There is a $750 Million theme park being planned in Spring Hill, TN, which is the Nashville area.   A background check revealed that the man behind the proposed theme park owes at lest $750 Thousand in judgments.   According to an article in the Reynolds Center, the principal behind this planned theme park, with its two hotels,  a sports arena, and the inevitable wter slide, owes nearly three fourth of a million in judgments.

In the article, which was picked up from the Nashville Business Journal, writer Annie Johnson, urges those interested in business ventures or deals where civil judgments could be a major concern if not a deal breaker, urges the usage of Pacer and Lexis Nexis.   This is all good.   But to really get to the issue of state and not federal cases, sometimes the mere listing of judgments and the figures are not enough.  Sometimes it is important to conduct county civil court records searches as part of your due diligence program.

County Civil Searches are hand searches, meaning they are pulled by hand from the county courthouse.    Of course, one must be aware of the county courthouse where the records are located.   The initial judgment search should tell you that much.   And then, for business research, is is a matter of first pulling the records, and then if the situation warrants, pulling court copies as well.

For background checks, using the free sites, the Google, Yahoo, etc, are good to a point.   The databases are often most helpful.   But to really get into the meat of it all, sometimes it is necessary to run the county civil records searches.   It is, after all, a relatively a modest investment for things like $750 million theme parks and even lesser business ventures.

There is a $750 Million theme park being planned in Spring Hill, TN, which is the Nashville area.   A background check revealed that the man behind the proposed theme park owes at lest $750 Thousand in judgments.   According to an article in the Reynolds Center, the principal behind this planned theme park, with its two hotels,  a sports arena, and the inevitable wter slide, owes nearly three fourth of a million in judgments.

In the article, which was picked up from the Nashville Business Journal, writer Annie Johnson, urges those interested in business ventures or deals where civil judgments could be a major concern if not a deal breaker, urges the usage of Pacer and Lexis Nexis.   This is all good.   But to really get to the issue of state and not federal cases, sometimes the mere listing of judgments and the figures are not enough.  Sometimes it is important to conduct county civil court records searches as part of your due diligence program.

County Civil Searches are hand searches, meaning they are pulled by hand from the county courthouse.    Of course, one must be aware of the county courthouse where the records are located.   The initial judgment search should tell you that much.   And then, for business research, is is a matter of first pulling the records, and then if the situation warrants, pulling court copies as well.

For background checks, using the free sites, the Google, Yahoo, etc, are good to a point.   The databases are often most helpful.   But to really get into the meat of it all, sometimes it is necessary to run the county civil records searches.   It is, after all, a relatively a modest investment for things like $750 million theme parks and even lesser business ventures.

Corporate espionage has been a growing concern for various industries.   Especially with this economic downturn, when businesses are doing all they can  do to survive, the last thing they need is theft of their proprietary data.   Corporate espionage can come from within and without.   There are foreign concerns that are looking to save the cost of research and development by stealing someone else’s proprietary data.    But don’t think the interlopers only originate from China and other foreign countries.   There are domestic companies who are also looking to get the edge on their competition by stealing their sensitive information.

Some who practice corporate espionage will do through by utilizing technology.   They will attempt to hack into the targeted companies system and retrieve the information from there.  Others will resort to the more traditional form, the old fashioned way.  They will pay someone to steal it for them.  More often than not, that someone is a current employee.   In a recent article in the Wall Street Journal, a former employee at Akamai Technologies,  Inc.  was arrested and charged with the illegal passing of information to a foreign agent.  According to the article, the suspect may have been passing confidential data for more than eighteen months.    The accused now faces some twenty years in jail.

But if he is guilty, then the damage has been done.  Recently it came to light that certain companies have had sensitive data pilfered that can cost them their first in field standings in the industries where they are involved.    It is often mundane stuff, a certain chemical used to enhance the product, a certain process they use for better results than competitors.   At first blush the stolen material may seem innocuous and incidental.  But six months later when competitors are using the same chemicals, the same process, then the consequences are fully realized.

When staffing, I would love to say there are background checks an employer can utilize in its employment screening program to prevent against corporate theft and corporate espionage.  There are, but with this type of thing there are no guarantees.   We discovered recently that it often pays to run a full background check, including employment verifications, on your job applicant.    If he worked jobs at related industries and didn’t stay long, this may be a red flag.    Seeing signs that an employee, other than a contractor got the job, worked awhile, and then left in what is an unreasonable time frame should arouse suspicions.   Likewise, when you run the employment candidate’s social security trace and see he has worked in cities where your competitors are heavyhearted, you, the employer, may wish to look further into the applicant’s job history.

If there is a open space where the applicant was unemployed but was residing in the city where you competition is located, you may ask for further explanation as to what that candidate was really doing at the time.   Additionally, it pays to check country criminal records, the most accurate of criminal records, and county civil records, to ascertain if your candidate was charged with any crimes or sued for misappropriation of information.

Check his Motor Vehicle Driving Record for any signs of substance abuse.   As part of your employment screening, you may want to check his credit report for signs of current or imminent financial difficulty.    I realize conducting employment credit reports can be an unpopular subject right now, replete with accusations of bias,and that corporate theft is not nearly the same hot button issue, but it may be necessary to consider any legal option available.

Writing about corporate espionage may seem a bit overwrought.   Some may find it a little too dramatic.  But ask the directors at Akamai Technologies how they may feel about it, or those at the two companies where some of their most sensitive data may have been stolen either by interlopers or past employees.   Ask them if they are taking it lightly and are now performing the due diligence available as part of their employment screening effort.    I am sure they can offer a very different perspective.

Friday, when the job market report came out, the crucial one before the mid-term election, numbers demonstrated the market didn’t improve, necessarily.  It also appears not to have gotten worse.  Earlier, there was the loss of some 95.000 jobs, most of them the part-time census workers.   The private sector hired 64,000 more employees, not as much as the experts had hoped for, but not the worst news, either.

It is clearly still not the best economy.   A few weeks ago yet another panel of analysts declared the Recession is over.   It isn’t if you are still out of work.  Recession is best measured as to whether one has a job or not.  But then today the stock market was up, an indicator of what exactly?  Businesses are maybe doing well, although their hiring quotas are way down?  A smaller payroll, a stronger bottom line?   I don’t know.   Eventually, it would seem the smaller staffs that are overworked would grow exhausted and productivity would diminish, causing an even more substantial hit to the bottom line than increasing the employment staff. We shall see.

As a background checking service, we like to keep an eye on these things.  As an American service, we want to see our national economy turnaround.   We like it when people are working.  Not just for our own business, but for the fact that people are happy, kids are fed and clothed, and families don’t bicker over financial matters.  Let’s face it, for many it has been positively dreadful out there.

We expect the economy will toddle along for awhile with no sharp increases and no sharp declines.   Stasis, if you will.   I think the double dip recession as highly overrated, as is the recovery.   It will take awhile.

Meanwhile, Happy Columbus Day.

Employment credit reports are taking a lot of heat these guys.  Several states have limited their use and now the next battlefield is California.  Certain civil groups claim the use of consumer credit reports for pre-employment screening is discriminatory and unfair, especial in this present economic downturn.    The opposition claims that employer rights are limited and that “increases the potential liability exposure for hiring decisions by unduly restricting the ability of businesses to use consumer credit reports as part of the background check process.

I know everytime I report anything about this, I get some flack for it.   A lot of people in search of work bleieve they are being mistreated.  Many employers complain that they are then forced to spend too much time dealing with employee creditors.  Anyway, I am not about to comment on this here.  My last blog article pertaining to employment credit reports will be published, tomorrow, September 23rd.

Meanwhile, I want to list the pros and cons as they have been listed on various websites.  So here are some of them…….

The Proposed California  Law, known as AB 482 (mendoza) that would restrict employer use of credit card reports as a background check for pre-employment screening purposes.

California Chamber of Commerce in what it lists as “Job Killer Bills,” had this to say–Expanded Employer Liability – Increases potential liability exposure for hiring decisions by unduly restricting the ability of businesses to use consumer credit reports as part of the background check  process.

California National Organization of Women “AB 482 (Mendoza) Ban the use of pre-employment credit checks. Support

Status: to Enrollment.

“AB 482 (Mendoza; D-Norwalk) Expanded Employer Liability. Increases potential liability exposure for hiring decisions by unduly restricting the ability of businesses to use consumer credit reports as part of the background check process. Hearing June 29 in Senate Judiciary Committee.

The League of California Cities Website.  ”AB 482 (Mendoza). Employment. Credit Reports. Prohibits an employer from using credit report information, for employment purposes, unless “substantially job related,” which could result in confusion, disagreement, and litigation over what is a “substantially job related” purpose.”

California Assembly Member and Author of the Proposed Bill, Tony Mendoza’s Website–AB 482 (Credit Check) - The bill would ban employers from using consumer credit reports in the hiring process.

From the Orange County Reigster–Top 20 Bd Bills Gov. Schwarzenegger Should Veto…”AB 482 (Mendoza) – Prohibits employers from considering an applicant’s credit history during the hiring process.  (Interestingly, the U.S. military uses credit checks as one means to determine the trustworthiness of military personnel to hold secrets.)

California Assembly Committe on the Judiciary Report

A recent article in Financial Chronicle reported that the Reserve Bank of India is going to conduct stringent background checks on any banks wanting to do business in that country.   Because of the financial meltdown, the RBI’s new policy will be to determine early if any banks seeking business entry into India pose financial risks.   According to the article, there are banks around the world, the United State, Europe, Japan, and China, especially, who are looking to open branches in India.

The economic meltdown has caused a slow down in the number of banks looking to open shops in India.   Many banks, as we know, got into financial trouble.   These banks cannot apply to expand services into new territories until they repay bailout money to their respective governments.

The Reserve Bank of India is demonstrating a great deal of wisdom in conducting these stringent background checks.   Are you doing the same with your business?   It is no secret that the economic downturn has caused a great many businesses to suffer financially.   Some have even closed down, while others are finding it difficult to pay their debt loads.  More than a few are having a tough time paying their debts.

Before you get involved with a business, as a client or a partner, it pays to conduct due diligence in the form of background checks and corporate research.   There are business credit reports that will demonstrate the general health of a company.   These are tools that can be used for pricing that is cost effective, even nominal.   Considering the losses you may face, the ounce of prevention is far more easy than confronting the pound of cure.

Check them out before you do business.  It’s the smart thing to do.

In the best of times there are nefarious creatures that will take a shot at you.    Scam artists of every stripe can utilize any one of the multiple fraudulent schemes to steal money from your business.   Some of the schemes are relatively new and based in the advanced technology  while others have been utilized for decades if not centuries.  If you think some of the more traditional fraud scams aren’t workable in this day and age, then just think Bernard Madoff and the notorious Ponzi Scheme.

Unfortunately, the Ponzi schemes does not just stop with Madoff.   As I write this there are dozens of persons have been recently sentenced for Ponzi schemes of their own.   Granted, these fraudsters weren’t nearly as ambitious of Madoff.   They only took off individuals and businesses for $100 Million here, $20 Million there, $72 Million over there.   Small potatoes.  Yeah, sure.

The fact is, the lousy economy brings out the worst in people, as well as the best.   While some folks are charitable, others prey on the desperation and misfortunes of others.   They take advantage of businesses who are experiencing declines and are hoping to shore themselves up during the recession.   Scam artists engage businesses as accounts, run up a bill and leave the company hanging for the goods and services.

Even the giant corporations fall victim to scams.   Witness the article on CNN about a New York City woman who has allegedly been duping the monster consumer product corporations for fifteen years or more.    She has repotedly taken off such corporate icons as Proctor and Gamble, Unilever, and Hersey for many millions of dollaars.   It was a simple enough scam, but enough to provide her with a rich lifestyle, status in her community, and houses in cities around the world.

If it happens to the corporate giants, who have IT Security and every other kind of security.   They have ex-federal agents in their employ.   They monitor everything, scanning all the time for fraud and theft.   But still they are also victims to criminal fraud.

When engage a company, or an individual, it is up to you to perform the necessary background checks.   It is essential, in this economy, especially to business research and business credit reports on any company that is unfamiliar to you.   In this recession, even if they are familiar, it may pay to check them out as well.  If not, you could suffer financial loss, public embarrassment, and that awful feeling you have just been left holding the bag.

Check them out before you do business.

Good writing is largely a subjective perception.   But most reputable pundits agree that good writing, overall, is more difficult to find than equitable health insurance.   Or a politician who…oh, never mind.

As someone in the background checking industry, I sift through countless articles about human resource management, background checks, and recruiting agencies.   I receive emails, newsletters, magazines,  and RSS feeds from assorted outlets.    I pass on most articles after the first couple of sentences and consider it a laudable situation when I can get halfway through the content.

But Matt Charney and Bullet to the Head is a wonderful exception.   It is at once funny, incisive, and informative.  No rare feat.   You can access the entire article on ERE.net.   By all means, go there, read it.  Enjoy!

The majority of employers today conduct background checks.  The belief is that it is necessary to perform due diligence in order to assure qualified employees and to protect fellow employees and clients from harm or foul play.     I would agree with this general belief and add that in these times it is increasingly necessary to run a series of background checks as part of your pre employment screening program.     Given the tough economy, it is likely job candidates in desperation will provide misleading and inaccurate information about their resume and even lie about their pasts.

It is all but mandated that employers conduct social security traces and criminal background checks on their employment candidates.   This is the bare minimum.   These basic background searches are often sufficient for entry level positions.   They can work for laborers, clerical workers, and temporary help.  If the person also drives for you, you may want to conduct Motor Vehicle Driving Records Searches.  The MVR search will not only reveal their driving records but may indicate other behavior pattens, such as substance abuse or desultory lifestyles.   DUI’s or failures to appear in court are indications of this sort of behavior.

Credit checks will also reveal sense of fiscal discipline and financial management.  Those who are experiencing financial turmoil often have the greatest potential to make desperate moves.    The thing you need is for your newest employee to be your silent partner, to steal cash, inventory, or even supplies from you.   There is also the added and frightful possibility that a desperate employee could steal your proprietary data and sell it to your competitors.   There was a case in Los Angeles, recently, where a healthcare employee for a large hospital stole the financial records of patients and bilked the insurance companies out of $350,000 in false claims he had diverted to his own account.

For mid-management and executive level hires, the employment verification search can be very important.   This and the professional reference check will indicate whether someone is looking for work because he was laid off or downsized, or because he was part of the dead wood his past employer could get rid of at an opportune moment.   In this case that opportune moment would be the dreadful economy.

The education verification is extremely important.   If people lie on their resumes, most often they will lie about either their criminal background or their education.    Enough employment candidates claim degrees when they in fact are listed as enrollment only.  Some of the more imaginative or desperate souls list a degree when they never attended that college at all.

There are other searches that may service those in the financial industry.   The Federal Criminal Searches and Federal Civil Searches are very important, as they research any invovlement in white collar crimes and financially related violations.   County Civil Searches will help avoid embarrassment from hiring fund raisers and liaisons to the community that currently have lawsuits against them.

It may behoove an employer to conduct a corporate records search on a key executive.   The corporate records search would show if the employment candidate was affiliated with another company where it could reflect a conflict of interest.

Drug searches have become more prevalent.  Certain industries, like healthcare, mandate that employment candidates undergo a ten panel drug test.   The ten panel drug test is often prevalent in defense industry related companies, as well.   Some employers will conduct a five panel drug test, which they feel is appropriate for their needs.   Given the liability issues, poor performance, violence,  retraining,and related issues in the workplace that are attribuatable to substance abuse,  that small deposit of urine may go a long way in keeping employer costs down.

Some employers monitor the social networks to assess a candidate’s behavior and to determine if they are a worthwhile candidate.   This, for me, as an option that may or may not prove all that accurate.  Candidates who may be “characters” in their private lives may still be valuable and talented members of any working environment.  Nevertheless, some employers believe this is a bellwether of performance and pass judgment accordingly.   I will leave that up to you.

In all, conducting backgorund checks is a requisite part of our hiring process.    I hope this guide sheds some light on what searches to consider when hiring your employment candidates.