Some Previous Articles on Workplace Violence

Time for some oldies but goods, or in this case, not so goodies.  As I will be appearing on television this Saturday to discuss Workplace Violence, I thought I would post some articles I have written previously.   This articles pertain to the needs for background checks and employment and help prevent workplace violence, but also the conditions and circumstances where, sadly, workplace violence, despite all precautions, is extremely difficult to avoid.  As there is an increase of workplace violence, these articles are worth reviewing.

http://dailyplanet.corragroup.com/2011/05/washington-d-c-and-the-increased-workplace-violence/

http://dailyplanet.corragroup.com/2011/05/the-increase-in-workplace-suicides/

http://dailyplanet.corragroup.com/2011/04/whether-employers-should-conduct-background-checks/

Here is where I will be appearing…

“Industrial and Organizational Psychology with Donna El-Armale.” on Saturday, July 23, 2011, from 12:00 – 2:00 PM Pacific Time.

The program will originate from the DHTV Broadband Network Studios of California State University,

Dominguez Hills in Carson, CA and will be broadcast live on Cable Channel 6 in the South Bay,

Cable Channel 36 in Los Angeles and regional cable television networks throughout California.

Minstrel’s Alley Publishes Gordon Basichis’ Latest Novel, The Blood Orange

Normally, I would be writing about background checks here.   But for those who don’t know me, I have had for years a literary life outside of employment screening.  And since my new novel, The Blood Orange, was just published, I figured i would post something about it here.

Minstrel’s Alley is the publishing group that published this novel.   The Blood Orange is a romantic mystery thriller set in California and is the tradition of Raymond chandler and other Los Angeles Noir msytery writers.  The novel is set in contemporary times but draws upon old Spanish California bandit legends.  Some years ago a local Los Angeles police officer whose family had settled in California many generations before, told me about the bandits that used to live way up in the Hollywood Hills and swoop down on the Pueblo, some miles away.  There was talk of buried gold and hidden treasure.   I thought it would  make for a great subject from which to draw a modern LA mystery thriller.  So here we are.

Gordon Basichis, or if you prefer, me,  is the author of several previous books, including the roman a clef, The Guys Who Spied for China, the non-fiction novel, Beautiful Bad Girl, the Vicki Morgan Story, and The Constant Travellers, a new age Western Fantasy novel

Here is  the link to the Press Release announcing Minstrel’s Alley Publication of The Blood Orange.

An Entertaining Take on Social Media As a Background Check

Mat Honan flunked his social media background check.  He writes about it on Gizmodo, I Flunked My Social Media Background Check.  Will You? I thought it an entertaining piece.  Honan writes with humor and detail and as he does so one is struck that this obviously intelligent guy might have trouble finding work based on his social media employment screening check.

As I just posted an article on RecruitingBlogs,.com , entitled, “ FTC Questions FCRA Compliance with Social Media Background Checks,” I thought this Honan’s posting timely about the misgivings I had about social media background checks.  Honan reports that his social media check issues a past/fail to the employer.  Interesting.  Based on what?  Drugs, drink, sex, undesirable behavior.  I guess.

As I have written, Honan claims there are no clear rules regarding the positives, the negatives, the different criterion in a social media background check.    Pass.  Fail.  Tick.  Tock.  But  Honan does not find the social media background checks to be without purpose.  He writes…”But ultimately the bottom line, and my takeaway, is that these kind of services actually make a lot of sense. Employers would have to be stupid not to Google job candidates. Yet it’s better for both the employer and the candidate to have a disinterested third-party do full-scrape background checks.

We now routinely bandy about the kind of information online that employers are legally prohibited from asking. Your average Facebook profile can reveal an entire litany of details like your race, sexual orientation, national origin, or religious affiliation that are off-limits in the hiring process.”

Hona’ns article is well worth reading.   When I read it and went over some of the particulars, I think of my son and his friends, avant-garde arty types who may dress a bit outlandishly and may not leave the life of those willing to settle within the constraints of a picket fence but who still manage to work at their arts and crafts some sixteen to twenty hours a day sometimes to meet deadlines and to assure themselves their work is in top form.   Maybe not every employer’s cup of tea, but few can challenge their general work ethic and the hours they are willing to labor at their tasks.

Anyway…

Background Checks for Police Volunteers in New Orleans

The city of New Orleans has initiated a volunteer service.  Local residents wanting to share their skills and some of their time in helping out the New Orleans Police Department have been invited to join.

This could be a nice plus for the city as the Big Easy, as it is known, has encountered budgetary problems post-Katrina and with the economic downturn.   I must add that this is hardly the only city to discover economic shortfalls.

The volunteers would perform clerical duties ant the different police stations.  The volunteers at the  French Quarter Division would provide information and assistance to tourists.  According to New Orelans’ Eyewitness News, volunteers must be over 18 years of age and must undergo a drug screen test and a background checks.    The program is called VoCal, an acronym for Volunteers Can Lead.