Background Checks, References and Verifying

Background
Checks,
References and
Verifying
Background Checks
This process for screening job applicants may include:
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Contacting references
Verifying past employment
Verifying past military service
Confirming the candidate actually has degrees, licenses, etc.
Checking driving records
Checking for criminal convictions
Examining credit reports
Background Checks
• After hiring, the employer must also obtain documentation
verifying the employee’s right to work in the U.S.
• These activities raise legal issues, including:
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Negligent hiring
Defamation
Compliance with the Fair Credit Reporting Act
Compliance with the Immigration Reform & Control Act
Employer Responsibility for
Employee Wrongdoing
Employers are generally liable for harm to others
caused by employees acting within the scope of their
employment:
– Their actions relate to the kind of activities they were
hired to perform;
– The actions take place substantially within the
workplace, during working hours;
– And serve, at least partly, the interests of employer.
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Negligent Hiring
Employers, like others, have a duty to exercise
reasonable care in carrying out certain activities. If
they fail, they may be guilty of:
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Negligent hiring
Negligent training
Negligent supervision
Negligent retention
Elements of a Claim of
Negligent Hiring
A duty to others exists which requires an employer to
take reasonable steps to avoid hiring unfit employees
based on:
– Foreseeability of harm to others if unfit person is hired
for a particular job.
– Knowledge of unfitness that employer had or should
have had if proper hiring procedures were used.
– Public policy.
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Elements of a Claim of
Negligent Hiring
• The employer fails to exercise the proper degree
of care and hires an unfit employee.
• A third party is harmed or injured by the unfit
employee.
• The employer’s failure to exercise care is the
proximate cause of the harm or injury.
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NEGLIGENT HIRING: Background or
Reference Check
• Crucial to verify information from application and
interview
• Failure to conduct background check may result
in liability for negligent hiring
• After-acquired evidence may also help in wrongful
termination suits
Florida Negligent Hiring $
• A Tallahassee, Florida furniture company has been
assessed a $2.5-million judgement because a deliveryman,
who used a knife to attack a customer in her home, was
hired negligently. Court documents indicate that the man
had a history of violent crime.
• A Kmart security officer cost his employer $3.8-million after
he tackled and assaulted a customer who was returning a
purchase. The guard’s partially-completed employment
application was key evidence for prosecutors. The man had
been terminated from several previous jobs, but personnel
directors at Kmart failed to look into the reasons he failed to
fill out his application fully
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Conducting Background
Checks
• No particular measure is required in all cases, but
employers should always follow their own
procedures.
• Be especially wary of rush, last-minute hiring
decisions.
• Inconsistencies and gaps in information provided by
applicants must be discovered and confronted.
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Conducting Background
Checks
• The detail of a background check will depend on
the position to be filled.
– Background checks should be more extensive if
there is a greater chance that unfit employees
could do harm to others.
• Employers should document all attempts to gather
information, even if those efforts are not successful.
• If you must hire without a background check, hire,
do the check, and then terminate the employee if
unfit.
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CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES
AND ALCOHOL USE TESTING
REGULATIONS
FOR MANAGEMENT
Critical Information
This presentation outlines important U.S.
regulations.
• Employer MUST ensure that all regulations are
followed by drivers
• Employer is responsible for any violation
committed by a driver
Applicability
Employers and drivers who operate CMVs in the
U.S. and are subject to:
– Commercial driver’s license requirements
– Licencia Federal de Conductor requirements
– Commercial driver’s license requirements of the
Canadian National Safety Code
Preemption
Controlled Substance and Alcohol testing rules
have priority over all U.S. state and local law except
when criminal action is being taken for acts of
reckless conduct.
Prohibitions
• Alcohol Concentration above the legal limit set by
the FMCSA
• On-duty use
• Pre-duty use
• Use following an accident
Controlled Substance Testing
If a driver tests positive for a controlled substance:
• Driver shall NOT report to duty, remain on duty or
perform safety sensitive functions
• Employer shall NOT permit the driver to perform
safety sensitive functions
• A driver may be required to inform the employer of
any therapeutic drug use
Employer Responsibilities
Immediately remove employee from safety sensitive
functions (until return to duty process is completed)
after receipt of:
• Positive drug test results
• Verified tainted or substituted drug test results
• Alcohol test greater than .04
Employer Responsibilities
Temporarily remove employee from safety
sensitive functions after receipt of:
• Alcohol test between 0.02 and 0.39
• A diluted specimen
• Invalid drug test requiring a 2nd collection under
direct observation
Required Tests
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Pre-employment (Controlled Substances Test only)
Post Accident
Random
Reasonable Suspicion
Return to Duty
Follow-Up
Random Testing
Companies must randomly test drivers at a minimum
annual percentage rate of:
• 10% of the number of drivers for
alcohol testing
• 50% for controlled substances
testing
Reasonable Suspicion Testing
A driver MUST submit to an alcohol and/or
controlled substance test if there is reasonable
suspicion that the prohibitions concerning alcohol
and/or controlled substances have been violated.
Reasonable Suspicion Testing
Suspicion MUST be based on specific
observations of the supervisor or company
official concerning the driver’s:
– Behavior
– Speech
– Body odor
(such as marijuana or alcohol)
Return-To-Duty Testing
An employer shall ensure that before a driver
returns to duty:
• Driver’s return-to-duty alcohol test
indicates an alcohol concentration
of less than 0.02
• Driver’s return-to-duty controlled
substances test indicates a
negative result
Refusal to Submit
• No driver shall refuse to submit to a required test
• No employer shall permit a refusing driver to
perform safety sensitive functions
Controlled Substances
Laboratories MUST test for:
• Marijuana
• Cocaine
• Opiates
• Amphetamines
• Phencyclidine (PCP)
Previous Employer Inquiries
• Can only be requested with written consent of
employee
• Employer must request information regarding a
new employee from all DOT-regulated employers
from the previous 2 years
• Employer must remove driver if information is not
obtained in 30 days (unless good faith effort is
documented)
Active Shooter
Training Objectives
• Define the following: what is an ‘active shooter’?
• Steps that will increase surviving an active
shooter incident.
The Active Shooter Defined
An “Active Shooter” is an individual engaged in
killing or attempting to kill people in a confined and
populated area, in most cases, active shooters use
firearms.
Mentality of Active Shooter
• Desire is to kill and seriously injure without concern
for his safety or threat of capture
• Many times has intended victims and will search
them out
• Accepts targets of opportunity while searching for or
after finding intended victims
• Will continue to move throughout
building/area until stopped by
law enforcement, suicide,
or other intervention
Mentality of Active Shooter
• Active Shooter’s intent is to kill and injure
• Bottom line: you need to take direct responsibility
for your personal safety and security
Survival Mindset
Be Vigilant
• Gain a basic understanding of situation
• Become attuned to work environment
• Predetermined mindset will help you take rapid,
effective actions
Survival Mindset
Be Preparation
• Looking at your work environment through the lens
of survival
• “What if” questions are critical in developing
effective response strategies
• Survivors prepare themselves both mentally and
emotionally to do whatever it takes to survive
Survival Mindset
Rehearsal
• Mentally or physically practicing your plan which
will reduce response time and build confidence
• A survival booster
Course of Action
• Get out, if safe, is there a path of escape?
• Move quickly; don’t wait for others to validate your
decision
• Leave belongings behind
• Survival chances increase if you are not where shooter
is or to go where he can’t see you
Course of Action
• If you can’t get out secure the immediate area “hide out”
whether backroom, office, or bathroom
- Lock the door if possible.
• Most doors may provide some protection
- Block/barricade the door using whatever is available
desks, file cabinets, books, other furniture
- If the shooter enters your room and leaves,
lock/barricade the door behind him
- If safe allow others to seek refuge with you
- If two or more of you, DO NOT huddle together
Course of Action
DOORS, WINDOWS, OPENINGS, and NOISE
- Close blinds
- Block windows
- Turn off electronics (TV, radio, etc.)
- Dim or face computer monitors away from windows or doors
- Silence cell phones (put on vibrate)
- Place signs in exterior windows to identify the location of
injured persons
- Keep occupants calm and quiet
- After securing the room. People should be positioned out of
sight and behind items that might offer additional
protection – walls, desks, file cabinets, etc.
- Stay low- reduce your profile
- Remain calm – it can have a contagious effect on others
- Keep others focused on survival
Course of Action
• You must assume the shooter’s intentions are lethal.
• You’ll need to become more aggressive than you
ever thought possible.
• Develop a survival mindset that you have “what it
takes” to survive when your life is on the line
What to Report
• Your specific location
• Number of people at your specific location.
• Injuries
- Number of people injured
- Type of injuries
What to Report
Assailant's:
- Specific location
- Number of assailant's
- Race, gender, approx. age
- Clothing color and style
- Physical features – height, weight, facial hair, glasses
- Type of weapons (rifle/shotgun, handgun)
- Backpack
- Do you recognize the shooter? What’s his name?
- Have you heard explosions separate from gunshots?
Take a Mental Picture
What did the guy in the last slide look like?
Your Response
Treat the injured
- Remember basic first aid
- For bleeding apply pressure and elevate
- Be creative in identifying items to use for this
purpose – clothing, paper towels, feminine
hygiene products, news papers, etc.
Law Enforcement Objective
• Law enforcement will immediately respond to the area
• Law enforcement’s goal is to locate, contain, and stop the
shooter
• The safest place for you to be is inside a secure room
• The shooter will not flee when law enforcement enters the
building, instead he will have additional targets to shoot
• Remember the shooter’s
mindset is not escape.
His goal is to kill and injure.
Law Enforcement Responders
• When law enforcement officers enter the room, do
not present a threat to them
• Do not point at them or the shooter
• Do not make quick movements
• Do not run towards them or try to hug them
• Do not scream or yell
Summary
Active Shooter
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You should take a leadership role
“Get out”
“Hide out” seek secure area
Calm, reassure, and quiet others
Report the incident
Treat injured
“Keep out”
“Take out”
Law enforcement response
- Objective is to neutralize threat
- Evacuation
- Follow up medical care, interview, counseling
- Investigation
Discussion and Questions
What if…