From Bad Hire Days- 26-year-old’s resume is too good to be true March 18, 2013Antoine Flowers was hired by the City of Dallas as an IT manager. His resume was certainly impressive for any IT professional, much less a 26 year old. According to the Dallas Morning News, Flowers’ resume included claims that he had:Promising candidate… if any of it were true. Apparently, the City of Dallas is very […]Mike Coffey
- Video: Sears sends felon and stalker into woman’s home November 7, 2011Jason Meinke was employed by a Sears contractor and sent into homes to clean ducts despite his criminal history that included misdemeanor and felony convictions, including a felony aggravated stalking conviction. When he was sent to clean Carrie Smith’s air ducts, she says her nightmare started, as reported by Scott Lewis of Detroit ABC affiliate WXYZ […]Mike Coffey
- Fake Degree Precedes $1 Million Fraud September 25, 2011Not all bad hire days start with previously-convicted dishonest job seekers. Morgan County, Utah apparently thought they were hiring a qualified public administration expert when they hired Garth Day as their council administrator. According to the Standard-Examiner, Day’s 2008 resume reflected that he had a Bachelor of Science degree in political science/pu […]Mike Coffey
- Bad Background Check and Lax Credit Card and Expense Account Controls Lead to Embezzlement September 10, 2011In my presentations to SHRM chapters, churches and non-profits, and basically anyone who needs a good nap after lunch, I regularly warn that even great background checks typically only catch the low-hanging fruit (those whose past offenses have been discovered by employers or law enforcement) and it is important to to have all of your […]Mike Coffey
- Two Employers, Two Victims, Two Convictions for Computer “Guru” August 29, 2011Stephen Robertson, a self-described computer “guru”, could be the poster boy for Bad Hire Days. Robertson worked for Corgan Associates, a Dallas architecture and interior design firm, and was terminated on December 18, 1998 for “theft, dishonesty, and misuse of the company’s computer system to hack into other companies’ computers,” according to documents fil […]Mike Coffey
- Son Learns that Mother’s Caregiver Has Elderly Mistreatment Conviction August 18, 2011When his 92-year-old mother needed an in-home caregiver, Richard Laughlin relied on a recommendation from a trusted friend and hired Teresita Lee. What he did not know was that Lee had a long criminal history including multiple thefts and a recent conviction for mistreating another elderly person to whom she was supposed to be providing […]Mike Coffey
- Sex Offender Caught Working As Cookie Monster August 15, 2011QC Characters is (was) a new business startup in Iowa that hoped to provide actors dressed as popular children’s characters for parties and special events. Unfortunately, one of QC Character’s first hires was James Lester Rogers. The company sent Rogers dressed as the Sesame Street character called Cookie Monster to the Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds to [... […]Mike Coffey
- Cook County Welfare Director convicted of government theft – AGAIN?! August 8, 2011Aurea Picasso, the former Welfare Director of Hanover Township (Cook County, Illinois) pleaded guilty on August 3, 2011 to stealing more than $193,110 in funds for dental work, car insurance, cell phones and her daughter’s Sweet 16 birthday party. She was sentenced to six years in prison. This wasn’t, however, Picasso’s first felony conviction. In 2003, [... […]Mike Coffey
- Sex offender assigned to Alzheimer’s care facility April 26, 2011Michael Gilbert is a registered sex offender convicted of aggravated sexual assault of a child (12 year old female) and was released from parole in August 2005. (He was also on federal parole for issuing “false distress signals” – he was apparently trying to fake his own death at sea in an attempt to escape […]Mike Coffey
- No Background Check for Accused Sex Offender Working at Lufkin Apartment Complex January 21, 2011Had the owners of the Acadia Arms Apartments in Lufkin, Texas completed a background check on Jose Diaz before hiring him as a handyman, they would have learned that he has convictions for driving while intoxicated, driving while his license was suspended, and a felony conviction for possession of cocaine for which he spent eleven […]Mike Coffey
- 26-year-old’s resume is too good to be true March 18, 2013
- From Imperative Information Group
- Mike Coffey to speak at HR Southwest 2013 April 23, 2013Yay! I’m speaking to HR Southwest again this year! I’ll be delivering my ever-evolving Background Checks Under Fire: Policy Considerations to Avoid Discrimination Claims presentation on Tuesday, October 22nd at 3:15. It was standing room only when I made the earlier iteration of the presentation last year. […]Mike Coffey
- 7th Circuit Decision Points to the Importance of HR Due Diligence in Mergers and Acquisitions April 23, 2013The recent decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in Teed v. Thomas & Betts Power Solutions, LLC, holding that a successor company may be held liable for its predecessor’s violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act, serves as a cautionary tale to […]Mike Coffey
- Four Reasons You May Not Want to Look at Your Applicants’ Credit Reports April 19, 2013The New York City Council is considering a proposal to significantly limit employers’ use of credit reports. If the Proposal becomes law, it would join a growing number of laws and proposed laws to limit employment discrimination on the basis of credit history. Indeed, eight states have […]Mike Coffey
- Texas Bill Mandates Accuracy and Consumer Protection in Criminal History Background Checks April 17, 2013Texas Senator Royce West introduced Senate Bill 990 in response to constituent complaints that they were being denied employment and housing based upon erroneous criminal history information. In particular, expunged records often continue to be reported by private database companies long after the record has been removed […]Mike Coffey
- Mike Coffey to speak at the Employment Relations Symposium, July 17-19, 2013 April 10, 2013Texas Association of Business and SHRM – Texas State Council bring you the annual Employment Relations Symposium. The program focuses on the latest in laws and policies for the HR professional and is presented by experts in HR law. Imperative Information Group President Mike Coffey, SPHR will […]Mike Coffey
- Domino’s Pizza agrees to pay $2.5M for FCRA violations March 28, 2013Domino’s Pizza has agreed to settle a federal class action lawsuit related to its background screening process for $2.5 million. The plaintiffs in Adrian Singleton, et al vs. Domino’s Pizza, LLC alleged two significant Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) violations: Inclusion of a limitation of liability in […]Mike Coffey
- Texas Employer Alert: House Bill Seeks To Hide One-Third of Criminal Records From Employers March 6, 2013Texas House Bill 321 will make it illegal for employers to consider important and relevant information about an individual’s past criminal conduct. HB 321 would prohibit using a completed deferred adjudication sentence in “denying housing, employment, or a professional license to an individual who is otherwise entitled to or […]Mike Coffey
- Federal Court Rejects ADA Suit Over Random Alcohol Testing of Probationary Plant Employees February 25, 2013Yet another hair-brained suit by the EEOC gets batted down by the courts. A federal judge in Pennsylvania has dismissed an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission challenge to U.S. Steel Corporation’s random alcohol testing of probationary employees at one of the company’s most safety sensitive facilities. The Court’s […]Mike Coffey
- Five Benchmarks of an Effective Background Screening Program February 18, 2013Given the heightened scrutiny of employers’ background screening practices, employers should review their practices and policies to ensure legal compliance. However, compliance doesn’t ensure that a background screening practice is effective. There are five key components of an effective background screening program. Fair. The Equal Employment Opportunity [. […]Mike Coffey
- The Legal & Regulatory Landscape for Employment Background Screening February 8, 2013Employers’ use of background investigations, particularly criminal record information, is under scrutiny and, in some cases, restriction from all levels of government. This recent attention is driven by four main concerns: Continued high rates of unemployment among previous criminal offenders, which many believe increases former offenders’ likelihood […]Mike Coffey
- Mike Coffey to speak at HR Southwest 2013 April 23, 2013
Tag Archives: unions
OSHA gives union organizers access to workplaces
Deputy Assistant Secretary Richard E. Fairfax recently released a standard interpretation guidance letter which finds that workers without a collective bargaining agreement may designate a person affiliated with a union or a community organization to act on their behalf as … Continue reading
Pro-Union Temporary Tattoos May Necessitate a Revision of Company Policies
Conversations employers don’t want to have: “Sorry, Joe, but we need to discuss your AFL-CIO tramp stamp.” From the lawyers at Smith, Gambrell, & Russell, LLP: Pro-Union Temporary Tattoos May Necessitate a Revision of Company Policies.