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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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Corra Group Attends the RSA Cybersecurity Conference, in San Francisco

Corra Group attended the recent RSA Cybersecurity Conference, in San Francisco, California. The Conference featured 15 keynote presentations, more than 700 speakers across 500+ sessions and more than 550 companies on the expo floors, all dealing with information security and cybersecurity.

“Corra Group has clients in the information security and cybersecurity space, “said Corra Group Co-Founder, Gordon Basichis. Being headquartered in California, and especially in El Segundo, California, one of the central business centers for defense, aerospace, and advanced technology, it is imperative we stay up on the latest innovations in this expanding industrial space.

“Some of the companies exhibiting at the show are our neighbors here in Southern California,” said Basichis. “Some of the entities at the show are iconic entities in the American corporate environment, while others are newcomers to this industry. As a background checking company that provides both employment screening and the due diligence process, we are always looking to engage prospective clients.

Basichis pointed out that Corra Group offers a full spectrum of background checks that are relevant to the technology and defense industries. He noted that Corra Group services companies on a national and global level.

“One of our specialties is helping employers fulfill their compliance mandates with employment screening packages for government contracts. We have a thorough understanding of the background checks an employer requires to qualify for federal and state contracts where the job itself contains sensitive and critical information.

For the complete PR Release please click on this link

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Articles Background Checks Criminal Records Human Resources Miscellany News preemployment screening Recruiting Staffing Uncategorized

Will Ban the Box Measures Spread at the Local Level — Employment Trend 2017?

Los Angeles is the latest major city to pass a Ban the Box measure (Ordinance 184652) applicable to private employers. It will become effective January 22, 2017 and will be enforced beginning in July 2017. Other major cities with Ban the Box laws include:

And don’t forget that eight states have Ban the Box measures on their books which are applicable to private employers — HI, IL, MA, MN, NJ, OR, RI, VT.

What is Ban the Box?  In its most basic form it means that an employer cannot ask on the job application about criminal history (i.e., arrests or convictions).  Generally, an employer must wait until a conditional offer of employment has been extended to inquire about criminal history and conduct a background check.  Ban the Box moves the criminal history inquiry until later in the process to afford ex-offenders the opportunity to be judged on their merit and not their past. At least in theory that’s what is supposed to happen as a result of Ban the Box measures, which are often referred to as fair hiring policies.

But, nothing in life is simple. Often, Ban the Box measures go beyond simply requiring employers remove the criminal history question from the job application and they include additional requirements, such as requiring

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Background Checks Economy Miscellany News Recruiting Staffing Uncategorized

Big Spike in Colorado Background Checks for Firearms

I can’t help but find it interesting but after that terrible shooting in the Aurora, Colorado movie theater, background checks for gun purchases have spike some forty percent.   I am not saying this is good or bad, but I do find the reacting to this tragedy where 12 died and 59 were injured.

Like most, I have read yet again the arguments pro and con for gun control.  Nothing new has been said, and each side typically climbs upon its soapbox and spouts the same argument we already know.   Personally, I don’t believe that gun control would ever prevent this type of nut job from acquiring firearms.  Take his nut job buddy in Norway, a nation with strict gun laws…he was able to massacre some 77 persons before being taken into custody.  So, while I do believe in certain forms of gun control– and in Colorado it is legally mandated that the buyer undergo a background check– I do not believe it will prevent the determined hoodlum or homicidal maniac from getting access to weapons.

On the other hand, the argument that an armed movie theater would have prevented this homicidal lunatic from killing so many people, is another concept based in fantasy.   It has already been reported there was chaos and uncertainty with many thinking this gunmen was part of the show.  Given the confusion, the smoke, the multiple gunshots with the concern that there may be more than one shooter, people screaming, fleeing, any number of distractions in a dark theater, had armed patrons drawn down on the gunmen, the body count may well have been much, much higher.

According to the report on CNN.com…”Data supplied by by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation shows that from Friday through Sunday, a total of 2,887 people were approved to buy firearms. That’s a 43% increase over the previous Friday through Sunday, when 2,012 background checks cleared.”

I don’t know what all this means, really.  People are afraid the government will crack down on gun buying and they rush to get theirs before the ban takes effect?   Maybe.  But then the other argument, people feel unsafe and insecure, after such a slaughter, and rush to buy weapons in order to protect themselves and their loved ones.  Equally valid.

For now, I will leave it to conjecture.