So apparently what happens is that airports are responsible for the control of security badges issued to those with access to secure areas of their airport. Richmond International Airport (RIC) is not issuing a security badge to a TSA (Transportation Security Administration) TSO (Transportation Security Officer) employee.

TSA recently hired a person who at the age of 17 had committed felony robbery, but was not convicted until he was 18 hence he was tried as an adult. TSA is arguing that the crime was committed when the employee was a minor and should not be held against them or in TSA terms a “disqualifying crime”.

However the break down comes I believe in the fact that the employee didn’t disclose the fact they had a felony conviction within the last 10 years which is required of anyone applying for a TSA job. Once it came to light about the employee’s felony history through a Capital Region Airport Commission criminal background check TSA still demanded a security badge be issued to this employee.

From the original story

1) RIC’s security badging policy is a Transportation Security Administration approved security program. This program expressly prohibits issuing security badges to people convicted of any disqualifying crimes.

2) The TSA policy for criminal background checks at time of employment, as dictated by FAR 108.33 (c)(5) leaves holes for felons to slip through. In this policy, those applying for jobs must disclose felony convictions in the past 10 years, however criminal background checks are only conducted if there are specific deficiencies in the applicants employment history. This means someone can easily create a faux job history to cover their felony convictions and be hired by the TSA.

What do you think, should TSA keep pushing the issue to get this employee a badge or should this employee be denied a job and TSA issue an apology? Let me know in the comments.

Sandra

So everybody has a little dubious past, and even more so in college mybackgroundcheck.com conducted a study on 13,859 college students at 125 universities and what so happened to come back was interesting to say the least.

Driving violations topped the charts at a whopping 60 percent, followed by disorderly conduct (9.5 percent), theft (8.8 percent), drug possession (7.4 percent), sexual abuse (5.2 percent), assault (4 percent), fraud (2.7 percent), and child molestation (2.4 percent).

While having a felony conviction does not prevent you from being admitted to college depending on the circumstances of the crime.
Should certain crimes prevent someone from getting a higher education? let me know in the comments.

Read the whole story here

Sandra

So the concerns and conditions for Haitians in Port-Au-Prince are growing worse, many Haitians coming to America are finding it hard to put the pieces back together. About a week after the earthquake, the United States extended temporary protective status to Haitians who were already in the United States on the day of the quake, allowing them to stay legally and to work.

But hundreds of Haitians who were allowed to come here after the earthquake as escorts for American citizens who are minors, are not eligible for that status. They also are not eligible for a status known as humanitarian parole, which would allow them to apply for permission to work, and to renew their status in one-year increments.

In the aftermath of the earthquake, temporary protected status was made available only to Haitians already in the United States because officials were seeking to deter Haitians from trying to get into the United States by boat. Applicants are being asked to scrape together nearly $500 in government fees.

Applicants pay $50 for temporary protected status, $80 for a background check and $340 for permission to work. Matthew Chandler, a spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security, said that the fees were set by Congress and that only Congress could allow a blanket fee waiver, it is not clear exactly what it takes to qualify.

As of Monday morning, 15,666 people had been evacuated from Haiti to the United States. Of those, 12,497 were American citizens, according to State Department figures.

So do you think that in this time of need for Haitians that the fees are warranted, or is there a need to protect are homeland?
You can read the article in full here

What do you think? Leave your thoughts below

Take Care till tommorrow
Sandra

So this was only going to be a matter of time before this was going to happen. A company by the name of PeopleFinders has developed two iphone apps that allow users to conduct background checks on individuals you encounter. It’s supposedly geared towards people who want to look up their dates.

Once the user thinks they’ve found their match, they can then access all of PeopleFinders’ records on them and learn whether they own property, whether they have a stable address history, whether they’ve ever gone bankrupt, whether they’re married or are in a possible relationship and whether they have a criminal background or are registered as a sex offender.

So it seems as though it’s a good idea, however in addition to paying $0.99 for the app you don’t get the real meat of the records your searching until you cough up the dough.

While both of the applications the company debuted today cost a mere $0.99 to download, users can only access records by either paying $9.95 per record or by paying an annual subscription fee of $24.95.

So all in all it’s a clever way to leverage the iphone and it’s capabilites, and to use the data from our industry in a helpful manner even if it does cost $9.95 per record or $24.95 for the year. You should decide how much you’ll be using the service.

On my daily reading, I found it here

Background checks are an important part of any job set that requires more from any individual. Jobs requiring individuals to handle money such as cashiers and bank tellers will often times be the most targeted towards a background check because they may have a history of monetary instability which could end up in costing the company more if money goes missing suddenly. Screening out individuals with dents in their backgrounds check can really reduce these and several other losses by employing this person. It is important for people to know what is on their own files so they can take steps to fix inaccuracies which may cause a mix up where an employer runs a background check on a potential employee. Here is a list of Ten Jobs that will run a background check frequently for potential employees.

1. Politicians – Politicians are often screened for background checks and criminal activity which would make them an ineligible candidate to work in the political field. People with bad records may not have the ability to hold down a politician position because it would be against the wants of the masses, especially if it was going to be a position within the governmental hierarchy of employment which grants access to resources which may be misused.

2. Bank Employees – People who are working in banks will often have a check on their background information because it is crucial to know if the employee will be reliable to do their job correctly with minimal errors. Many people with negative strokes on their check will either be under close supervision or even removed from the work environment.

3. People Who Have Contact with Money – Cashiers and several other types of employees that will have contact with money will have their criminal background check conducted to ensure that they will be safe in an environment with money. Often times potential cashiers who have money troubles or negative files may be screened out because of it.

4. Dealing with Children – Children are an important matter for parents and guardians that wish to have them safe. Teachers, caretakers and other individuals which will be in direct contact or around children will have their criminal background check run to screen out child abuse and other neglect and possible negative information about the person to reduce the possibility that they will harm children.

5. Dealing with the Elderly – As with children, caretakers of the Elderly will be screened out for abuse and other negative marks on their report. The Elderly may not be able to protect themselves from inappropriate advances and abuse so the caregivers are actively screened often.

6. Truck Drivers – People who will be running trucks throughout the vast network of roads and highways must meet specific requirements so that they can move product on the vehicles they use, no matter if they are private or company owned vehicles. People with drug abuse or theft on their files will especially be targets for screening.

7. People in the Food Industry – If you work with food, especially with food that can become easily contaminated and harm thousands of people, you may be screened out if certain medical information is on your records. Other negative marks may also impact employment opportunities for those working in the food industry.

8. Former Employee of Ruined Company – Working for a large but unsuccessful business in the past and applying for a similar job elsewhere may be on a background check. Working for the previous company may have hurt your chances at working with the newer company because of trust issues.

9. Handling Weapons – Anyone that has any form or negative history, be it criminal, mental health issues and more can prevent the possibility of handling weapons in the military, police force or even as a security guard. This can be unfair but it is a risk that most companies will not want to take with the individual in question.

10. Medical Professions – Persons that have had the appropriate schooling to work in a medical profession may still be denied opportunities based on criminal background check results. Those with certain negative information could cause potential employers to screen out potential employees regardless of their credentials.

It is important to remember that even if the person has nothing to hide, certain negative information could occur on a criminal background check which is inaccurate. Often times it is victims of identity theft, as well as simple processing errors that can really curb a potential employee’s chances to receive employment. Often times, potential employees may have errors on their file which could be disputed. The employer could be asked to give the name of the company that provided the background check.

Background checks are useful in accessing crucial information about someone that you may wish to know about. Most employers will run a background check on prospective employees to help screen out individuals who may not be able to hold the job well or have secrets hidden that they do not make available on a resume. The background checks are often seen as an important tool that anyone could use to learn more about anyone that you may need to be around such as neighbors, babysitters and anyone else that you may have suspicions of. Even if certain individuals look ok on the outside, they may have a rocky history with the law or have information withheld that can really determine how a relationship will progress between the parties involved.

The way that a background check works is through a comprehensive set of databases through public records that are rapidly accessible through specialized services. This allows you to save time looking for all of this information on your own time by having a working system do all of the work for you for a small fee. Several of the background checking services even allow you to preview the information collected about an individual before you decide to pay for the complete service and full compilation of information on the subject. These services work best if you at least know a small piece of information aside from the full name of the individual involved, otherwise you may pull up multiple results if more than one person shares the subject’s name in a certain area.

Getting a background check on a person listed in a database providing that you know accurate information and they are not using a fake name will allow you to access vital information to your discretion. This will include information on: Home address, home telephone and history of private numbers, birth date, any aliases that are known along with Maiden names, relatives or known associates, roommates and neighbors, any previous or current Marriages or Divorces, credit information, personal assets and property ownership information as well as any court or nationwide criminal records including sex offender information available nationwide and so much more. The only information you need is a full name and an age or information regarding the last place they have lived such as a city, state or zip code to pull the very best results available through a background check on a specific person.