Increasingly, more public service agencies are discovering that not all employees have represented themselves and their background histories as accurately as anyone would like. Be it state or municipal public service agencies, school boards or teachers, everyday there are no discovers that…ooops…someone hired has either a criminal record or is a sexual offender.
Despite the economic downturn and the need for most public agencies to watch their budgets, there is an growing awareness that as a public servant you absolutely most conduct background checks on your employment candidates. Not just background checks, but thorough background checks. Otherwise, you run the risk of hiring workers who could prove a threat to your other work staff, to children, or who may decided to abscond with their unfair share of state or local funding.
Given the cost of background checks, the liability issues are much greater. As said, not only do public service agencies, who do not conduct background checks, run the risk of endangering the workplace on in some cases students and children that were entrusted to them, but they risk very extensive lawsuits and the incumbent liability issues. They risk the type of public embarrassment that so many public service agencies have experienced over the last couple of years.
According to Fox8 News of Greensboro, Winston Salem, Employees of the local school system will be subject to random background checks in addition to the preemployment screening program conducted during the recruitment phase for new job candidates. This prudent decision came after one teacher was arrested for charges of sexual misconduct. It was discovered then that he had a prior embezzlement conviction.
I applaud the Winston-Salem/ForsythCounty School Board for its wise choice. “If we can do anything to keep our students safe, it’s worth every penny,” said Dossie Poteat, the Principal of the of the East Forsyth Middle School.
Wise words indeed.
Check them out before you hire.
