Those of us conducting background checks in the state of New York are familiar with the infamous Office of Court Administration (OCA).  It was established in 2003 as a way to consolidate court records and make it “easier” to research criminal cases.  And oh yeah, they established an access fee of $52.00 per search to […]

Sorry I haven’t posted in a while (to some of you, that might be a blessing). Over the last several months we have been developing a concept called employeescreen University. This free site is dedicated to educating the marketplace on how to conduct an effective background check and to empower individuals with the […]

These days everyone has become enamored with the concept of criminal background checks, and with good reason.  They absolutely help organizations make informed hiring decisions and mitigate risk in the workplace.  However, there is an age-old practice that many hiring managers have recently chosen to de-value or outright ignore: The Employment Verification.  Some have done […]

Is the state of our economy starting to freak you out? Let’s start by saying that I will not profess to know whether we are heading towards a recession, how long our current economic cycle will last and what the overall affect will be. However, it is safe to say that we can […]

Happy Holidays and Happy New Year to you all! My company recently released our list of Background Screening Trends to Track in 2008. Included in this list are some of the following trends with detailed descriptions. Please check it out.

Privacy and Data Protection Legislation
Verification of Right to Work
Blogs and Social Networking Sites
International […]

Over the past few months, my fellow Xtra Cheezhead bloggers and I have offered various opinions about the use of Social Networking sites such as My Space or Facebook to make their hiring decisions.  I myself continue to be opposed to the use of such tools as a determining factor for various reasons. 
I found a […]

The Washington Post published a recent story which is making its way around the country now about a woman who was put on administrative leave from her job because her background check revealed that she had drug related convictions.  It seems she was trafficking drugs with Porky Pig, Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd as detailed in this local news […]

I have been waiting it for several years now, and FINALLY just saw it on television for the first time (while I’ve been glued to the TV set watching our Red Sox sweep the series!!!! But I digress…
There is finally a tv ad warning people (kids, in particular) about the risks […]

As a recruiter, it is your job to identify the most qualified and desirable candidate and snatch them up as quickly as possible. But you just got a letter from the head of HR telling you that you must conduct a background check before you officially hire them. You just know that the […]

Okay, so Michael Vick, former quarterback of the Atlanta Falcons sends you his resume to become your next Latex Salesman (I finally get to use a Seinfeld reference). Let’s say you have been living under a rock for the last few years and you don’t know who he is. You decide to conduct […]