THE FOLLOWING MAY BE ARRANGED AS AN IN-PERSON SPEECH OR WEBINAR
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Speech or Webinar #1

Sleuthing 201, Background Checks and The Law

States Department of Justice statistics for 2002 reveal that 6.7 million people - which translates to one in every 32 adults-are either jailed or in prison, or released on probation or parole. At least 95% of all state prison inmates will be released from prison at some point. About 80% are released under supervised parole. Recidivism is high; presently, 67.5% of all prisoners released are subsequently rearrested for a serious misdemeanor or felony within three years.

At the end of 2002, State and Federal prison authorities had under their jurisdiction 1,440.655 inmates; 1,277,127 of these were under State jurisdiction and 163,528 under Federal jurisdiction. Midyear 2002, local jails held or supervised 737,912 persons awaiting trial or serving a sentence. About 72,000 of these were persons serving their sentence in the community.

Unless you are diligent in performing background checks, some of these convicted criminals could wind up working for you, thus increasing the likelihood of violence in your workplace, theft of property, and legal action taken against you for negligent hiring liability. One of the major background screening firms published that in almost 10% of the criminal searches they performed reported convictions.

Virtually every employer today is either considering doing background checks on potential employees or already performing them. Given the statistics on workplace violence, that's hardly surprising.

Workplace violence currently claims two million victims annually. Homicide is one of the largest causes of workplace deaths for all employees and until 2002 was the single largest cause of workplace deaths for women employees today, not accidents, not medical conditions, but homicide. Almost a dozen people are murdered in the course of doing their jobs every week!

Homicide is obviously the most extreme form of workplace violence. However, we need to recognize that hostile behaviors such as yelling or screaming, threatening violence and fighting in the parking lot constitute workplace violence as well.

More than just recognizing this, we need to do everything in our power to prevent such behaviors from occurring.

It is important to note that a percentage of those who have been convicted of a crime do get rehabilitated and deserve a second chance working in society. Background screening is not simply to weed out anyone and everyone with a previous conviction from the workplace. Its purpose is to provide critical information to review to make an intelligent hiring decision. If you decide to do a background check, stick to information that is relevant to the job for which you are considering the applicant and verify all the information provided by that applicant.

Background Checks Can Prevent Violence
And Protect Your Company As Well

The best way to prevent workplace violence is to perform careful, legally correct and extremely thorough background checks on all applicants for employment and eliminate any applicant who is not a good potential candidate for the particular position for which they are applying.

Background screening is a strategic step many organizations are taking to hire the right person, ensure a secure workplace, reduce turnover, and minimize liability for negligent hiring and retention. However, many companies are unaware of current regulations and focused business practices that can help them more expeditiously meet their overall background screening needs.

In Background Checks and The Law, you will learn best practices of employment screening for risk management and better hiring decisions. You will have a complete knowledge of the Fair credit Reporting Act, Federal Updates to the FCRA, State Laws, and the FTC Staff Opinion Letters giving you peace of mind that your organization is fully compliant legally. You will learn what products are available so that you can be sure that your organization is accessing all the information that's pertinent to making an informed hiring decision. You will learn the pros and cons of new products to hit the market and how to use the information obtained in your hiring process. You will also learn how your employment application can be your best and first defense against a bad hire.

Learning Outcomes:

● Recognize the need for pre employment screening
● Identify key points that should be covered in pre employment screening policies
● Interpret the essential requirements of federal and state pre-employment screening laws
● State the best practices for implementing a pre employment screening policy.
● Recognize the importance of communication in rolling out a new program.
● Discuss how to handle applicants who refuse to authorize a background check or those
   applicants whose background results reveal possible causes for not hiring
● Identify possible violations of the ADA when conducting pre employment screening

Simply put, you’ll understand both federal and state law, legal theory, and more importantly, their practical application in your workplace.

Speech or Webinar #2

Pre-Employment Background Checks and I-9 Forms - The Do's and Don'ts

Overview:
Regardless of the size of your business, pre-employment screening is a necessary hiring practice to avoid lawsuits and costly hiring mistakes. Gone are the days of a simple reference check and a few phone calls to screen new employees. Investigating the background of a potential hire can help minimize the risk of negligent-hiring lawsuits. You and your company can be held liable for the actions of a new employee especially if you did not perform a background check.

Likewise, The Immigration Reform and Control Act made all U.S. employers responsible to verify the employment eligibility and identity of all employees hired to work in the United States after November 6, 1986. To implement the law, employers are required to complete Employment Eligibility Verification forms (Form I-9) for all employees, including U.S. citizens. Join us during this conference as we explore the ins and outs of pre employment background checks, verifying I-9 forms AND the use of E-Verify.

Learning Outcomes:

● Recognize the need for pre employment screening
● Identify key points that should be covered in pre employment screening policies
● Interpret the essential requirements of federal and state pre-employment screening laws
● State the best practices for implementing a pre employment screening policy.
● Recognize the importance of communication in rolling out a new program.
● Discuss how to handle applicants who refuse to authorize a background check
   or those applicants whose background results reveal possible causes for not hiring
● Identify possible violations of the ADA when conducting pre employment screening
● Recognize the need for proper I-9 documentation
● Describe the process of completing I-9 Forms.
● Understand the new guidelines for paperless electronic I-9 Forms
● Understand programs available to verify employment eligibility (E-Verify)

Speech or Webinar #3

I-9 Forms, Legislation, and eSolutions

Learn how to ensure that your workforce is legally authorized to work in the U.S. Simplify and improve the efficiency of your Form I-9 employment verification process and cost-effectively reduce your exposure to government audits, financial penalties and negative publicity resulting from non-compliance.

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said, "Illegal immigration poses an increasing threat to our security and public safety…” The Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) legally mandates that U.S. employers verify employment eligibility status of newly-hired employees and makes it unlawful for employers to knowingly hire or continue to employ unauthorized workers. In this seminar you will learn how to ensure that your workforce is legally authorized to work in the US. Simplify and improve the efficiency of your Form I-9 employment verification process and cost-effectively reduce your exposure to government audits, financial penalties and negative publicity resulting from non-compliance.

This educational Seminar/Webinar will concentrate on reviewing current law, E-Verify formally the Basic Pilot Program, new DHS regulations, actions by Immigration Control Enforcement (ICE) agents, federal and state legislation requireing employers to use E-Verify.

The Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), a Washington, D.C. based group that promotes stricter immigration policies, along with other reports, advise that the United States has somewhere between 11 and 20 million illegal aliens residing within our borders. In addition, 1.1 million undocumented workers enter the U.S. each year. The financial cost to illegal immigration is enormous. Reports indicate that over $30 Billion leaves the U.S. economy annually as workers ship home to their country money and goods. The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA) legally mandates that U.S. employers verify the employment eligibility status of newly-hired employees. IRCA made it unlawful for employers to knowingly hire or continue to employ unauthorized workers. In response to the law, the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), now an integrated component of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), created Form I-9 and mandated its accurate and timely completion by all U.S. employers and their employees. This educational seminar will concentrate on reviewing current law, the Basic Pilot Program, new DHS regulations, actions by Immigration Control Enforcement (ICE) agents, the House of Representatives bill on immigration passed December 2005, the Senate bill on immigration passed May 2006, State proposed and passed legislation on immigration, and the availability of a complete, easy-to-use and paperless Form I-9 process.

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