COMMERCIAL INVESTIGATIONS LLC
| MR. DUE DILIGENCE |
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| DUE DILIGENCE: SHATTERED “PIPE” DREAM & A CLEAN SLATE |
DATE: MARCH 2006
Mr. Due Diligence continues his job search this month after finding a closed door at
his former employer, Quick Fix Hospital. Due’s background investigation report
revealed that his “sabbatical” was actually because of jail time served for a
controlled substance conviction, not family issues as he claimed.
Due’s “pipe dream” of becoming hospital administrator at Quick Fix Hospital was
shattered because of their background investigations policy. Quick Fix Hospital
followed the requirements of the Fair Credit Reporting Act and provided Due with
both a Pre-adverse Action notice, with a copy of his background investigations
report, and an Adverse Action notice.
As a result of this process, Due has now become more aware of the screening
process. He is now looking for a “crack” to fall through. Due was surprised that
although he was convicted under his alias, Bad Diligence, his criminal record was
accurate and complete because of the SSN & Address verification. He also realized
that his latest conviction was uncovered despite the fact that it was in a county that
he never resided in. This was because the hospital’s policy called for CI to run the
NY Statewide criminal search which includes misdemeanor and felony convictions
for all counties in NY State.
It is typical for convicted criminals and rejected candidates to focus their job search
on companies that do not perform background investigations. That means
companies that do not conduct screening will typically have a disproportionate
percentage of convicted criminals, sex offenders and drug abusers working for
them.
It is important for employers who conduct background investigations to deter
undesirables from even applying for positions by clearly communicating that they
conduct background investigations. Employers should include such a statement in
all job postings and ads. Deterring undesirables from applying will result in
considerable time and cost savings.
Due applied for a position at Clean Sweep, a janitorial service company. Due did not
apply for a position in the office, but rather a field position. Clean Sweep, as Due
was well aware, is a company that provides services to Quick Fix Hospital.
Quick Fix Hospital, as well as many other clients of Clean Sweep, requires vendors
with access to their facilities to conduct background screening on all employees
providing services on their property. However, they failed to define specific
requirements for the depth of their vendor’s background investigations.
Quick Fix Hospital is Clean Sweep’s largest client. Clean Sweep made certain to
meet the background screening requirement when it was implemented two years
ago, the same time Quick Fix implemented its own policy. However, Clean Sweep
was meeting the requirement by running an inexpensive check from a company they
found online called Cheap Check. Cheap Check touted their results as an instant
national check.
The reality is there is no reliable national criminal database. The database results
that Cheap Check passed onto Clean Sweep did not show Due’s convictions under
his alias, Bad Diligence. The results also did not include misdemeanors. Because
the database Cheap Check used included only higher level felonies from Department
of Corrections data, typically where incarceration time exceeded one year, the
background check done was not only cheap, but virtually useless.
Stay tuned and find out in the next issue if Due is able to clean up his act or just
“clean house” at the hospital as an employee of Clean Sweep.
TO BE CONTINUED . . .
his former employer, Quick Fix Hospital. Due’s background investigation report
revealed that his “sabbatical” was actually because of jail time served for a
controlled substance conviction, not family issues as he claimed.
Due’s “pipe dream” of becoming hospital administrator at Quick Fix Hospital was
shattered because of their background investigations policy. Quick Fix Hospital
followed the requirements of the Fair Credit Reporting Act and provided Due with
both a Pre-adverse Action notice, with a copy of his background investigations
report, and an Adverse Action notice.
As a result of this process, Due has now become more aware of the screening
process. He is now looking for a “crack” to fall through. Due was surprised that
although he was convicted under his alias, Bad Diligence, his criminal record was
accurate and complete because of the SSN & Address verification. He also realized
that his latest conviction was uncovered despite the fact that it was in a county that
he never resided in. This was because the hospital’s policy called for CI to run the
NY Statewide criminal search which includes misdemeanor and felony convictions
for all counties in NY State.
It is typical for convicted criminals and rejected candidates to focus their job search
on companies that do not perform background investigations. That means
companies that do not conduct screening will typically have a disproportionate
percentage of convicted criminals, sex offenders and drug abusers working for
them.
It is important for employers who conduct background investigations to deter
undesirables from even applying for positions by clearly communicating that they
conduct background investigations. Employers should include such a statement in
all job postings and ads. Deterring undesirables from applying will result in
considerable time and cost savings.
Due applied for a position at Clean Sweep, a janitorial service company. Due did not
apply for a position in the office, but rather a field position. Clean Sweep, as Due
was well aware, is a company that provides services to Quick Fix Hospital.
Quick Fix Hospital, as well as many other clients of Clean Sweep, requires vendors
with access to their facilities to conduct background screening on all employees
providing services on their property. However, they failed to define specific
requirements for the depth of their vendor’s background investigations.
Quick Fix Hospital is Clean Sweep’s largest client. Clean Sweep made certain to
meet the background screening requirement when it was implemented two years
ago, the same time Quick Fix implemented its own policy. However, Clean Sweep
was meeting the requirement by running an inexpensive check from a company they
found online called Cheap Check. Cheap Check touted their results as an instant
national check.
The reality is there is no reliable national criminal database. The database results
that Cheap Check passed onto Clean Sweep did not show Due’s convictions under
his alias, Bad Diligence. The results also did not include misdemeanors. Because
the database Cheap Check used included only higher level felonies from Department
of Corrections data, typically where incarceration time exceeded one year, the
background check done was not only cheap, but virtually useless.
Stay tuned and find out in the next issue if Due is able to clean up his act or just
“clean house” at the hospital as an employee of Clean Sweep.
TO BE CONTINUED . . .