Why Get Background Checks?

Employers these days must be asking themselves, "What's Next?"  The media is filled nearly every day with stories about current or impending skilled worker shortages. To add to the pain, more red flags are popping up in background checks than ever before.

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The annual Hit Ratio Report and Industry Analysis, published by Kroll, the risk consulting company, revealed another annual increase in criminal record hits, discrepancies in past employment verifications (from 36.5 to 49.4 percent) and education verifications (from 14.1 percent to 21.6 percent).

Some of the hardest "hit" industries are:

• Nearly 50% of candidates in Construction, Automotive, and Retail had positive DMV (Department of Motor Vehicle) information hits.
• Over 50% of candidates in Business Services, Real Estate, and Automotive had hits on their credit history.
• Over 50% of candidates in Transportation, Construction, and Non-Profits had hits on their employment verification.
• And over one-third of non-profit and construction candidates had hits on education verification.

Fudging Academic Credentials: A 2004 report by the Government Accountability Office found that 463 government employees in eight federal agencies listed bogus academic credentials on their résumés. Twenty-eight of the fibbers held senior-level positions, a number the GAO called "an understatement." The most senior fakers included three managers with top security clearance at the National Nuclear Security Administration and executives at the Departments of Homeland Security and Transportation.

One industry hit particularly hit hard by high rates of background failures is law enforcement.  In Santa Fe, recruiters are attempting to fill 15 vacancies this year but more than 60% of applicants are routinely found to be unfit after background investigations.  In Las Vegas, the background failure rate is almost 70% creating a formidable challenge for recruiters attempting to fill 2,000 positions over the next five years.  Candidates have concealed a range of criminal activities, from prostitution to fraud and drug use.

In Phoenix, more than one-third of the police recruits are failing polygraph examinations.  In Orlando, about half are not surviving pre-polygraph interviews. One candidate was recently dismissed after listing two fraudulent college degrees that the candidate purchased online.

The problem isn't only failed background checks.  In Las Vegas about 23% of candidates never get past a mulitple-choice basic knowledge test. Another 40% fail the physical training workout. But that's a drop in the bucket to the 70% failure rate when it comes to background checks and polygraph exams.

To give you a sense of the challenge facing employers, the Las Vegas Police Department has to fill 400 available jobs this year. That means its recruiting strategies need to attract over 600 applicants a month.

The Las Vegas Police Department is not alone in their recruitment challenge.  The FBI had to change (lower?) their standard because too many candidates were being rejected. The FBI is now accepting recruits who smoked marijuana in the past but have not smoked it recently. 

What's next in this Perfect Labor Storm?  What have been your experiences with background checks?  Are background failures on the rise in your business? Have background checks helped you avoid any wrong hires? 

Real Scenarios where a background check should have been run.

On Monday, a man known to police as Jonathan Rowan shot to death his ex-girlfriend, Rebecca Griego, in her office at the University of Washington. He then killed himself. Investigators say Rowan had two passports under different names and three aliases. (Our SSN TRACE would have caught this)

Last Thursday, a Gig Harbor man known to friends as John Williams shot to death Turid Bentley, the woman he lived with, in another murder-suicide. After searching the couple's home, police discovered that Williams was in fact
John Branden, who was wanted in Oregon for kidnapping, raping and trying to kill a girlfriend in 1999. (Our Nationwide Criminal Record search would have caught this)

And over the weekend, police arrested a 30-year-old woman, Lorelei Corpuz, who had passed herself off as a 17-year-old boy named Mark and persuaded an Everett couple to let her live in their home, where she sexually abused
their 14-year-old daughter. (Our Nationwide Sex Offender search would have caught this.)
 

The Columbus School District of Columbus, Ohio, had to cancel classes, after the Cincinnati-based First Student busing company discovered it hadn't properly processed criminal background checks on school bus drivers. Ohio police arrested a First Student driver on a charge of cocaine possession. Eight other drivers were later removed from their routes after investigations found they had previous DUI convictions. These kinds of slip-ups are unacceptable, says Endress. "The organization itself has to be accountable and ethical and make these key practices," he says, and "talk about a best practice approach to employment." (Our Nationwide Criminal Record search & Drivers Record search would have caught this)

Jerry Buck Inman, 35, was booked in Pickens County, S.C., Wednesday after waiving his right to dispute his extradition from Tennessee. Officers arrested Inman late Tuesday on a warrant for first-degree murder, kidnapping and rape in connection to the May 26 death of Tiffany Marie Souers, 20, in Central, S.C. Bond was set for $1 million on a fugitive from justice charge Wednesday in Jefferson County, Tenn. Inman's criminal record stretches back to 1987, when he was convicted in Florida for sexual battery with a weapon, kidnapping, aggravated assault, armed robbery, armed burglary and grand theft auto. He was paroled from a Florida jail in September 2005. Inman also has felony convictions in North Carolina for a sexual offense and a prison escape. He is a registered sex offender in North Carolina and Florida. (Our Nationwide Criminal Record search PLUS  our Nationwide Sex Offender search would have caught this)

Arrested and charged with assault and felony vandalism after a nightclub altercation. This began Pacman Jones NFL rap sheet. He already had a lengthy one from high school and college. (Our Nationwide Criminal Record search would have caught this)

(CNN) -- The dean of admissions at one of America's most prestigious schools resigned on Thursday after the university discovered she had lied about her academic credentials.  Jones admits misrepresenting academic degrees when applying to MIT in 1979 and Jones did not receive degrees at three schools as claimed, MIT found. (Our Education Verification search would have caught this)
 

Furniture company found liable for $2.5 million for negligent hiring and retention of deliveryman who savagely attacked woman customer in her home. Tallahassee Furniture Co., Inc. v. Harrison (Our Nationwide Criminal Record search would have caught this)

Employer settled for $2.5 million in a suit seeking to hold it liable for negligent hiring and entrustment of intoxicated security guard who had on-duty traffic accident in company car that killed himself and another motorist. Butler v. Hertz Corp (Our Nationwide Criminal Record search PLUS Driving History search would have caught this)

Vacuum cleaner manufacturer found liable for $45,000 because one of its distributors hired a door-to-door salesperson with a criminal record who raped a female customer in her home. Manufacturer should have required its distributors to do pre-hiring screening of door-to-door salespersons to prevent hiring of persons with criminal histories. McLean v. Kirby Co (Our Nationwide Criminal Record search would have caught this)

A settlement of $5 million in suit by family of deceased female tenant against apartment complex owner and management. Suit claimed the tenant was killed by brother of complex's assistant manager and that it was negligent hiring to hire assistant manager without a criminal background check. Liebman v. Hall Fin. Group, Inc (Our Nationwide Criminal Record search would have caught this)

Veritas Executive resigns due to false resume. Veritas removed its former CFO because he lied on his resume, claiming a Stanford MBA he doesn't have. (Our Education Verification search would have caught this)