Category: Personal Background Checks

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Deck the Halls with Safety Calls: The Crucial Role of Background Checks During the Holiday Season

Employee Theft Jumps During the Holiday Season…Do You Know Who You’re Hiring?

The holiday season is here and businesses across the country are gearing up for the festive rush, hiring an influx of seasonal workers to meet the increased demand. While seasonal workers play a pivotal role in helping businesses navigate the hectic holiday period, the urgency to quickly fill positions can compromise the quality of hires.  According to Jack L. Hayes International, Inc. their 35th Annual Retail Theft Survey reports that in 2022, nearly 45,000 dishonest employees were apprehended (up 18%) and over $50 million recovered from these employees (up 14.7%). That’s where background checks become indispensable in ensuring a safe and secure holiday experience for both customers and employers.

One company leading the charge in this critical aspect of hiring is Corra Group, a leading provider of background investigations and pre-employment screening solutions. With expertise in providing comprehensive background checks, Corra Group emphasizes the significance of due diligence, especially during the holiday season. The Professional Background Screening Association (PBSA) also advises background checks for holiday hires, citing the importance of using a professional screening firm to do so. A “do it yourself” approach can lead to inadequate screening and open up employers to legal ramifications.

Nick Gustavson, Cofounder and President of Corra Group, highlights the importance of pre-employment screening: “Employee theft surges during this time because of an increase in foot traffic, making it easier for theft to go unnoticed. Seasonal personnel also tend to be less loyal than full-time employees, and there is also an increased financial burden on workers during the holidays. Background checks help employers identify red flags and make informed decisions, create a safer work environment, and reduce theft.”

Beyond safeguarding against theft and fraud, Corra Group understands that background checks also contribute to creating a secure and positive customer experience. Employers in the hospitality and retail sectors understand the significance of ensuring that their staff, especially temporary hires, meet the necessary standards of trustworthiness and professionalism.

Corra Group’s background checks cover a range of crucial areas, including criminal records, employment verifications, and reference checks. Gustavson adds, “Our comprehensive screening services are designed to provide employers with the information they need to make confident and informed hiring decisions, particularly when managers are preoccupied given the increase in business during the holiday season.”

About Corra Group

Corra Group is a full-service background screening company that provides background checks and employment screening to clients throughout the United States and around the world. With 20 years of experience, they are focused on helping clients provide a first-class candidate experience during the hiring process. Corra Group is dedicated to helping businesses make informed hiring decisions while ensuring a safer and more secure work environment. It is also one of the few companies that will answer the phone. To learn more, visit CorraGroup.com.

Check out Corra Group’s article here.

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Background Checks Criminal Records Healthcare Employment Advice Human Resources Miscellany Personal Background Checks preemployment screening Retaining Employees Staffing

Corra Group Adds Monthly Sanctions Monitoring Background Checks for the Healthcare Industry

Medical Sanctions
Medical Sanctions

Corra Group has added monthly monitoring of healthcare sanctions background checks to its healthcare employment screening program. The monthly monitoring system helps keep any healthcare related institutions, including hospitals and medical centers, staffing and recruiting contractors, in compliance with the new guidelines issues last year from of the Office of Inspector General.

The updated OIG policy bulletin stipulates that “no Federal health care program payment may be made for any items or services furnished (1) by an excluded person or (2) at the medical direction or on the prescription of an excluded person.”

“Corra Group has offered a comprehensive list of background checks to the healthcare industry,” said Nick Gustavson, Corra Group Co-Founder. “We provide such employment screening services as criminal records searches and drug screening. But now that the updated GSA guidelines are gaining impact, we are finding more of our healthcare clients requesting regular monitoring sanctions programs for their current and future employees.

“We are offering several types of healthcare related monitoring programs for excluded and sanctioned parties,” said Gustavson. “With one program we offer the Level One and Level Three FACIS searches. The Level One is a monthly search of the OIG and GSA excluded parties list. The Level Three FACIS search includes the OIG and GSA excluded parties list as well includes the OIG and GSA lists but incorporates any sanctions or disciplinary actions from some 2,500 local, state, or federal healthcare related agencies.

 

For the complete press release click on this link.

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Background Checks Criminal Records Economy Human Resources Miscellany Personal Background Checks preemployment screening Uncategorized

When Employees Rob You Blind

We all hear about employees who steal from their employers.  Since the Recession and the economic downturn, employee theft has been up considerably.  Employees have personal financial difficulties, they get into all sorts of economic trouble, and then they embezzle to compensate.   Pretty remarkable, but many go for a long time before they are finally caught.  If they are caught.

We hear about bartenders who still from the till, employees who create a false vendor account in the company files and then invoice and pay for goods and services never rendered.

But here is a woman who stole from the church. She stole more than $1 Million from the Archdiocese of New York.  A million bucks.   That’s quite a bit more than robbing the collection plate.   She was sentenced to 4 and a half to nine years in prison.    As she is an elderly woman, that’s a tough price to pay.  But as they say…if you can’t do the time…..

According to the article in the  Wall Street Journal, A the Archdiocese had not conducted a background check that would have had revealed this woman had been caught stealing in the past.

According to the article…”Collins had previously been convicted of grand larceny in 1999 for stealing $46,000 from a temporary employment agency. However, officials from the Archdiocese, who did not comment on Collins’ sentencing Thursday, have said they were unaware of  Collins past criminal record because they were not doing pre-employment background checks when they hired her in 2003.

Authorities say that between July 2004 and December 2011 as an accounts payable clerk, Collins cut 468 unauthorized checks to “KB Collins” and deposited them in a bank account she controlled. She then manipulated the Archdiocese’s computer accounting system to make it appear as if they checks had been issued to a legitimate vendor.”

 

 

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Background Checks Criminal Records Economy Human Resources Miscellany Personal Background Checks preemployment screening Retaining Employees Staffing Uncategorized

Changes in the Law for Massachusetts CORI Criminal Background Checks

Massachusetts its changing its laws for the CORI search, formally known as Criminal Offender Record Information.  Come May 4th, 2021 Massachusetts employers, especially will have to modify their hiring practices with respect to the criminal background checks.

 

Here ae some of the more relevant factors—

Proposed Regulations: Key Points For Employers

Notification To Applicant Prior to Potential Adverse Decision

Employers who intend to take adverse action based on criminal history information must notify the applicant, provide the applicant with several specific pieces of information, afford the applicant an opportunity to dispute the accuracy of the criminal history at issue, and document all steps taken to comply with these requirements. Unlike with the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act, the new CORI requirement exists regardless of whether a third party is used to obtain the criminal history information.

Using a Consumer Reporting Agency (“CRA”) to Make Employment Decisions

Employers using CRAs to collect criminal history information on employees or applicants are required to make certifications to the CRA regarding the employer’s CORI compliance measures, in addition to providing disclosures to the individuals being screened both before the employer requests a criminal history report from the CRA and before taking any adverse action based on information that the CRA provides.

The regulations also provide a separate set of requirements that apply when an employer outsources the decision-making process regarding an employee’s eligibility for hire to the CRA, rather than merely requesting criminal history information from the CRA.

Obtaining CORI from DCJIS

Employers who obtain criminal record information from DCJIS must submit acknowledgement forms for each applicant, verify the identity of the applicant by examining a government-issued identification, and certify that the applicant was properly identified. These acknowledgement forms must be maintained by the employer for one year from the date the applicant signs the form.

 

For more information, we suggest you review the website for the attorneys, Seyfarth Shaw.