richard Lindsey of Centre said.

The accused killer, Amy Bishop, was hired at UAH. Reports are coming out about her past. Bishop shot and killed her brother in 1986 in an accident shooting. Bishop was questioned in a 1993 pipe bomb incident involving a former professor.

The UA system does not expect wholesale changes in their policies."I think it is lesson for all of us in business to say okay, is there something in our policies that needs to be fined tuned or tweaked," said Kellee Reinhart, UA system spokeswoman.

Lindsey says he expects the legislature will demand to know more about security and background check policies at the school. "Absolutely. I think we will look into that issue. We already have background checks for K-12, two year schools. We want to see what is required for four years," Lindsey said.

Read more here

Controversial App Provides Background Checks On the Go

2010-01-26T13:33:00.001-07:00

Online privacy is a constant and growing concern as the evolving landscape of Web sites and services erode the traditional expectations of privacy. A new app from BeenVerified is adding even more controversy to the privacy dilemma by enabling users to conduct background checks on anyone in a matter of seconds from their iPhone.

The Background Check App is free and employers and individuals can use it to conduct up to three free background checks per week via the iPhone. Users, particularly employers who may want to conduct checks of employees, vendors, suppliers, partners, and other parties they do business with, can also subscribe to the BeenVerified service which would grant them unlimited background checks starting at only $8 per month.

In the press release for the app, BeenVerified CEO Josh Levy says "A BeenVerified background check contains information collected from thousands of public records and publicly available data where the average person would not even know where to begin. All of the information found in our reports is already out there and accessible to anyone."

Read more here

You Wanna Background Check Me? Well, Be Careful Where You Look ...

2009-12-23T13:30:00.001-07:00

With the economy in disarray, employers are finding themselves inundated with job applications.

Increasingly, employers have turned to the use of background reports, such as criminal history and credit records, to assist in narrowing the applicant pool to a manageable level. According to one 2009 survey, 93 percent of the 1,411 employers questioned reported that they conduct criminal records checks on job applicants. Approximately half of those employers reported that they also check applicants' credit histories.

And who can blame them?

For the nominal fee of a comprehensive background check, an employer can get: (1) a glimpse of the person that is not revealed in the employment application (i.e. fiscal prowess, propensity for trouble, driving ability); (2) a potential shield from negligent hiring or retention suits; and, (3) hopefully, a significant decrease in their loss, fraud, and productivity issues.

Unfortunately, these employers are also getting something they did not bargain for. In addition to finding out the nitty-gritty of job applicants' histories, employers are also finding themselves as defendants in large, unexpected discrimination lawsuits brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) as well as groups of private litigants.

Read more here

New Program Makes Background Checks Easier in Ohio

2009-11-30T10:47:00.001-07:00

Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray recently announced that the state Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation (BCI) and the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV) are teaming up to offer convenient, low-cost criminal background checks at local deputy registrar offices throughout the state. The program will use WebCheck, an electronic system that compares fingerprints and demographic data against state and national databases.

“More and more organizations and employers are finding these checks to be an invaluable safety tool,” Cordray said. “The range of Ohioans who must obtain these checks has become vast; from doctors to daycare teachers, from church volunteers to construction workers. Through our partnership with the Ohio BMV, people all across Ohio will be able to obtain a WebCheck close to home, at the lowest possible cost. And that cost will be consistent from one location to the next,” he added.

A state-level or BCI background check through BMV will cost $32, while a federal-level or FBI check will cost $34. Checks run through both databases will cost $61. BMV began offering the checks through more than 100 registrar offices in October, and anticipates adding more offices in the future. BCI used $300,000 in federal grant funding from the U.S. Department of Justice to train local deputy registrars and provide equipment.

Read more here

iPhone apps run background checks on your date

2009-11-23T11:28:00.002-07:00

In a move that is sure to make playboys everywhere nervous, Internet company PeopleFinders has created two iPhone applications that let users perform background checks on their potential dates.

The apps, known as "Stud or Dud?" and "Are They Really Single?", utilize data culled from countless public records to give users a more complete picture of whom they're going out with. PeopleFinders President and COO Bryce Lane says his company collects data from "thousands of sources" across the country from "federal governments to the very smallest city governments." He says the company then uses algorithms to sort through the data and make comprehensive files that will give users a reliable picture of who the person is.

From there, the data is placed in PeopleFinders' database and is put up for sale. While both of the applications the company debuted today cost a mere $0.99 to download, users can only access records by either paying $9.95 per record or by paying an annual subscription fee of $24.95. In the case of "Stud or Dud?" users have the option of using simply by a person's first and last name, by their age and hometown, or by their phone number. From there, the program gives you a list of potential matches to choose from.

Read more here

Sarah Palin says McCain campaign made her pay for her background check

2009-11-17T12:16:00.002-07:00

Sarah Palin says in her new book that after she and Sen. John McCain lost the 2008 presidential election, the campaign made her pay $50,000 to help cover the cost of vetting her for the Republican ticket.

In her memoir, "Going Rogue," she writes that in the months leading up to her resignation as Alaska governor in July of this year, her legal bills had mounted to more than $500,000. Part of that was incurred combating what she calls frivolous ethics complaints.

But what appeared to upset her most was that about $50,000 of the legal bills was her share of the expenses for being vetted to become McCain's running mate, Palin writes.

Read more here

Church Background Check Sample Shows 1 in 8 Volunteers Have Criminal Past

2009-08-20T11:28:00.000-06:00

he results of a recent sample of criminal background checks on prospective church volunteers show the need for churches to remain on guard in protecting their congregations against workers with criminal pasts.

According to an article posted online at The Birmingham (AL) News, an agency that conducted 5,000 background checks for 450 churches found serious felonies in 80 cases and more than 600 people – almost 1 in 8 – that had some criminal history that may disqualify them from working at a church.

Read more here.

Background Check on Authorities Not Always Enough

2009-08-17T09:53:00.001-06:00

Police departments and sheriff’s offices say they routinely conduct thorough background checks on applicants before hiring new officers and deputies.

But sometimes that’s not enough.

Read more here.

Philly Police Officer Accused of Running Background Check on Obama

2009-08-12T10:59:00.000-06:00

Philadelphia police and apparently federal authorities are investigating an officer accused of attempting to run a criminal background check on President Obama, a FOX News affiliate has learned.

Sgt. Ray Evers confirmed that the police are investigating a 5-year veteran of the force but would not identify the officer.

Read more here.

Beware of Employment Scams

2009-08-06T11:38:00.001-06:00

As joblessness rises, so does the threat of scams. There are always greedy people ready to take advantage of those who are down on their luck.

“More families are becoming increasingly susceptible to suspect offers for employment as they try to find work in an extremely competitive job market,” said Mike Boynton, an Atlanta spokesman for the Better Business Bureau.

Read more here.

Background Checks Drop 45 AL Youth Football Coaches

2009-07-30T13:55:00.000-06:00

The city of Mobile has sent letters to 45 volunteer youth football coaches saying that they could no longer participate in city-run leagues because background checks found that they had criminal histories.

Several coaches decried the move Friday, saying it was another example of the city's overbearing behavior toward a group of volunteers who give up their time — and parts of their paycheck — to help inner-city children.

Read more here.

Port Workers Affected By Background Check Delays

2009-07-14T14:27:00.001-06:00

Delays in federal background checks and other newly-instituted screening procedures are leaving thousands of once-productive port workers jobless during the recession, according to a new report on port related employment conditions around the country.

Read more here.

New Law Would Close Loophole in Federal Background Check Law and Protect Children

2009-07-06T15:01:00.001-06:00

A person applying to be a summer camp counselor in New York could have been convicted of assault in Ohio or sexual abuse in Florida, and camp officials would have no way of knowing.

A loophole in federal law prevents camps, children's groups and other non-profits that work with children from accessing federal criminal background checks on new employees and volunteers.

Read more here.

Montana Town Drops Password Requirements

2009-06-22T11:33:00.001-06:00

A flood of criticism has prompted a Montana city to drop its request that government job applicants turn over their user names and passwords to Internet social networking and Web groups.

The city of Bozeman abruptly suspended the practice Friday, saying it "appears to have exceeded that which is acceptable to our community."

Read more here.

Canadian Mistrial Over Juror Background Checks

2009-06-11T10:39:00.000-06:00

A mistrial was declared in a Canadian homicide trial after the judge learned Ontario prosecutors had police run background checks on prospective jurors.

Two months into the first-degree murder trial of Richard Zoldi and Shane Huard in Windsor, Ontario, Superior Court Justice Bruce Thomas declared the mistrial Tuesday, the Windsor Star reported Wednesday.

Read more here.

NY Governor to Consider Stricter Background Checks for Gun Licenses

2009-06-03T11:16:00.000-06:00

Gov. David Paterson announced a package of legislation yesterday that would increase the state’s use of the National Instant Criminal Background Check System. The database is used to check the records of people applying for gun licenses.

Read more here.

Background Screening Important to HR Process

2009-05-26T10:00:00.000-06:00

Human capital is increasingly being acknowledged as the most important investment for any company. Finding the right talent in the right job at the right time is a humungous challenge that the HR teams are facing in the current hiring scenario.

With increasing connectivity, there is an advent of a truly global workforce, multi-location operations which has led to an exponential increase in the risks associated with candidate recruiting and contract staff/vendor hiring.

Read more here.

CO Senate Eliminates Gun Background Checks for CCW Permit Holders

2009-05-06T11:21:00.001-06:00

Sen. Greg Brophy, R-Dist. 1, said he was shocked HB 1180 passed out of the Democrat controlled House and Senate.

"I got 19 democrats in the senate and house combined to vote for this bill," said Brophy.

HB 1180 eliminates additional background checks for Colorado concealed weapon permit holders looking to purchase a gun.

Read more here.

Classroom Discipline Bill Passes House

2009-04-23T12:29:00.001-06:00

Governor Daniels' top non-economic priority in this legislative session is on its way to his desk.

The House has unanimously approved giving teachers qualified immunity from lawsuits for disciplining students, as long as they act reasonably and in good faith.

The bill also requires criminal background checks before teachers are hired, and creates a public database of teachers convicted of drug or sex crimes.

Read more here.

Police Probe Unauthorized Background Checks

2009-04-08T13:58:00.000-06:00

Lawrence police said they do not yet know why Mark Rivera, 32, a former special assistant to schools superintendent Wilfredo Laboy, did unauthorized background checks on hundreds of people using school computers."It's not illegal. However, if this information was disseminated, it could become illegal," said police Chief John Romero.

Read more here.

College of Charleston Employee Background Checks

2009-03-27T16:48:00.001-06:00

Two College of Charleston employees have been arrested in the past two months and the college is putting new measures in place to screen employees.

The College employs about 1,800 people in the Lowcountry. Before now, background checks have not been required for all its workers.

The recent arrest of two of its workers is prompting the college to change the way it screens potential employees.

Read more here.

Schiff: Make Background Checks Reliable and Accessible

2009-03-19T13:32:00.001-06:00

Representative Adam Schiff (D-CA) introduced legislation to create a nationally-accessible background check system for youth-serving organizations. The Child Protection Improvements Act of 2009, builds on a highly successful pilot program to ensure that youth serving groups such as Big Brothers, Big Sisters and Boys and Girls Clubs can perform quick, accurate, and affordable background checks on prospective volunteers or employees. The bill is being introduced with Reps. John Conyers (D-MI) and Mike Rogers (R-MI) as original cosponsors.

"We are fortunate to live in a country where millions of volunteers generously make time to participate in community service," said Schiff, a former national Board Member of Big Brothers and Big Sisters of America. "But with so many volunteers working with children we need to ensure that child predators are not preying on innocent children through the guise of volunteerism. Children´s safety is paramount, and we need to make certain that those working with our youth have been thoroughly and properly screened."

Read more here.

Crooks With Toy Guns Still Look Deadly

2009-01-22T11:42:00.001-07:00

The use of pellet, BB, airsoft and toy guns that look like real firearms in criminal activities appears to be on the rise, some law enforcement officials said.

Earlier this month, two officer-involved shooting incidents in the Sacramento region involved the use of such guns.

Experts, policy researchers and law enforcement officials The Bee interviewed said systematic data in recent years aren't available and little research has been done on the subject.

Read more at The Sacramento Bee.

Nebraska May Require Background Checks for Drivers of Children in State Care

2009-01-19T12:01:00.001-07:00

Providing fingerprints and getting an extensive criminal background check could be a prerequisite for transporting kids and vulnerable adults under state care.

On Thursday, state Sen. Arnie Stuthman of Platte Center introduced a bill (LB290) to the Legislature that would require both of those who contract with the state to transport foster kids and vulnerable adults.

People who had felony records would not be able to drive for the state.

Read more at KCAU ABC 9.

VA Commision Splits on Ruling to Close Gun Show Loophole

2009-01-15T12:51:00.001-07:00

The Virginia State Crime Commission on Tuesday declined to endorse closing the so-called gun show loophole in Virginia law, heightening uncertainty about the prospects of success in the General Assembly.

The deadlocked vote -- taken before a large crowd that included gun owners, at least one survivor of the Virginia Tech shootings and friends and relatives of other massacre victims -- highlighted an enduring split between country and city that transcends party affiliation in Virginia.

Two key commission members bucked their parties' habitual views of gun control measures. The commission's chairman, Del. David B. Albo (R-Fairfax), voted to recommend that the General Assembly close the loophole by requiring all gun buyers to undergo an electronic background check before any sale, including purchases at gun shows. But House Minority Leader Ward L. Armstrong (D-Henry), who noted the economic importance of an annual gun show in his economically depressed rural district, voted no.

Read the rest of the story at The Washington Post.

In the Internet Age, How Deep Should Someone Dig Before Hiring a PI?

2009-01-12T16:16:00.001-07:00

Mary Kington once asked her daughter how to use the Internet to see if someone had served time in prison or had a criminal record.

Katrina Gregory steered her mother, a 56-year-old home-health caregiver from Worthington, to the searchable Web site of the Franklin County Municipal Court and the state prison system's online database of inmates and parolees.

Gregory, 26, said she never would have thought to tell her mother to dig deeper.

Incomplete Background Check Foils Bid to Open New Childcare Facility

2009-01-08T12:44:00.003-07:00

The Pleasanton City Council Tuesday rejected for a second time a bid by a martial arts professional to operate a childcare facility for 20 children at a time in the Valley Business Park off Valley Avenue.

The council voted 4-1 to support Councilwoman Cindy McGovern who successfully sought to overturn the city Planning Commission's approval of the project on Nov. 12 and a subsequent recommendation that the council abide by that decision.

Read the rest of the story at the Pleasanton Weekly.

"Mommy On Call" Helps Take Care of Sick Children

2008-12-29T11:24:00.001-07:00

Mary King is a single mother who can't afford to miss work.

The paralegal specialist, who is active-duty military at Fort Gordon, has two young children, and she is also six months' pregnant.

Her children recently became ill, but the people listed on her contact list weren't available.

"They started day care, and they're catching every bug that comes through there until they acclimate themselves. I had to take off quite a bit of work to stay home with them," Spc. King said.

If her children become ill again, she said, she's going to contact Mommy on Call, a new Grovetown caregiver service that cares in-home for sick children.

Felonies in College Deter Employees After Graduation

2008-12-11T12:48:00.002-07:00

Felony convictions can severely impair a person from attending universities and securing careers. In certain, less severe cases, those potential students and employees still struggle for acceptance in society.

Annually at Illinois State University, between 30 and 40 applicants have a felony conviction on their record. Trying to get a job after college with a felony conviction is extremely difficult, as many administrators explain.

Volunteer Won't Agree to Background Check from "Big Brother"

2008-12-01T11:14:00.001-07:00

This Christmas, Donald McGinnis will not follow his annual tradition of filling in at Middlesex Hospice so others can spend valuable holiday time with family.

His volunteer position will very likely be terminated Tuesday.

McGinnis, who has been a volunteer at the hospice center for 18 years, is taking a stand against a new federal law that incenses him. After almost two decades of repositioning patients, shaving the men, giving bed baths, spending time and offering support, the Cromwell resident is being required by the government to submit to a criminal background check.

Texas DPS' criminal databases missing thousands of records

2008-11-26T09:38:00.000-07:00

More than a third of criminal records are missing from the online Department of Public Safety database available to the public, a Fort Worth company found in a study.

Even government agencies, which have access to more detailed criminal records to screen teachers, doctors, volunteers and tradespeople, use a DPS system fraught with gaps, officials and experts said.

Man Brings Cocaine to Police Station While Getting a Background Check

2008-11-24T16:01:00.001-07:00

A man accused of bringing cocaine into the Jackson police station has been formally charged.

Lawrence Hayes, 29, of Jackson was arraigned Thursday on charges of domestic violence and possession with intent to deliver cocaine.

DCF Admits Mistake in Child's Death

2008-11-20T08:49:00.000-07:00

Ashley and Tammi Baker were the care takers of five month old Gabriel Golden when he died earlier this month. They found him unresponsive inside their home, and he later died.

Top managers with DCF are admitting the agency made mistakes. William DAiuto is the top administrator for the Lake County area. He said that clearly the agency could have done more.

DCF first got involved when someone complained about Gabriel's biological parents. The Goldens left Gabriel with the Bakers to be his care takers. DCF now says they focused too much attention on the Goldens and not enough on the Bakers.

A new DCF report concludes the investigator was supposed to do a background check on the Bakers within 72 hours, but he waited almost thirty days to do the check.

State Passes Background Check

2008-11-17T11:48:00.001-07:00

Do you know if your repairman has a criminal record? For the first time the state is requiring background checks for folks who come into your home to fix things. So when you turn on the heater this weekend - the state says you may want to worry about more than the safety of your home.

The capital city is bracing for a Canadian cold front. James Poole works for Austin's Strand Brothers, and knows a lot of folks are getting ready to switch on the heater. "It's the beginning of our season, as soon as the cold snap comes in that's when everything starts."

So besides checking your furnace and filter, the state says you many want to check the repairman's record.

Student Teachers' Backgrounds Often Go Unchecked

2008-11-10T11:13:00.000-07:00

Background checks that are standard for Kansas teachers don't extend to teachers in training.

While some school districts are vigilant about checking the backgrounds of volunteers, no scrutiny is required of student teachers. Schools in Kansas often don't check their backgrounds, sometimes expecting that colleges and universities do that work. In reality, colleges and universities may do little checking before passing student teachers along to work in schools.

"I think we expected the institution had already done it for them to get their certificate," said Mike Mathes, Seaman Unified School District 345 superintendent.

Auburn-Washburn USD 437 has had such concerns that it will begin conducting checks on potential student teachers in January. None of the other Shawnee County school districts conduct criminal background checks on incoming student teachers.

92 Guards Hired Without Background Checks

2008-11-07T08:57:00.000-07:00

A privately run immigration lockup in Tacoma hired nearly 100 security guards without background checks, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement didn't catch the practice for two years, court documents show.

Sylvia Wong, an administrator in charge of hiring at the Northwest Detention Center, pleaded guilty this week in federal court in Tacoma to one count of making a false statement, for lying to investigators. In her plea agreement, she admitted that soon after starting work in November 2005, she began hiring guards without background checks "because of the pressure she felt to get security personnel hired at the NWDC as quickly as possible."

ICE auditors discovered early this year that 92 guards had been hired without the checks. The agency acknowledges that some of the guards have been fired following subsequent background checks, but won't say how many.

"In response to this investigation we have implemented a multi-tiered vetting process ... so that no contractor or federal employee has sole responsibility to process and approve employment documents," ICE spokeswoman Lorie Dankers said Thursday. "We have taken proactive steps to prevent this from happening again."

New Jersey Senate Passes Background Check Bill

2008-11-05T09:43:00.001-07:00

The New Jersey Senate unanimously passed a bill last week that will revise the current background check requirements for all school employees who come in contact with students.

Sponsored by Sens. Loretta Weinberg, Barbara Buono and Shirley K. Turner, bill S-110 will revise the current criminal background check requirements for employees by requesting that all teachers and school district employees undergo a criminal background check. Besides the faculty and administration, people who are considered school employees also include bus drivers, cafeteria workers and janitorial staff.

The bill revises criminal history record checks for public and nonpublic school employees and bus drivers, and expands the list of offenses that would disqualify an employee from working at a school.

Buono said revisions to background check procedures are something she had been thinking about for a while.

"There were loopholes that needed to be closed," she said.

Library Volunteers Not Happy with Background Checks

2008-11-03T11:18:00.000-07:00

Volunteers at Albuquerque libraries are upset about having to undergo criminal background checks mandated by the city for all volunteers.

The Friends of the Library volunteer group says their members don't have any contact with children-they only help with the books.

Volunteers say they were shocked when they were forced to submit to a background check.

"I was quite annoyed that I would have to be going through something like that at the library because I'm assuming that the reason for all that is due to contact with children," a volunteer named John said. "We as volunteers there have absolutely no contact with children."

John said he and other volunteers consider background check a slap in the face and say they are worried their personal information could wind up in the wrong hands.

"Who is really going to be retaining that data? How secure is it, and why does it have to be retained," asked John.

NY Governor Orders Background Checks of His Staff

2008-10-27T12:35:00.001-06:00

Gov. David Paterson has ordered background checks of all executive chamber employees after learning that such a check had not been done on his chief of staff, who came under fire for failing to pay taxes.

Sixty percent of executive chamber employees didn't have completed background checks and some of the material employees submitted for the checks is lost, Paterson said in a statement Wednesday night.

The background checks, which are not required by law, were started by Paterson's predecessor, Gov. Eliot Spitzer.

The checks were designed to discover and avoid any conflicts of interest. Potentially, an employee could lose his or her job if the check discovered a conflict or some other major problem, such as a felony conviction, that the employee hadn't reported to the governor.

A background check had not been completed on Paterson chief of staff Charles O'Byrne, who failed to pay nearly $300,000 in taxes from 2001-2005.

Background Checks Not Required for All Adults that Work With Children

2008-10-23T10:21:00.002-06:00

It's a frightening prospect - 21 men, some driving hundreds of miles, to meet your child.

This time, the kids were actually adult decoys and police. The next time, and the time before, it may have been a different story.

When asked by 24 Hour News 8, one of the men arrested in last weekend's Internet predator sting said this was his first attempted encounter with a minor.

"You're telling me that this is the first time that you got into a sexual conversation with an underage person on the Internet?" 24 Hour News 8 asked one of the suspects.

"That I remember," answered 35-year-old Tyson Jenkins, a disabled Gulf War vet from Indiana.

Perhaps more frightening is the jobs some of these men have that put them in direct contact with children.

Eric Wesche was a junior varsity soccer coach in Cedar Springs. Mike Greenberg was a youth hockey league referee in Hazel Park. Michael Shaler worked at a Toys R Us store in Saginaw.

Nothing 24 Hour News 8 discovered in these men's history indicated a previous problem that a background check would have found.

TSA Proposes Background Checks on Private Jet Passengers

2008-10-13T10:41:00.001-06:00

Travelers who fly on private corporate jets would have to clear background checks before boarding under a new proposal made Thursday by the Transportation Security Administration.

The TSA is seeking to impose the security requirements on roughly 15,000 corporate jets and 315 small airports that currently have none.

A group of private-plane owners and pilots warned that the proposal could be costly and represent an unprecedented intrusion into private flying. Hundreds of thousands of people travel each year on such jets.

There is no specific threat to corporate jets, but the TSA said in its 260-page proposal that many are the same size and weight as commercial planes "and they could be used effectively to commit a terrorist act." Private jets, possibly packed with explosives, could fly into a building or could transport terrorists or dangerous materials, the TSA said.

"This is an important milestone," said Michal Morgan, TSA head of general aviation security. "It's the evolution of security into a new operating environment."

Law Puts Troops on Fast Track to Citizenship

2008-10-13T10:40:00.001-06:00

A new law will help speed up the application process for foreign-born U.S. troops seeking American citizenship.

Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) introduced the Military Personnel Processing Act, which will reduce FBI background check delays and other red-tape barriers holding back Iraq and Afghanistan service members' citizenship applications. President George W. Bush signed the bill into law yesterday.

"When men and women risk their lives overseas to serve and protect America, it is unconscionable that America would then leave them hanging by a thread for months and years while waiting for citizenship in the country," Schumer said.

City Considers Background Checks for Dog Owners

2008-10-01T09:23:00.001-06:00

Sumner dog owners could face police background checks before they could get a pet license under one proposal heard Monday night by the City Council as it considered the city's first dangerous dog ordinance.

Sumner City Councilman Matt Richardson said some procedure is needed to try and spot dangerous dogs coming into the community, saying the ordinance must have "no loopholes." At the very least, he said anyone seeking a pet license must state under pain of perjury whether they have been convicted of a dangerous dog violation in the past.

If one dog owner must get a background check then all dog owners would need one.

Councilman Curt Brown wondered if that meant the person with the little wiener dog would need a background check.

Sumner Police Chief John Galle said his concern is that background checks by the State Patrol would simply mean people won't license their animals. It would also cost $10 and add to the cost of a license.

Policy Change Requires Background Check for Hospital Volunteers

2008-09-25T09:13:00.001-06:00

A few weeks ago, a woman walked into Suzanne Gray's office at the Colmery-O'Neil VA Medical Center to offer her volunteer services.

The former Marine had just moved to the area and was excited about volunteering, but when Gray told her she would have to submit to fingerprinting and a background check, the woman became upset and left.

That might not be a common occurrence, but new regulations requiring background checks of hospital volunteers may throw some people off.

"The days of coming in and saying you want to play cards with the veterans that day are gone," said Jim Gleis-berg, spokesman for the VA Eastern Kansas Health Care System.

The Joint Commission, through which medical centers receive their accreditation, changed the rules in January to include volunteers in the category of employees in terms of job application requirements, said Beverly Rice, director of volunteer services at Stormont-Vail Regional Health Center.

Now, if someone goes into Stormont-Vail wanting to give of his or her time, the person has to have a tuberculosis screen and reference check, attend an orientation, and undergo a background check, which takes a few hours, Rice said.

BACKGROUND CHECK AT STATE FAIR LANDS FUGITIVE BEHIND BARS

2008-09-23T09:16:00.002-06:00

A fugitive is back behind bars after trying to get a job at the Alabama State Fair in Pelham Monday.
58-year-old Preston Goff is wanted for robbery in Flathead, Montana.
He applied for a job at the fair around noon Monday, and managers ran a background check. When Goff realized the situation, he ran and hid in nearby woods.
Alabama State Fair employees called police, who the launched a 4-hour search for Goff.
Two nearby schools were placed on lockdown.
Goff finally surrendered and is now in the Shelby County Jail, waiting to be extradited back to Montana.
Goff’s criminal record includes armed robbery assaulting a police officer, forgery and vehicle theft.
Alabama State Fair organizers say they always fully screen all applicants.
“We try to run a clean, safe fun fair. We want parents to feel secure about our employees because their picking children up, helping them on and off rides,” says David Renfro of Universal Fairs.
Pelham police, Hoover police, Alabama State Troopers and officers with the Alabama Prison System helped search for Goff.

SUFFOLK CIRCUIT COURT PULLS ITS ONLINE RECORDS SERVICE

2008-09-16T13:59:00.001-06:00

Trying to do a background check? Interested in seeing who has filed for divorce?Until recently, it was easy to search Suffolk Circuit Court documents online.Those records were pulled off the Internet in early September, a week after a Virginian-Pilot story pointed out people whose cases were slated to be heard by a grand jury were showing up as indicted before the grand jury had met.Now, those who regularly check Suffolk Circuit Court records must call or visit the clerk's office to access those records.
This should only be temporary, said Randy Carter, clerk of the Circuit Court. His office pulled the records from the Virginia Supreme Court's Web site at courts.state.va.us in order to review what was being posted for the public to see.The records should be back online within seven to 10 days, Carter said. This time, the cases pending before the grand jury won't show up as "true bill," meaning the grand jury found enough evidence for the case to stand trial, until after the grand jury makes that decision, he said.Legally, the clerk's office isn't obligated to make case information available online. Files must be available for inspection if someone comes to the office and requests them, Carter said. The online service was provided as a convenience, he said.And it has been inconvenient for a lot of people who used the records since they were taken offline. Carter said his office fielded "quite a few" calls from companies that do background checks on potential employees, as well as from newspapers and lawyers."Make no mistake about it, it has been an inconvenience for us," said C. Phillips "Phil" Ferguson, Suffolk's commonwealth's attorney. "But we can work with it as long as it is temporary in nature."

HOW WELL DO YOU KNOW THOSE CARING FOR YOUR FAMILY?

2008-09-10T12:36:00.002-06:00

92 year old Ilalie Robinson is legally blind. That's why she depended on her in-house nurse, Regina Tatum, to help her out.
"She wrote out my bills for me and I signed the checks...but this check she tried to pass she had tried to sign my name and they knew down there that it wasn't my signature," said Robinson.
Tatum, also known as Regina Jacobs, worked at Jordan Health Services in Longview.
Longview Police say she has been charged with forgery in this case.
Robinson says Tatum opened credit cards in her name.
"When she'd go buy my groceries. She'd buy her some...she brought quite a bit a things at Wal-Mart on my card."
Longview Police say people need to do their homework before hiring someone to help care for family members. A couple of tips - run your own background check, and always ask for references.
"If you can find a family friend or somebody to help with their finances and not having home health care people write checks and not have to deal with that person's financial information that would be all the better," said Kevin Brownlee with the Longview Police Department.
Now, all Robinson has left is her social security money to survive.
"She just...I just can't believe it, still can't believe that she would do that to me."
Jordan's Health Services, where Regina Tatum worked, tells KLTV they did do a background check on Tatum, but her criminal history did not warrant them to not hire her.
After an investigation into the allegations, Tatum was fired.
Longview Police are still investigating this incident and more charges could be filed.

BACKGROUND CHECKS FOR VOLUNTEERS

2008-09-05T13:55:00.003-06:00

The ConVal School District is working with area police departments to conduct background checks and collect fingerprint samples from parent and community volunteers.

In accordance with state law, the district has adopted a policy defining a "designated volunteer" as one who has regular or one-on-one contact with students. The law governing employee and volunteer background checks mandates criminal record checks for all school district employees, volunteers, or contractors.

District Superintendent Richard Bergeron plans to distribute a letter to all parents in the district explaining the process.

"We recognize that adherence to this requirement, while not a new regulation, is new to our parent/volunteer community," reads the letter. "However, our purpose is to maintain the safety of all of our students to the best of our ability."

School District to Fingerprint Volunteers

2008-09-02T10:03:00.001-06:00

Parent volunteers who work with students in the Higley Unified School District will now be fingerprinted and the district may choose to conduct a background check.

The school board approved the new policy Thursday night that will be piloted through the end of the year. The district wants to assess the costs, which run between $25 and $60 per volunteer, and plans to survey parents and school staff to determine if this is the path the district wants to take, said Denise Birdwell, a district associate superintendent.

“It’s not a requirement to fingerprint parents, but it is our obligation to fingerprint adults working with our kids,” Birdwell said.

Parent volunteers who work in a school office or help under the supervision of a teacher will now be asked to complete a volunteer information form that includes employment and criminal history. Birdwell calls the form an “honesty check.”

The three-tiered policy outlines what checks the district will conduct depending on how much interaction the volunteer has with students.

Volunteers also will now receive a basic orientation including information on the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, first aid and CPR, and guidelines on how best to interact with students and how to avoid false accusations.

The district has been discussing how to change the policy on fingerprinting volunteers after inconsistencies were found on who should and shouldn’t be fingerprinted. The board last talked about the policy in January.

Before this new policy, the district did not fingerprint parents volunteering for field trips or those who work in classrooms, but did fingerprint volunteer coaches.

The district put in place a more stringent employee fingerprint policy last year after a former band assistant, who had not been fingerprinted, was charged with sexually assaulting a student.

Background Check Shows Teacher Is Fugitive

2008-08-28T09:38:00.000-06:00

A new Davidson County teacher failed a background check and will be returned to Maryland to face criminal charges.

Arlene Denetta Hudson, 42, of 2324 Copperstone Drive in High Point, had been hired as a teacher by Davidson County Schools. A subsequent check of her fingerprints by the State Bureau of Investigation turned up a warrant for her arrest in Maryland.

According to the Davidson County Sheriff's office, the Maryland State Police wanted Hudson in connection with a September 2005 larceny of a motor vehicle from a Toyota dealership in Westminster, Md.

Counties Fail to Update Cases in Texas's Crime Databases

2008-08-26T11:47:00.001-06:00

The state's criminal database, riddled with holes four years ago, has just as many gaps today.

Although officials in Dallas and other poorly reporting counties promised in 2004 to do better, the Department of Public Safety says counties in the most recent assessment submitted outcomes on just 69 percent of criminal charges – the same percentage as before.

"That's astonishing. That's leaving a substantial total number of criminals unreported in the system," said John Bradley, Williamson County district attorney. "That's the biggest threat to public safety that you can imagine, particularly in a post-9/11 time when we rely on databases to protect the public."

Angie Klein, manager of the DPS criminal history records bureau, attributed the counties' lack of progress to slow resolution of many felony cases, and glitches in big urban counties, which can bring down statewide compliance rates.

"It's hard to keep trained personnel," she said.

Dallas Completes Background Check On John Beck

2008-08-20T12:07:00.001-06:00

The Cowboys have done a background check on Miami quarterback John Beck, but they have not had talks with the Dolphins regarding a potential trade for the 2007 second rounder, according to two sources. After signing Chad Pennington and drafting Chad Henne in the second round, Beck and Josh McCown are in a fight for the No. 3 quarterback slot. According to the sources, the Dolphins contacted the Cowboys - and other teams - about Beck shortly after coming to terms with Pennington

No bozos!

2008-08-12T14:05:00.004-06:00

For Sharon Baker, founder of Teleduction Inc., a 35-year-old Wilmington film production company, recruiting good employees is the cornerstone of an organization's success. To prove it, hire a "bad apple," she said.

Baker knows firsthand. In the 1980s, she hired a worker who came highly recommended. Before long, the employee was showing up late, sometimes dishevelled. The worker's performance became erratic. It didn't take long for Baker to admit it wasn't working out. Worse, she realized the worker's previous employer had glowingly recommended someone "they were desperately trying to get rid of," Baker said.

"It was devastating," Baker said. "The lost salary is a lot of money for a small business. It's demoralizing for the other employees. But I learned a very valuable lesson: There should be a trial period."

The recruitment of key employees is what makes or breaks a business -- even more than financing, say employment specialists and business leaders.

"Today, it's crucial to do a background check. It's too expensive to not do your due diligence," Challenger said.

New Nurses Will Need Criminal Record Check

2008-08-04T12:22:00.000-06:00

New nurses in Nova Scotia will soon be forced to undergo criminal record checks.

Starting in August, nurses who haven’t held an active practising licence in this province for two years will also have to undergo the same checks.

"We have an obligation to be aware of all factors that might affect a registered nurse’s ability to practise safely, competently or ethically," said Marie Dauphinee-Booth, a spokeswoman for the College of Registered Nurses of Nova Scotia.

"It’s another measure to enhance public protection."

If a new or returning nurse doesn’t have a clean criminal record, there could be consequences.

"Any time that we determine that a nurse’s ability to practise has been compromised, then we take action," Ms. Dauphinee-Booth said, noting each case would be dealt with on an individual basis.

Retroactive Background Check Requirements Could Result in Loss of Veteran Teachers

2008-08-04T11:07:00.000-06:00

They may have taught in Southwest Florida schools for years, but a new law could mean a pink slip for veteran teachers.

Teachers, administrators and others now fall under the Ethics and Education Act, which was passed by the Legislature and went into effect July 1.

The new law requires retroactive checks of the criminal records of teachers and employees in contact with students daily, and bars from employment anyone with any felony conviction for a variety of specified crimes.

United States Bowling Congress Making Changes for Safety of Young Bowlers

2008-07-21T11:25:00.001-06:00

The United States Bowling Congress is taking steps to keep the children who participate in its programs safe from predators.

As of Aug. 1, all organizations under its umbrella that run youth bowling programs will be required to enter the USBC's Registered Volunteer Program, which will mandate criminal background screenings and require volunteers to abide by a code of conduct.

Volunteers always have been, and always will be, the backbone of the USBC. Most are dedicated, hard-working, unselfish people who have the sport's best interests at heart. It is extremely important in today's world that all volunteers who work with USBC Youth programs understand that USBC is facing the same problem every youth sports and social organization in America is facing: Protecting our kids against a handful of people who prey on the innocence of children. The only practical way to make youth bowling safe is to identify those persons who refuse to abide by acceptable standards of behavior and conduct, remove them from contact with our young people and establish barriers to prevent other predators from gaining access to children who bowl.

Illegal Immigrant Asks for Background Check

2008-07-21T11:23:00.000-06:00

An illegal immigrant was arrested this week in the lobby of the Butler County Sheriff's Office when she allegedly passed fake identification while trying to get a background check for a job, according to sheriff's officials.

Genesis Mahelet Garcia-Garcia, 25, of Sixth Avenue in Hamilton was arrested Wednesday, July 16. She is charged with two counts of forgery and one count of identity fraud.

She is in the country from Mexico illegally, according to deputies. Garcia-Garcia is being held in the Butler County Jail and faces possible deportation.

Ohio Camps Aren't Checking Up On Employees

2008-07-08T14:34:00.001-06:00

Just 42 percent of summer day camps surveyed by the state's Department of Job and Family Services have completed mandatory background checks of employees, a newspaper reported on Sunday.

But camps that fail to carry out the checks have little to fear. The state's Department of Job and Family Services has little recourse, since there's no real punishment provision in the state law that requires the checks, department spokesman Dennis Evans said.

LIcense to Prey On Kids?

2008-07-08T10:58:00.001-06:00

For most kids, the biggest danger associated with the neighborhood ice-cream truck is the brain freeze they get from gulping down their purchases.

Columbus officials want to keep it that way, so they're vowing to change the way they screen and monitor ice-cream truck drivers and everyone else required to get a peddler's license from the city.

How Bad Credit Can Affect Job Prospects

2008-06-27T15:49:00.000-06:00

We all know that our personal credit history affects our ability to secure a home loan or open an account at a department store. But most Americans are unaware that bad credit could cost them a job. Employers can refuse to hire applicants because of their credit history.

Many employers use credit history as a tool in their pre-employment screening as just one measure of judgment and character. If you can't manage your financial obligations, they wonder if it's a sign of irresponsibility. If your monthly debt payment is higher than your salary, some employers worry that it may distract from your performance.

Schools Fail to Check Record of Bus Drivers, Montee Says

2008-06-27T15:46:00.000-06:00

School districts are not always meeting requirements for bus driver drug testing and criminal record checks.

And even if they did, state Auditor Susan Montee said it would not be enough to protect child passengers.

A state audit released yesterday finds that about 3 percent of bus drivers and aides never had a fingerprint criminal record check.

Victorians on Both Sides of Issue

2008-06-27T15:45:00.000-06:00

Some local gun shop owners support the Supreme Court’s ruling on the Second Amendment, while other residents think more, not less, gun control should be enacted locally.

The shop owners emphasized that safety should be stressed in gun ownership.

Safety is the key issue, said Darrell Hester, owner Victoria All Sport, of Mission Valley. He takes the time to explain the step-by-step procedures in handgun use and connects novices with safety instructors. In addition, “every gun goes out with a lock, that’s the law,” he said.

Background Checks: What You Need to Know

2008-06-03T16:28:00.000-06:00

Most jobs nowadays, from cashier to a senior executive, require a background check. And more employers are vetting longtime employees, too. These investigations are done increasingly by outside screening companies. Here's some things applicants and employers need to know:

Check prior background reports. Under federal law, you are entitled to a copy of any background report that had been done on you, for a minimal fee of $10 or less. In three states, California, Minnesota, and Oklahoma, they're free. You need to know which screening firm out of the nearly 2,000 nationwide did the report.

State Lags on School Background Checks

2008-06-03T16:27:00.000-06:00

People with criminal histories have been able to work in area schools for several months because of delays in state-managed background checks of new hires.

Total backlog in Albany right now: Close to 800 cases.

The issue hit home for the Utica City School District, where it was discovered May 19 that an unidentified part-time lunch monitor at Proctor High School failed to clear the fingerprinting check.

Foreign Care Workers Escape Background Check

2008-06-03T16:25:00.000-06:00

Tens of thousands of immigrants are working with vulnerable elderly people and children without undergoing full criminal record checks, it has emerged.

Senior police officers have warned the Home Secretary Jacqui Smith of the scale of the problem in a report examining the affect on the UK of immigration from Eastern Europe.

It warns of the huge costs to police forces of having to carry out checks on behalf of a new watchdog to vet care workers, and says the authority will not redress the problem.

Many of Britain's care homes, which are currently home to 400,000 elderly people, rely on foreign staff because British workers are reluctant to take the jobs.

Waiting Part of Hiring Process

2008-06-03T16:22:00.000-06:00

The hiring process can grind to a halt for many reasons, including vacations, shifting priorities, slow approval processes, changing business conditions, or a million other things.

To an anxious applicant, the waiting seems interminable. But on the hiring end, time is passing much faster.

The only real reason to worry is if something unpleasant may have been unearthed by the background check. Otherwise, just be patient. Frequent calls and e-mails will only annoy your prospective employer.

Foster Care: A Home Away From Home

2008-05-20T10:49:00.001-06:00

Henry and Tasha Wertin’s indoctrination into parenthood wasn’t quite what they thought it would be.

For three years, the Lawrence couple had tried to conceive. Doctors couldn’t figure out what was wrong. And the cost and uncertainty of an adoption agency didn’t seem worth it. So they decided to become foster care parents.

They took the classes, made the necessary changes to their home and went through background checks.

Red Cross Backs Off Intrusive Background Checks

2008-05-20T10:48:00.000-06:00

The American Red Cross in 2006 announced that it would perform intrusive background checks on volunteers, including credit checks and mode-of-living checks. ARRL, supporting many hams who were Red Cross volunteers, protested. And like many others, I'm sure, I started finding other disaster-relief organizations to send money to rather than Red Cross.

ARRL now says that ARC's background-check policy has been moderated. There is a permission form, and it allows a check of name, SSN, and criminal background, and nothing else.

Application Asks for Your Salary, But Is It Better to List a Range?

2008-05-20T10:45:00.001-06:00

Many candidates still try to get away with falsehoods on applications, says Mr. Morris, president of Background Information Services Inc. in Cleveland. Of job applicants it has screened during the past seven years, 56% have misstated their salaries by $1,000 or more, were a month or more inaccurate about their employment dates, or listed positions different than the ones they actually held, he says.

Besides using screening firms to check on candidates' backgrounds, some companies ask for final pay stubs or W-2 tax forms to verify salary, adds Jim Pappas, manager of corporate staffing for the Barnes Group Inc., an international diversified manufacturing-and-distribution company based in Bristol, Conn.

Study Finds Troubling Gaps in Volunteer Screening by Nonprofits

2008-04-24T10:42:00.000-06:00

One in three U.S. nonprofit organizations conducts no background checks on volunteers, and roughly one in eight does no screening at all, says a report released today by the National Center for Victims of Crime, the nation's leading advocacy group for crime victims. Although the majority of surveyed nonprofit human service organizations conduct some screening, most agencies that serve vulnerable populations could benefit from more thorough and comprehensive volunteer screening practices.

Who's Lending a Hand? A National Survey of Nonprofit Volunteer Screening Practices sought to identify the characteristics of organizations that regularly screen volunteers, the screening methods used, and the role of these screening results in organizational decision making. The urgency of such questions has risen in recent years, as millions of volunteers (61 million in 2006)(1) donate billions of hours, sometimes serving in roles previously reserved for paid staff. Thorough security practices, according to the National Center, play a critical role in protecting vulnerable clients from harm and nonprofit organizations from liability.

Update: Gun Dealer Aims Sale at Making People Safer

2008-04-24T10:21:00.000-06:00

A Green Bay-based online gun dealer linked to deadly shooting rampages on two college campuses today announced he’ll sell guns at cost for two weeks in an effort to arm citizens and prevent future tragedies.

Eric Thompson said his company TGSCOM will offer guns to customers April 23 through May 7 for the same price he pays for them. That could mean a savings of $100 on a $500 gun purchase, he said.

Background-checks settlement would divvy up $20.7 million

2008-04-24T10:19:00.000-06:00

A complaint about improper background checks at a Newport News call center has triggered a settlement exceeding $20 million with the company that owns the checking agency.

The lawsuit accused LexisNexis Risk Management Inc. of failing to give employees sufficient notice of problems it had uncovered and, later, of creating too many hurdles when workers requested reviews.

Trans Woman Can Sue

2008-04-11T15:01:00.001-06:00

US District Judge Nancy F. Atlas in Houston has ruled that a transsexual Texan, Izza Lopez, can pursue a sex discrimination employment claim against River Oaks Imaging & Diagnostic Group.

Use Auto Refinancing to Ease the Family Budget
The sex discrimination claim is based in the 1964 federal Civil Rights Act.

School Background Checks

2008-04-11T15:00:00.000-06:00

The Medford School District has an extensive background check process for prospective employees and volunteers. The district has a long list of crimes that cannot be on your record if you want to work for or volunteer in the district.

While the district demands applicants disclose their criminal history, Medford School District employee Susan Galpern says the district relies on police, the sheriff's office and the FBI for confirmation, "We run finger print checks on all of our employees, we have forms they fill out here that they take to the sheriffs department and those forms are sent to the state and the FBI."

Background Check Irritates Election Worker

2008-04-11T14:59:00.000-06:00

As a city election official, Tom Fredericks Jr. says he doesn't have anything to hide.

Even so, he was irritated to learn that the city was going to perform a background check on him - and all election judges - prior to this May's school budget election.

Who Regulates Background Checks

2008-03-27T16:12:00.000-06:00

All companies performing background checks on behalf of another business are subject to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, which establishes rules regarding what information that screeners are required to provide to the people they are checking.

Many states also have their own laws regulating companies that provide criminal background checks. In Arizona, a person must be licensed as a private investigator through the Arizona Department of Public Safety or be licensed as an employee of a private investigator to conduct such work.

Check Your Credit Before the Boss Does

2008-03-27T16:08:00.002-06:00

It's no longer enough to go to a job interview with your CV. A growing number of employers are checking a candidate's credit history before making an offer.

While your credit history may not be the determining factor, employers use it to fill out the picture for many candidates - and not just in the finance field.

OSBI Doesn't Expect Great Impact From Closure of Court Records

2008-03-25T16:56:00.000-06:00

The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation doesn't expect a large increase in requests for background checks because of proposed rules taking some court records off the Internet.

The Oklahoma Supreme Court issued rules earlier this month that would remove several records from the Internet and require documents with personal identifying information to be redacted or filed under seal.

Ice Cream Vendors Embrace Background Checks

2008-03-13T15:19:00.001-06:00

Details of Rapid City's proposed background-check requirement for ice cream vendors are still being hashed out, but truck operators say they won't have a problem with the new rule if it is implemented. The proposed ordinance would require criminal background checks before an ice cream vendor could get a peddler's license to operate on city streets.

Austin Educator Background Checks Turn up 15 Felonies, 241 Misdemeanors

2008-03-12T11:12:00.000-06:00

The Austin school district has fingerprinted about two-thirds of its approximately 6,600 certified educators, and criminal histories have popped up for 256 employees after a search of a national crime database.

Checks as of Feb. 20 found that 15 educators had felony criminal records, while the other 241 had misdemeanor criminal records, according to information released under the Texas Public Information Act.

Facebook a RiskyTool for Background Checks, Lawyers Warn

2008-03-11T16:52:00.000-06:00

Employers’ growing use of social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace to scrutinize job applicants could lead to charges of employment discrimination and litigation, experts warn.

Observers say that without adequate policies in place, employers may be leaving themselves vulnerable to charges that they are using the data available on the Web sites to cull minorities, homosexuals and other applicants who are members of protected classes.

Highlands Never did Background Check on Aide

2008-03-04T17:04:00.000-07:00

The former special education teacher's aide facing narcotics and corruption of minors charges was given neither a required drug test nor a required criminal background check before Highlands School District hired her last September, according to the district's superintendent.

County Extends Background Checks

2008-02-21T15:59:00.002-07:00

Responding to ongoing concerns regarding federally subsidized housing tenants and their possible links to crime, county housing officials have extended criminal background checks for prospective Section 8 renters to five years.

The decision marks a drastic turnaround from December, when the Contra Costa Housing Authority's Board of Commissioners -- made up of the five county supervisors and one resident - declined to extend the background checks beyond one year.

Lack of Reporting Could Dry Up Cash

2008-02-19T15:26:00.001-07:00

A national background check system meant to keep firearms out of the hands of dangerously mentally ill individuals gets no help from South Dakota, and at least one gun safety group is working to change that.

Under the "National Instant Check System Improvement Amendments Act" signed in January by President Bush, states could lose federal crime-fighting dollars if they don't submit records to a national database of individuals who have been adjudicated as being a danger to themselves or others because of mental illness.

Cops Can Run Background Checks on Passengers

2008-02-13T10:51:00.001-07:00

In a precedent-setting ruling for New Jersey, the state Supreme Court said yesterday police have the right to run a criminal background check on a passenger in a vehicle they pull over. The decision raises the question of whether background checks on passengers will become routine.

The Supreme Court ruled 6-0 that a passenger in a vehicle stopped by police is considered in custody and that it is not unconstitutional for an officer to run a background check on the individual.

US to Ease Rules for Visa Applications

2008-02-13T10:49:00.001-07:00

U.S. authorities are easing requirements for background checks for some immigrants hoping to become permanent U.S. residents. The change is expected to help ease a huge backlog of green card (residence visa) applications.

Under the new policy, officials will be able to approve otherwise qualified applicants if they have been waiting for a name check by the FBI for more than six months. Investigators will still conduct fingerprint checks and an internet criminal background search on all applicants.

Elder Abuse Cases on the Rise

2008-02-11T16:14:00.001-07:00

When Bruce Armstrong was sentenced on charges of elder abuse, victim's advocate Laura Conrad accompanied Rachel Moore's family members to the sentencing hearing.

Conrad works solely on elder abuse cases in the county. Conrad said her role is intervention, education and protection of the victim's rights.

Background Check Provision Passed for Marshall Employees

2008-02-11T16:12:00.000-07:00

Employees who apply for jobs at Marshall University or Marshall Community and Technical College must now undergo background checks.

The Board of Governors passed the background check provision, Policy No. HR-14, during its Oct. 16 meeting, marking the first time the university has required background checks campuswide, the policy said.

Ice Cream Vendor Background Checks

2008-02-06T12:32:00.000-07:00

Some Rapid City officials say a change in city statute might be needed in an effort to protect children from any unsavory ice cream vendors.

A city council committee has asked the city attorney's office to prepare an ordinance amendment requiring background checks for people applying for a peddler's license.

Before You Make the Offer: 10 Tips

2008-01-31T12:14:00.000-07:00

Question: What's more expensive than the time and money invested in hiring and training a new employee? Answer: Doing it again, when a new hire exits unexpectedly. What can we do as managers to improve the odds on a new hire being a perfect fit? Here are some strategies to employ before an offer is made.

New Background Check Measure Slows Hiring but Not Financial Burden, School Districts Say

2008-01-31T12:10:00.000-07:00

New state legislation requiring more extensive background checks for school district employees has significantly slowed local hiring, but school officials say the delay should have little direct effect on students.

The legislation requires fingerprinting and a national criminal background check for all non-certified public school employees who have direct contact with students.

Site Helps With Finding Safe Sitters For Kids, Pets

2008-01-31T12:09:00.000-07:00

Baby sitters, pet sitters or care for aging parents -- it's hard figuring out whom you can trust.

NBC 10's Dawn Timmeney showed how the simple click of a mouse can help you find a reliable sitter.

The online resource for parents, Care.com, comes complete with background checks and references.