When it comes to using criminal history in employment decisions, how far back should background checks go? In the case of a former Milwaukee Wells Fargo employee, the company went as far back as 40 years, and held two charges from 1972 against her. While criminal history should not be used as a blanket hiring [...]

In several instances on this blog, we’ve talked about background checks being used incorrectly or improperly. Criminal charges dug up from these assessments have been – illegally – used as blanket hiring measures, while the ramifications of identity theft, which cannot be purged immediately, essentially bar individuals, out of no fault of their own, from [...]

Do you know your child’s bus driver, and just how well? Many parents take for granted that the bus driver pulling up to the curb every day does not have a criminal record. But, as schools have implemented background check policies for not only teachers but volunteers and visiting parents over the past few years, [...]

Coming to the national media spotlight in early 2012, two teachers at Los Angeles school Miramonte Elementary were accused of lewd acts involving children. While the full staff has since been screened and replaced, parents are wondering about background checks; mainly, how did these accused former teachers slip under the radar? It’s not an easy [...]

Can a parent trust a preschool, even a registered one, has no criminals or sex offenders amongst its staff? Yesterday, Fox Chicago News revealed an eco-friendly preschool in the West Loop area was unwittingly harboring a sex offender. Investigating a tip, the local news station found Eric Ellis, who is listed as a Registered Sex [...]

Is your company looking for an easy way out when it comes to background checks in hiring decisions? The time and care taken to analyze results and consider each applicant, rather than using criminal history as a be-all-end-all factor, ends up having long-term positive consequences. What can happen from careless application of criminal background checks? [...]

95 percent of all hiring employers conduct background checks on potential candidates. Yet, the cost, length, and inaccuracies are often cited as obstructions in conducting these screenings. For candidates or companies, screenings can cost anywhere from $20 to $60. A background check, only examining state-level records, may not give a full picture of a candidate, [...]

Many states require care workers – those working with the elderly, children, or the disabled – to have clean criminal backgrounds. Minnesota is one such state, but the Star Tribune revealed recently that 15,000 waivers have been granted to former criminals looking for such jobs. Taking additional steps away from safety, the state does not [...]

Isn’t the first step of obtaining employment sending out your resume? The first true step, however, is actually having a resume. And while an individual should take applying for a job one step at a time, make sure you connect the beginning with the end. And, in employment, this means thinking about your background check [...]

In several instances, we have seen what happens when childcare centers, senior homes, schools, and contractors do not conduct thorough background checks. Making sure each employee has a clean background is crucial to the safety of those being cared for and should take precedence over the cost of such procedures. To combat this, Washington state [...]