Background Screening

Background checks to protect children - a man accused of sexually assaulting an 8-year-old boy he taught at a rec center also had been working with children at two Denver elementary schools. Read more

Man sold drugs at pizzeria- Police arrested a 31-year-old CiCi's Pizza manager who they believe may have been the main source of Ecstasy for Grapevine-Colleyville school district teens and operated out of the restaurant. Read more

Truckers often carry rap sheets - Of 953 truckers faulted in fatal crashes from 2000 through 2005, at least 1 in 4 had been convicted of a criminal offense or received deferred adjudication before the crash. More than 14 percent had committed drug or alcohol offenses prior to their accidents, and more than one in 10 were felons. Read more

Band director charged with student rape - The director of the Delaware State University band has been charged with second-degree rape, two counts of third-degree unlawful sexual contact, and providing alcohol to an underage person. Read more

INFOLINK SCREENING SERVICES ROLLS OUT VASTLY EXPEDITED AND IMPROVED ELECTRONIC
FORM I-9 COMPLIANCE PROCESS

With a click, companies can easily pre-populate the Form I-9 enabling faster completion. This electronic I-9 Form virtually eliminates human error while simultaneously creating a completely paperless I-9 process.

E-Sign Act compliant click-to-sign solution
Chatsworth, Calif., October 17, 2006 – InfoLink Screening Services, a subsidiary of Kroll Inc., working closely with Form I-9 Compliance, LLC, today announced that it has rolled out a new version of InfoLink's 'Form I-9 eSolutions' process which greatly expedites compliance with the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) – the government mandated employment eligibility program designed to identify unauthorized illegal workers. Highlights include the ability to pre-populate the Form I-9 with one click, an electronic signature using an E-Sign Act compliant click-to-sign solution, and verifying the employment eligibility of each new hire.

The Form I-9 eSolutions service substantially fills gaps in earlier processes via sophisticated error detection and 'smart form' technology. The process not only enables employers to confidently hire new employees in full compliance with the law, but also complies with existing and pending comprehensive immigration reform legislation. The negative consequences to businesses in violation of these laws are increasing.

Key highlights of InfoLink's new process include:

• Error-detecing electronic Form I-9 which virtually eliminates processing errors;
  
• Fast processing – InfoLink's e-Form includes automatic pre-population of sections, allowing completion, electronic signature, and electronic submission within seconds;
  
• Secure, paperless Form I-9 storage allowing for anytime, anywhere access for updating or government inspection;
  
• Automated Management alerts for expiring work authorizations enabling employees to renew and legally continue working without interruption;
  
• An 'Add eDocuments' feature which allows employers to attach related I-9 documents to stored I-9 Forms;
  
• Extensive Multi-level Management reports including pending and archived I-9 Forms, pending and archived right to work verifications, expiring work authorizations, and re-verifications;
  
• Optional features which instantly transmits employee data to the Social Security Administration and Department of Homeland Security to verify if that employee has a right to work in the United States.
  

"Aside from the important legal compliance aspects of the new electronic process, employers will find a number of benefits including less time demands on human resources staff, improved accuracy of payroll and tax reporting, and the ability to form a more stable workforce," says Barry Nadell, President of InfoLink Screening. "Additionally, this system protects jobs for individuals who have a legal right to work in the U.S."

About InfoLink Screening Services: InfoLink Screening Services is a leading provider of employment background checks, drug testing, physical exams and Form I-9 eSolutions. Thousands of companies nationwide rely on InfoLink before they finalize their hiring decisions. InfoLink's exceptional service, fast turnaround, legal compliance and accuracy enable companies to Hire with Confidence®. InfoLink operates as part of the Background Screening division of Kroll, the global risk consulting company. For more information, visit www.infolinkscreening.com or call 800-990-HIRE (4473).

About Kroll: Kroll, the world’s leading risk consulting company, provides a wide range of investigative, intelligence, financial, security and technology services through offices in more than 65 cities in over 25 countries. Kroll’s Background Screening division is comprised of InfoLink Screening Services, based in Chatsworth, Calif., Kroll Background America, Inc., based in Nashville, Tenn., and other Kroll subsidiaries in Canada, the United Kingdom, Poland, India and South Africa. In the United States, the Background Screening division provides employee and vendor background investigations and identity theft services. It serves a wide range of corporate, government and non-profit clientele, most notably those in financial services and highly regulated industries such as health care and transportation. For more information, visit www.kroll.com.

Bush signs law for national sex offender registry

President George W. Bush on Thursday signed legislation that will establish a national sex offender registry and try to make it harder for sexual predators to reach children on the Internet.

The legislation, called the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006, is named for Adam Walsh, a 6-year-old boy who was abducted 25 years ago on July 27, 1981, and eventually killed.

The boy's death prompted his father, John Walsh, to lead a long effort to seek greater protections against violence crime. He became host of "America's Most Wanted," a television show aimed at catching criminals.

"The bill I sign today will strengthen federal laws to protect our children from sexual and other violent crimes, will help prevent child pornography, and will make the Internet safer for our sons and daughters," Bush said in signing the new law in the White House Rose Garden.

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children estimates that there are more than 560,000 registered sex offenders in the United States. About 100,000 are not registered or do not have up-to-date registrations.

The legislation will create a national sex offender registry, available to the public, to plug gaps in existing state systems and community notification requirements.

An offender who does not keep his registration up to date in any state in which he lives, works or attends school could face felony charges and up to 10 years in prison.

It will also create a registry for substantiated cases of child abuse or neglect to help law enforcement and child protective services.

Addressing concern about Internet predators and online pornography, the bill establishes education grants, and provides for 200 new federal prosecutors and 45 new computer forensic scientists to work on such crimes.

Cable Installers & Criminal Backgrounds - Charter Communications hired a contractor with a manslaughter conviction and an installer with a suspended driver's license and two orders of protection in his past. Read more

Suspect in sex crime coached in youth event in Chesapeake - Despite a conviction four years ago and another arrest recently on charges of inappropriate conduct with a child, the 38-year-old was able to coach boys and girls at the Mayor's Cup T-Ball Classic. Read more

McDonald's says it's beefing up its hiring policies to keep sexual predators out of its restaurants - Read more

School hired murderer; state cancels license - The license of a private alternative school in Gresham, OR has been suspended after a teacher's aide was accused of rape and turned out to be convicted murderer. The Oregon Department of Education also has instructed the Academy of Alternatives to complete background checks on four of its staff members. Read more

Bill to track sex offenders in care homes - The Suffolk (New York) Legislature is expected to adopt a bill that will require nursing home operators to determine whether their employees, residents, volunteers and student interns are listed on the state's sex offender registry. Read more

Nursing home worker checks can be lacking - Employee screenings get renewed attention after the case of a woman sentenced to jail for stealing elderly patients’ morphine. Read more

Background check could have foiled embezzler - Man had three convictions when the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality put him in charge of handling payments for water permits. He later pled guilty to embezzling more than $180,000. Read more

Hill Impasse Spurs States to Tackle Illegal Immigration - State legislatures around the nation are considering hundreds of proposals dealing with illegal immigration, reflecting the exasperation of many local officials with Congress's failure to contend with the millions of undocumented workers who have entered the nation in recent years. Read more

Food-stamp workers had criminal backgrounds - In a rush to find workers after Hurricane Wilma, Florida's Department of Children and Families hired dozens of temporary workers with criminal backgrounds to handle food-stamp applications that contained Social Security numbers and other personal information. Read more

Teen who says art teacher abused him sues board - A Miramar teenager who told police his middle school teacher molested him is suing the Broward School Board for negligence. Read more

Jury Seated in Wal-Mart Negligence Suit - A jury has been picked to hear a lawsuit by the family of a girl who claims Wal-Mart failed to protect her because the company didn't require criminal background checks on its employees. Read more

RESUMES: JUST THE FACTS, PLEASE - A report released in 2005 by InfoLink Screening Services said that 14 percent of employees lied about education on their resumes. Read more

In Wake of Student's Murder, Lawmakers Press To Allow Officers To Work as Bouncers - Read more

Knowing is half the battle, especially for new hires - Workplace assaults total 2 million each year. Employee theft costs $40 billion annually and causes 30 percent of business failures. Lawsuits for negligent hiring are on the rise and can cost a company millions. Read more

More states consider guns-at-work legislation - Legislation being proposed in Georgia and Virginia that would allow licensed gun owners to legally store weapons in vehicles parked on company property may heighten fears of increased workplace violence incidents among area security directors. Read more

City jailer resigns in wake of investigation - A A Zanesville, Ohio corrections officer has resigned after an internal investigation revealed he has a history of sexual harassment and lied on his job application. Read more

Barkeeps rely on bouncers’ reps - NYPD investigators are focusing their probe into the slaying of Imette St. Guillen of Mission Hill on Darryl Littlejohn, a 41-year-old violent ex-con with a lengthy criminal record who worked as a bouncer at The Falls bar in Soho. Read more

InfoLink Screening Services Joins Kroll's Background Screening Division
Kroll Inc., the global risk consulting company, announced today that it has completed the acquisition of InfoLink Screening Services, Inc., a leading, privately-held background screening company headquartered in Chatsworth, Calif., a Los Angeles suburb. InfoLink will operate as the West Coast hub office for Kroll’s Background Screening division, which is headquartered in Nashville, Tenn. Read more

Seeking out criminal pasts - A report last month in the Detroit News showed the result of conducting criminal background checks on 200,000 current school employees in Michigan, as mandated by a school safety law that went into effect Jan. 1. More than 4,600 of the employees had committed criminal offenses, of which 2,200 were felonies. More than 100 of the crimes were sex offenses. Among current employees, 23 were convicted of homicide, 21 of armed robbery, 11 of child abuse, 10 of escaping jail or prison and 355 of drug felonies. Read more

Oh, what a tangled résumé - People who write résumés are trying to market themselves. So like businesses advertising products, perhaps it's not surprising that they sometimes polish the truth. Companies that perform background checks on job seekers say perhaps 20 percent either make a false claim on their applications, or neglect to mention problems. Read more

Prep-school loss: Trusted friend and $1 million - Rex Stephen "Mr. Steve" Clark was like a son to William and Pouneh Alcott, someone they thought they could always count on. The relationship started when Clark enrolled his two children in the private school they founded, Lake Mary Prep. Soon, Clark was doing volunteer work. The Alcotts liked him so much, they added him to the payroll. Then they put him in charge. That's when things went terribly wrong. Authorities say he began stealing from the school, siphoning cash in small and large amounts during a 2 1/2-year period. He eventually took more than $1 million, police say. Read more

Ice cream peddlers could face checks - Mr. Softee, beware. To sell your frozen treats, you and the Good Humor Man would have to undergo a background check under a measure that passed the House on Friday. Also under the dessert bill, sex offenders and certain convicted criminals would not be allowed to peddle treats if the bill becomes law. Read more

Charter school principal is fired - The new principal of Buffalo United Charter School, who was arrested twice in four months in 2003 for allegedly threatening his estranged wife, was fired Friday. Charter school officials apparently had been unaware of Michael P. Carr's criminal background until it was brought to their attention by a Buffalo News reporter earlier in the day. Read more

Rejection raises doubt about credit - The law requires companies to disclose the source of adverse actions against employees or potential employees, but only if the information came from an outside consumer-reporting agency. Read more

40 known felons employed by the University of Wisconsin System Read more

The Rules Have Changed for Corporate Criminals - Have You Ever Been Convicted of a Felony? Read more

Meth Taking Toll on Businesses, State
Meth use has increased among U.S. workers by 86 percent over the past five years. It also jumped 13 percent in the first half of 2005 among workers in jobs and industries required by the federal government to test employees in high-risk and safety-related positions.
Read more

Background check nabs robbery suspect
Louisville police get break in Georgia. A man wanted in two armed robberies in Louisville was arrested yesterday after applying for a job at a charitable organization in Macon, Ga. Read more

Spherion temps indicted in fraud
Temporary workers who were assigned to Red Cross call centers by Spherion have been accused of giving away thousands of dollars intended for Hurricane Katrina. At least 17 workers placed at a Red Cross call center by Fort Lauderdale-based Spherion have been indicted on fraud charges, raising the issue of screening checks done by staffing agencies that supply temporary workers. Read more

Background checks get more important
Companies are relying more on pre-employment background checks to ease security concerns and protect against costly lawsuits. “It’s getting more important,” said privacy lawyer Robert Belair, editor of the Privacy and American Business newsletter. “The incidence of negligent hiring lawsuits is way up.” Read more