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Many of the stories I see about background checks have a familiar theme. “Background checks are a good idea, but I don’t want you to check on me.” That’s why a story out of Rapid City, South Dakota stands out.
The headline reads: “Ice cream vendors embrace background checks.” Here’s the lead.
Details of Rapid City’s proposed […]

To background check, or not, is online love’s latest question, at least according to the Salt Lake Tribune. The course of true love has never run smooth, but who ever thought it would come to this?
There have been plenty of stories lately about men and women using background check services like SentryLink to check out […]

An article in the Colorado Springs Gazette outlines how deferred sentences can let someone convicted of a crime pass your background check. Here’s what happened in Colorado.
Robert Lawrence Psaty worked as a mental health clinician at the Colorado Mental Health Institute. A waiter noticed him slip a pill into his companion’s drink while having dinner. […]

Seems like lately we’ve seen story after story about how one church or another didn’t do background checks that should have been done. So it was great to see the story in Christianity Today about how one church uses background checks and other tactics to preserve the safety of the children in its care.
The article […]

Yvonne Mintz, managing editor of The Facts, a newspaper in Brazoria Country, Texas wrote an insightful editorial titled: “BISD made right decision [budgeting money for quality background checks] for our children.” Here’s the core of her argument.
Sad as it is for a school district to have to pay big bucks for advanced background checks on […]

Under the headline, “Officials mandate screening staffers“, Florida Today reports the following.
“Effective today, no employee will be hired by the city without undergoing a criminal background check.” Here’s the background.
On January 15, the City Council of West Melbourne voted to hire Doug Wyckoff to a three-year contract as city attorney for more than $100,000 […]

The Houston Chronicle recently ran an editorial about background checks for taxi drivers in that city. Here’s the gist.
By April, taxi drivers who wish to pick up or drop off passengers at Bush Intercontinental Airport will have to pass a background check by the Transportation Security Administration. The cabbies, 80 percent of whom came here […]

Advance, a web site for health information professionals, asks: “What’s more expensive than the time and money invested in hiring and training a new employee?” Their answer: “Doing it again, when a new hire exits unexpectedly.”
Then they lay out several strategies, including background checks, for doing a better job of hiring. The article is […]

According to a headline in the Waco Tribune, “Bus driver charged with assault aced background check”. In the story, the claim is even stronger. “Hillsboro schools Superintendent Jerry Maze said the 64-year-old school bus driver accused of propositioning a 14-year-old student for sex passed the school’s ‘very comprehensive’ background checks.’”
There are people out there who […]

The Dallas Morning News reports that completing required background checks on non-educational school workers is turning into a real nightmare. The title of the article is “Costly fingerprinting required for Texas public school workers.” Here’s an excerpt.
Red tape and resistance have tripped up the state’s first crack at collecting fingerprints for an estimated 1 million […]

In Pikeville, KY, a community group is “urging property owners within Pikeville city limits to help build a safer community by doing background checks on potential renters“. Makes sense to me.
What’s unique about this story is that this is not a law enforcement agency or landlord’s association that’s urging the background checks. It’s a […]

In Bucks County, PA, the Bucks County Courier Times reports on how “Parents urge board to make background checks a must.” Here’s what’s going on.
Pennsylvania laws require employees of schools and daycare centers submit to background checks. It requires foster parents to get checked. The idea is that people in those positions have privileged access […]

Workplace violence statistics are hard to come by because they’re scattered all over. But we know it’s serious and we know that you need to act to help keep your employees safe and keep yourself out of court.
Here are some statistics from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and the U.S. Department […]

The Christian Science Monitor says that “More companies are using sophisticated background checks to root out lies on résumés.” What does that mean?
Well, it depends on what you mean by “sophisticated.” Most of the checking is pretty basic stuff. Here’s a quick review of some things you can do.
Start with a pre-interview phone screening. I […]

The Columbia (MO) Tribune has a story about how the University of Missouri is working to stop fiscal misconduct with a multi-layered program that even involves the public. The story focuses on the new fraud reporting hotline as well as other techniques like increased background checks. Let’s review what’s going on and how you can […]

I’ve got a nephew who’s going to college with the help of several scholarships. Those scholarships are contingent on good behavior. If he gets arrested for something like underage drinking, for example, his scholarships can be pulled. Many colleges have similar policies.
Now some college administrators are thinking about criminal background checks as part of the […]

The SmartMoney web site has lots of good advice for job seekers. But in an article titled “Facebook Profiles Can Foil Job Searches” I found some good advice for employers, especially those considering using the social networking sites for part of background check on younger applicants.
Jeanine DeBacker, an employment lawyer with Wendel Rosen Black & […]

The SmartMoney web site has lots of good advice for job seekers. But in an article titled “Facebook Profiles Can Foil Job Searches” I found some good advice for employers, especially those considering using the social networking sites for part of background check on younger applicants.
Jeanine DeBacker, an employment lawyer with Wendel Rosen Black & […]

Fox News reports that John Mark Karr is serious about proving that he has no convictions in Alabama, where he asked for a background check from the Birmingham Police Department. It seems like only yesterday, but it was actually a year ago that John Mark Carr was all over the news.
You may recall that […]

Poulan, GA is a very small town just to the east of Albany, where the chief of police is in trouble over a background check. The Albany Herald, in a story headlined: “Poulan police chief suspended,” reports the following.
Poulan’s top police official has been suspended after officials say she may have used her power as […]

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