News

Insult Added to Injury
Cleveland, Ohio

      Janice B., an executive secretary and owner of two small rental properties in a Cleveland neighborhood suffered insult and injury.
      One of her last tenants not only left without paying current rent, but also left with a new refrigerator and stove.
   Many landlords are now asking for more background information from prospective tenants and others seek professionally conducted background checks.
      Landlords are beginning to realize that a reference from the prior landlord is not always accurate because in many cases the prior landlord will give a good reference simply to get rid of the tenant.
      ENTER Eagle Communications, Inc. with fast, professional, thorough and affordable background checks.

NATIONWIDE
Are you in compliance
with the myriad of
government laws, rules and
regulations?

Do you retain copies of your employment ads for several years?
Do you have job descriptions for each position in your company and have they been reviewed for proper language?
Have you confirmed your pre-employment tests comply with the EEOC and ADA laws and regulations?
Do you make verbal offers to prospective employees?
Are your employees evaluated "in writing"?
Has your employment application form been reviewed within the last 12 months?
Do you conduct an exit interview?
Do you have a program for training managers about Sexual Harassment?
Do you have a procedure for Sexual Harassment or Discrimination complaints?

STATEWIDE CRIMINAL CHECKS - Not All Good!
Akron, Ohio

A nursing home in Akron Ohio hired a nurses aid who met all the qualifications necessary to perform her job. The nursing home conducted the mandatory statewide BCIC check. The BCIC check came back "no record found."

The nurses aid started her new job and as she became more comfortable in her surroundings began talking about her past. In one conversation the aid was overheard saying that she was in jail a few years ago.

After hearing this story an employee informed the human resource department of what was overheard. The nursing home contacted Eagle Communications. Eagle Communications recommended that they search county records.

Researchers conduct a felony and misdemeanor search of the Summit County and Akron Municipal Court records. The new employee was found to have three felony convictions, and three criminal misdemeanor convictions, all within the past 2 years, and was currently on probation. The employee was fired immediately for lying on her employment application.

When questioned, the BCIC in London Ohio, informed the nursing home that Summit County had not submitted their court records for the past 2 1/2 years.

Does your State mandate that all county records be submitted to the Bureau of Criminal Investigations? There may be a mandate to submit records, but is there a mandate as to WHEN the records must be submitted?

Be informed. If your state law requires an official statewide background check on people working with the elderly or in positions where children are placed in their care it is always best to conduct additional county wide criminal searches.

Due diligence is not achieved by merely conducting a statewide check. As illustrated in the story above, not all counties report in a uniform fashion.