Criminals at the court
In Farmington, New Mexico, the job description for a Court Services Coordinator (similar to a probation officer) lists the following. “Certified substance abuse counselor or five (5) years experience in the criminal justice system required.” That usually means “working for a criminal justice agency” not “as a criminal being processed by the system.”
But, it turned out that Court Services Coordinator Christos Derizotis had lots of experience in the criminal justice system that the city didn’t know about. According to an article in DUI Attorney headlined “City official fired over New Mexico DWI arrest,” it was only after Derizotis had been arrested for DUI that they discovered that had six prior DUI charges and:
“officials learned Derizotis had been convicted of battery, false imprisonment, criminal damage and impersonating a police officer in the past.”
But wait, as the late-night pitchmen say, there’s more. According to the Farmington Daily Times, Derizotis was also “sentenced to six years in the Federal correctional Institution La Tuna in Anthony, Texas, in 1985 for bank larceny.” He was paroled in 1989, but nine months later he was arrested again for violating the terms of his parole.
How did this happen? The Farmington paper suggests that it might have been a bit of favoritism. Derizotis is the son of a former Magistrate Judge.
They may be right, but I think the real explanation is much simpler. The city never ran a criminal background check on him. They only ran those on people applying for positions that handled […]
Faked references for a fee
The American entrepreneur and department store executive, John Wannamaker, once said that “Half of all the money I spend on advertising is wasted. I just don’t know which half.”
Sounds to me like what you face with resumes these days. You know there may be falsehoods mixed in amongst the truth. But it’s hard to tell which is which.
It just got harder. In an article advising job seekers on truthful strategies for dealing with problem references and resume gaps, CNN discusses web sites that will fake your references for a price. They identify one such site, CareerExcuse.com.
This goes way beyond the buddy who will pretend to be your old boss. This is serious stuff.
This service will let an applicant decide on what field of employment, dates, and salary they want. They will provide a fake paycheck stub and a reference letter.
If a candidate wonders about whether they can get caught using the service and perhaps fired, CareerExcuse has a simple answer: “We can’t guarantee that you wont [sic] and not liable if you do. If you get the job in the first place.we did our part. It’s up to you to act responsible after you get the job.” Grammatical mistakes left in.
So what can you do? The best defense is a rigorous, disciplined hiring process.
Review all documents carefully. Use criminal checks as part of the process. Cross-check information.
Interview thoroughly and carefully. Ask questions about job history in different ways and at different points in the interview.
Have qualified […]
The case of Amy Bishop
John Phillips is one of the country’s leading experts on employment law. The good news for us is that he writes an excellent blog, The Word on Employment Law. There, he puts what he knows into terms that non-lawyer HR people and real-life managers can understand and use.
His February 16, 2010 post, “Alabama Shooting and Background Checks,” is a good example of his work. Biology professor, Amy Bishop, of the University of Alabama at Huntsville, is facing murder charges after killing three staff members and injuring three others on February 12, 2010. Here are two key paragraphs from Phillips’ post.
My guess is that Dr. Bishop wasn’t subjected to any background check. She was, after all, a college professor. Maybe, the two shady events in her past wouldn’t have shown up in a background check, depending on its thoroughness. But they may have.
Some employers that use drug tests and background checks do so selectively. Front-line employees are always tested. At various levels up the chain, other employees are tested. But a line is usually drawn somewhere. Are employers really going to ask an executive to submit to a drug test or background check? Often, they do not.
Phillips’ observation and my experience match up. Companies will do a background check on people who work the loading dock or the reception desk. But, they’re less likely to do a check on applicants for key executive positions. That’s just dumb.
Executives can be criminals, too. Executives can fudge the information on their resumes. […]
To credit check or not to credit check?
The popular KnowHR blog recently ran a post that generated lots of comment from HR types. The title was A Master’s Class in Hiring a Person With Credit Wrecked By Bad Health and Being Laid Off.
The blogger shared the story of a person who’d been out of work for some time because of medical problems. Because he was out of work and had medical bills, his credit suffered. The blogger asked how other HR people would handle the use of a credit report in hiring or not hiring the person.
The discussion devolved into a question of whether or not you should use a credit check if a position is not, as once commenter put it, “cash sensitive.” But this isn’t an either/or kind of question. The real question is: “How do you use a pre-employment credit check?”
A credit check gives you straight credit information, of course. But it also gives you some data on addresses and employment. You can check that data against resume or application entries.
No matter how you use it, a credit check should never make your hiring decision for you. Use it as a starting point for questions. Use it as one of several sources of information.
In the case of the person the blogger wrote about, the claim was that the sole cause of the poor credit was the combination of job loss/medical expenses. If that’s true, then the current credit situation might not be a barrier to hiring.
But you have to keep asking questions. It […]
Fitting Your Background Check to Your Hiring Strategy
The Macon Telegraph recently ran a story with this provocative headline: “Problem principals: Bibb school leaders had problems at previous jobs.” Here’s the lead.
In the past 18 months, four Bibb County principals were investigated for allegations ranging from choking a student and mismanaging federal money to testing blunders and having an affair with a subordinate.
Three of the principals had repeated problems in previous jobs, and the other one was the subject of several complaints before he was placed on paid leave and then resigned, school records show.
Those “problems in previous jobs” are the things that background checks are supposed to catch. They did. Once you catch something, you need to take some action.
A criminal background check does you no good if you don’t use what you find. Usually, that means you use it as a starting point for investigation.
Investigation is the key. After investigating one of the principals who had “issues” in a previous job, Bibb County hired him anyway. Here’s how Sylvia McGee, Bibb County’s deputy superintendent put it: “We want strong principals who are going to be what we consider to be change agents.”
The principal in question had improved the test scores at the school where he was. This particular hire turned out to be controversial. But McGee is sure that the district gets it right most of the time.
Even if they do, this story raises a bigger question for Bibb County and for you. What are your overall hiring criteria? What is it you’re looking […]
How do they steal? Let me count the ways
Theft you will always have with you. The fact is that people steal. They will steal from you. They will steal from you no matter what you do.
You can throw up your hands and let the thieves have their way. Or do something about it.
Start by being aware of some of the many ways that employees steal. It comes to you courtesy of one of the standard professional references: The Small Business Fraud Manual from the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners. Here are just a few ways that employees can get into your pocket.
They steal cash. They may take money right out of the till or the petty cash fund.
They steal by setting up phony vendors and paying them. This is a bit more sophisticated, but very common. Putting in for more pay than they deserve is a variation of this one.
They steal inventory or supplies. Sometimes this is low-cost items, like office supplies. Sometimes it’s merchandise or machines worth hundreds or even thousands of dollars.
They steal by using equipment for their personal needs. This can be anything from hand tools or the office copier to giant construction equipment and sophisticated computers.
What can you do? Start with good hiring.
Use criminal background checks and pre-employment credit checks to help you spot potential trouble. Be sure to check references.
Set up policies and procedures that make it hard to steal or misuse equipment and that make it easy to catch when it happens. Your accountant can offer guidance on good […]