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Background Checks

DCF spokesman faces child abuse charges

04/01/2008
Al Zimmerman had a solid employment record when the Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF) hired him as a spokesman. He was later promoted to press secretary and received good reviews, right up until his arrest for allegedly paying two teenagers to perform sexual acts while he photographed them …

Insist on thorough documentation of background check results

04/01/2008
Take care if you run background checks as part of your job application process. Be sure to document how you handle reference check calls, and document requests. You may need the files later, especially if you don’t hire the applicant in the end and he claims discrimination …

Non-Minorities can’t sue on basis of minority discrimination

03/01/2008

Good—and somewhat obvious—news: Job applicants who are not members of a protected class can’t sue for discrimination on the basis that an employer’s hiring practices discriminate against minorities …

What questions are off limits when talking to references and past employers?

03/01/2008
 Q. I understand that it’s illegal to ask applicants certain personal questions. But are there any questions I can’t ask a reference or previous employer? …

Former employees can sue for retaliation, too

03/01/2008
Until recently, courts generally have ruled that retaliation applies only to current employees. But thanks to a recent 4th Circuit Court of Appeals decision, which covers North Carolina employers, it’s now clear that former employees can sue for post-discharge actions when their claims involve the Fair Labor Standards Act …

Don’t reject convicted felons unless you have legitimate business reason

02/01/2008

Q. Our hiring process involves conducting background and reference checks. If an employee has a felony conviction within the past seven years, we automatically refuse employment. Any reason we should change our policy? …

Protecting against negligent hiring

02/01/2008

Q. I recently read an article about employees who were attacked at work by other employees who never should have been hired in the first place. How can an employer reduce its risk of liability for negligent hiring? …

More woes for Marion VAMC

01/01/2008

The Marion Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC) is defending the credentialing process it used to hire Dr. Jose Veizaga-Mendez, who resigned after allegedly being implicated in 10 patient deaths …

FBI, CIA hired illegal immigrant with ties to Hezbollah

01/01/2008

The FBI and the CIA scrambled to defend their screening practices after discovering that one of their agents was an illegal immigrant with ties to Hezbollah. Officials at the FBI and the CIA insisted the agencies conducted thorough background checks …

To google or not: Legitimate screening method or privacy breach?

01/01/2008

The popularity of Internet blogs and social networking sites such as MySpace, LinkedIn, Facebook and Friendster is causing confusion and concern for some employers. At a time when it’s easy to search the web for information on just about anyone, what steps should a reasonable employer take to investigate the background of an employee? …