The Integrity News
Vol. XII No. 1
ISSN 1081-2717
January 1, 2003
"objective risk management services"
January 1, 2003
Terrorist infiltration will continue to be a
big threat for all companies in 2003. The
issue of Homeland Security is just now
beginning to be understood. If you are
not already doing ID Verification, you
may want to rethink your risk.
Also:
It is easy to forget that unfortunate things
can happen to even the nicest employees.
Even good people can do strange things
if they find themselves in a personal crisis.
RECALL NEGLIGENT RETENTION
Let's assume that you hire someone after checking
to be certain that he or she has a good driving record.
However, a year later, due to a personal crisis, he or
she starts to drink heavily or to abuse drugs. You do
not periodically check his or her driving record or
periodically drug test him or her, and when he or she
injures someone with a vehicle, even their own auto,
while on company business, or assaults someone,
among other things, you are likely to be sued for
negligent retention.
SIGNS INDICATING THE NEED
FOR A PERIODIC CHECK
You should be concerned if an otherwise good
employee suddenly shows signs of nervousness,
becomes irritable around a variety of people,
can no longer seem to finish a task, is easily
distracted, appears to co-workers to be
preoccupied, starts to regularly be tardy,
suddenly has lots of unexplained sick days, or
becomes generally short tempered.
These reactions are predictable if a person
has discovered that he or she or their spouse
has cancer, if they have discovered that one of
their children is on drugs, if a personal habit
has caused them to get deeply in debt, or any
number of other life-altering events. However,
you must still confront the situation, and
protect your company.
STEPS YOU ARE GLAD YOU TOOK
First, you are undoubtedly glad that there is no
time-out clause in your pre-employment
Authorization and Release of Liability for
background checking. If you think you need to
administer a drug test, request a criminal record,
or get a current driving or credit history, you have
permission. Remember, under the amended
FCRA, you cannot investigate a current employee
without having a signed, valid, Authorization. Call
us for suggestions if you have people on the payroll
and their file does not have an active Authorization
in it.
Second, you are glad that you have a solid drug
testing policy in place that covers both illegal drugs
and the illegal use of controlled substances ( which
means taking someone else's prescription ).
Feel free to call us for suggestions or ideas about
how to enhance your procedures to better protect
your company. (972) 484-6140
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