Month: March 2012

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Background Checks Human Resources Miscellany preemployment screening Retaining Employees Staffing Uncategorized

When Workplace Violence is Not the Greatest Career Move

As a background screening company, Corra Group hears of incidents of workplace violence.  We review criminal records that are the results of convictions due to workplace violence.   I have written extensively on the subject with one such article  entitled, When Workplace Violence Reaches Critical Mass.

But now here is a really unique story where a California Deputy DA allegedly threatened her boss with workplace violence.   In fact, it is alleged  she threatened to kill her boss.    In fact she allegedly specified how she would perform the nefarious deed.  By injecting her boss with insulin.    She was arrested for her efforts and now faces criminal charges.

According to the article in the Desert Dispatch….”Hass told investigators McClanahan came to Hass’s office the day the threat was made and said she wanted to kill herself. Hass called 911, and McClanahan was taken to Barstow Community Hospital by ambulance. When Hass was speaking with McClanahan in the hospital later that day, McClanahan told her she wanted to kill Peterson, adding it would be easy to load up a syringe with insulin and inject her when the two were alone in the elevator.

Insulin, when injected into a non-diabetic person, may result in a coma and possibly death.  This was not the first time McClanahan threatened to murder Peterson, according to the affidavit.”

According to the article, the Deputy DA had a bucket list of people she would murder if she discovered she only had a short time to live.   How interesting that she allegedly voice this to her co-workers.   Not real smart and definitely not the world’s greatest career move.

The Deputy DA may join defendants she has prosecuted as a guest of the State.   From a prosecutor to making license plates, or whatever.   I wouldn’t call it an enviable career track.

 

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Background Checks Economy Human Resources Miscellany preemployment screening Recruiting Staffing Uncategorized

Corra Group Increases International Education Verification Background Checks

Corra Group has worked with its global partners to improve the turnaround times on international education background checks. As the demand for international education verification has escalated in recent years, the Los Angeles headquartered background checking service has improved its speed of delivery by approximately thirty percent.

“International education verification is increasingly a vital part of the employment screening program,” said Gordon Basichis, Corra Group Co-Founder. “With more skilled employees entering this country to work with American based businesses, there is an expanded need to verify diplomas and skill sets. We find this to be particularly the case in the healthcare and the technology sectors where quite often the employer is either directly or indirectly under a government contract where certain background check compliance standards are mandated.

For the complete release go to this link

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Background Checks Criminal Records Miscellany Recruiting Retaining Employees Staffing Uncategorized

The Crazy Costs of Workplace Fraud

Once upon a time a dear friend told me about the issues he was having in his apparel manufacturing plant where certain employees were in business for themselves.  This meant their raking off inventory, dresses, blouses, and such, and selling the stolen merchandise to anyone who would pay cash.   Upon doing researcher, my friend found is otherwise unaccounted merchandise in the flea markets in downtown Los Angeles and with different off price venues.   The stealing or shrinkage, as it was politely called,  was costing his company a fair amount of money.

My friend said that one of the key factors involving in-house employee theft were the morale issues.  Other employees, honest employees, are most often aware of the employee thievery going on.  They find it disheartening.   Morale drops and with the decline of morale worker production drops accordingly.   According to my friend, once a private security agency is called in, there is often no need to subject the suspected thieves to the lie detector tests.  The mere act of  turning on the lie detector apparatus, compels most of the suspects to confess all, singing like canaries.   The reasoning, my friend guessed, is that they would not have to admit to previous or ancillary indiscretions that may be asked during the briefing session.

According to an article in the Montreal Gazette, workplace fraud is costing Canada’s small and medium enterprise a hefty $3.2 Billion a year.    And that is with the understanding that 75% of the crimes go unreported, so there is a potential addition of close to another Billion Dollars to that figure.   Extrapolate that into a much larger and, consequentially, worse behaved American economy and the numbers start to mount into some really serious money.  In Canada, some 290 thousand small and medium sized businesses were victimized by workplace fraud, last year.  Figure what that translates to in American companies subjected to the same types of crimes.   In the article, it was predicted that the incidences of workplace fraud would rise as the economy slowed.

In Canada, workplace fraud costs somewhere between five and ten percent of the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP).  Ten percent of the bankrupt businesses cite workplace fraud as one of the reasons that caused them to fail.   In Canada, workplace fraud costs somewhere between five and ten percent of the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP).  Ten percent of the bankrupt businesses cite workplace fraud as one of the reasons that caused them to fail.  Ironically, most of the companies interviewed believed their risk of being subjected to workplace fraud were low.  Statistics proved otherwise.  Most, however, did not have a response strategy or program in effect.

The article also indicated that companies should review their policies carefully and tailor security to fit the needs of each individual business.  The article also suggested that companies conduct pre-employment background checks on all employees and issue a zero tolerance policy that all employees are mandated to sign.  Detection and prevention measures against workplace fraud should be viewed as an investment and not a cost.  In all, you will save more than you spend.

 

Categories
Background Checks Economy Human Resources Miscellany preemployment screening Staffing Uncategorized

Corra Group Expands Employment Screening Packages for American Manufacturers

Corra Group has created various employment screening packages to assist employers who are experiencing substantial increases in domestic manufacturing. Due to the weaker dollar, and outsorucing concerns about quality control, production has become cost effective for American factories and manufacturing has improved by close to eight percent.

“Increased manufacturing has had a major impact for the United States,” said Gordon Basichis, Corra Group Co-Founder. “It improves the economy in general and generates added revenue in everything from the nation’s shipping ports to the local and regional factories. The more we produce in the United States, the more we can sell domestically or export to other countries.

 

For the full article go to this link.