Herald Business Journal
August, 1999 Issue
by John Wolcott, Journal Editor
Unfortunately, such workplace ills as murder, violence, sexual harassment and
theft-- to name just a few-- are increasingly a part of today's business
environment.
They may not have happened yet in your business, or where you work, but they
could. Just as fire prevention efforts help reduce the chance of an inferno,
background checks on job candidates can reduce the chance of hiring trouble
with a capital "T." Yet many businesses ignore opportunities to verify the
backgrounds of people they are hiring, sometimes with dire consequences.
In Minnesota, a woman raped at knife point by the resident manager of an
apartment house was paid $100,000 by her landlord after court testimony showed
the manager was on parole for an armed robbery conviction and the landlord had
not checked his background.
A real estate agent with a history of forgery duped a customer into paying off a
$158,000 loan. Because the company was aware of the agent's past offenses, it
had to re-pay the $158,000, plus $25,000 in punitive damages.
But others are heeding the warnings of a series of well publicized incidents in
recent years, particularly now that making background checks is easier, faster
and less costly than ever before. An Edmonds business, FactsFinder.com
Background Verification Checks, uses the Internet to access public records and
other documents to examine job candidates' past activities. Owners and search
specialists Steve and Phyllis Forister note a number of benefits from checking
employees' histories:
Background checking results in a better work force, less turnover, better
quality applicants, less internal theft and a safer workplace, they say.
Thorough checking provides critical information for making the best hiring
decision and avoiding the wrong hiring decision.
The records they check-- or those that companies can check themselves with the
firm's HireCheck software program-- include criminal convictions, credit
reports, civil cases, arrest warrants, motor vehicle reports, workers'
compensation records and verification of education, prior employers,
professional licenses and address and phone information.
Sure it's a shame to have to be so suspicious, to have to put aside the trust we
all like to he in each other. But there is growing evidence in today's business
world that there is no real choice anymore-- secure hiring practices not only
protect your business, they protect your other employees, the people who count
on you to provide a secure workplace.
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