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Slow Moving Background Checks Put New Mexico Legislature on Hold

It has been decided that New Mexico Lawmakers cannot hold confirmation hearings for the University of New Mexico Board of Regents during the legislative session.   According to an article in the Seattle Times, the hearings should be delayed, it was decided.  and why the delay?  Because the background checks conducted on the Board of Regents Candidates did not come back in time.

Additionally, there is a dispute with the Department of Public Safety.   The DPS will not conduct background checks on higher-level officials.     Is  this resistance  atrributable to a  steadfast belief that there is no corruption on the higher levels of government?  Well, we know the answer to that one.  Or is it that that the Department of Public Safety believes it may find embarrassing information on government officials?  Hard to say.  Could even be none of the above.  In any event,it is the attorney generals’ office that will be conducting the background searches.   Remarkable.  Although as oen who lived in New Mexico, it is fair to say that government or anything else, for that matter, doesn’t always run as smoothly as most would like.

That is but one of the reasons government is government and a business is a business.  Governments are immersed in bureaucracy.  We assume that and are surprised when they are not.  Businesses on the other hand are supposed to be fluid and while political bureaucratic at times, we are aware of how they suffer when their bureaucracies gets in the way.  Private enterprise at its best is fluid and flexible, capable of making adjustments in a timely fashion.   Private enterprise depends on speed and innovation.   These are its assets.

So when background checks do not return in time, the entire preemployment screening program breaks down.  Delays are no longer part of political dysfunction, they are serious flaws in the machinery.  with the economy so dire, the last thing either the human resources dpeartment needs are needless delays.   Executives desperate to staff new employees do not need to be waiting around for the background searches to return.

So if your background checks are not returning in a timely fahsion, try another background checking service.   Because in this day and age, it is vital to check them out before  you hire.

By Gordon Basichis

Gordon Basichis is the Co-Founder of Corra Group, specializing in pre-employment background checks and corporate research. He has been a marketing and media executive and has worked in the entertainment industry, the financial, health care and technology sectors. He is the author of the best selling Beautiful Bad Girl, The Vicki Morgan Story, a non-fiction novel that helped define exotic sexuality in the late twentieth century. He is the author of the Constant Travellers and has recently completed a new book, The Guys Who Spied for China, dealing with Chinese Espionage in the United States. He has been a journalist for several newspapers and is a screenwriter and producer.