Background Checks

Are we required to send job-offer letters?

01/16/2009

Q. Are we required to give applicants official offer letters? What does a letter have to spell out?

Prepare to comply with two new employment laws

01/09/2009

Beginning Feb. 1, New York employers must comply with two important new state employment laws affecting notification of impending layoffs and the conduct of criminal background checks.

Even if offer is for ‘at-will’ job, beware making promises you’re not prepared to keep

12/24/2008

Before you make a solid job offer and induce an applicant to make major changes in order to accept the job, consider this: If you end up not being able to follow through on the offer, you may end up sued for breach of promise—in legal terms, called promissory estoppel

Marion veterans hospital to pay for hiring lethal doctor

12/11/2008

The VA Medical Center in Marion has agreed to pay $975,000 to Katrina Shank, whose husband, Robert Shank III, bled to death after former staff surgeon Dr. Jose Veizaga-Mendez operated on him.

Was state staffer ordered to check out ‘Joe the Plumber’?

12/08/2008

Vanessa Niekamp, senior child support manager at the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, said she feared for her job when she approached the inspector general about background checks performed on Joe Wurzelbacher, better known as “Joe the Plumber” …

What is ‘blacklisting’?

12/04/2008

Q. What can or can’t we say about a lousy former employee?

Résumé lies are on the rise; 7 tips to separate facts from fudging

12/02/2008

With the sending of résumés as easy as a click of a button, job seekers today are pulling out all the stops to make themselves stand out. Sometimes that includes embellishing their résumés.

Workplace violence: Hope for the best but plan for the worst

11/12/2008

It’s important for employers to plan to prevent workplace violence and respond to it if prevention fails. While every employer needs a customized plan that fits its particular workplace, good violence-prevention strategies share common elements.

Firing justified if applicant failed to reveal checkered past

11/07/2008

Sometimes, candidates filling out job applications think it’s a good idea to omit information about minor criminal convictions and past problems such as terminations. If your application specifically asks for that information and someone you hired didn’t supply it, you can terminate for lying on the application.

How far back can we go when conducting background checks on employees?

10/24/2008

Q. We do background checks on our employees. Is there a restriction on how many years we can go back on the employee? …