Background Investigation Blogs

At Delawareonline.com, a 56-year-old employee of Delaware Hospital for the Chronically Ill in Smyrna has been arrested for allegedly stealing controlled substances from the hospital pharmacy.  Here again is why employee drug testing should be mandatory for anyone who works in occupational health Care.

The individual in question became a suspect a month ago, when he suffered an apparent overdose in his office at the hospital.

It's a sad, but common story.  Occupational health care workers are often exposed to drugs with minimal oversight to keep them from taking advantage of the medical environment.  And, in this case any hospital for the chronically ill will feature the kinds of pain killers that are highly addictive, and even easy to sell for a profit.

It's for this reason that employee drug testing should be a mandatory part of pre-hire screening for all occupational health care workers.  Further, such drug testing should extend beyond pre-hire tests, and take the form of random drug testing, which has been proven to reduce drug abuse on the job dramatically.

This week CSR Wire reports news from the National Safety Council, which reports that accidental deaths in the United States are rising at an alarming rate, up more than 20% over a 10-year period, reaching 113,000 deaths in 2005.

But, thanks to background screening procedures, accidental death in the workplace has declined, insinuating that the pursuit of workplace safety by employers is paying off, and saving lives.

For people between 1 and 41 years of age, accidents are the leading cause of death in the nation.  In the article, it's called "a silent epidemic" with 1 person dying every 5 minutes in everything from a motor vehicle crash, to poisoning, to falls.

But the same article notes that conversely, over the same period of time, the death rate for workplace injuries has declined 17%.  Why?  Because background screening has become more and more popular as a pre-hire requirement.

Quality background screening fosters workplace safety by removing those employees who would pose a risk to themselves, other employees, or clients.  And, it also works as a deterrent for those employees who might otherwise engage in dangerous behavior.

At the top of this list would be drug use or alcohol use on the job, followed by other important factors like honestly reporting proper education, training, and references in a resume, and even criminal background screening to remove employees with a dangerous history.

According to the sungazette.com, college students are learning early on that background screening will probably be a part of their career history, supporting the notion that screening works as much as a deterrent than as a form of "policing" employees.

At Pennsylvania College of Technology students are learning to keep their "nose clean," and protect their "personal information."

Why, because background screening today, in a post-911 world, has become a standard requirement.  Potential employees can implement screening using drug testing, criminal background checks, resume checks, social security checks, and even credit checks.

All of which is keeping dangerous employees away from the workplace, and keeping other employees from engaging in potentially dangerous behavior.

Proof of the power of background screening as a deterrent can be found in the success of random drug testing in the workplace.  Employees who know they could be tested at any time are far less likely to abuse drugs, or cause accidents that can injure others.  

And as more and more potential employees learn about the importance of pre employment screening, the future of workplace safety looks rosy indeed.

At the Appleton Post-Crescent, workplace safety protocols are addressed in terms of education and preventative measures that "must permeate every level from the top down." But, while all of this is certainly true, background screening is actually the most effective way to get a jump on the process before dangerous employees can disrupt the workplace environment.

Workplace safety training has proven itself useful in protecting the health and well being of both employees, and the company itself.  But, without background screening measures much of that training could be wasted.  This is especially true in terms of employee drug testing, and alcohol testing.

An estimated 20% of employees use drugs and/or alcohol on the job, increasing the likelihood of accidents, damage to property, and higher insurance rates.  Altogether drug and alcohol use on the job costs American businesses billions a year.

Which is why background screening should always be the first step towards workplace safety.  Pre-employment drug testing, alongside random drug testing and alcohol screenings reduce on the job accidents dramatically.  And, other benefits of such testing include higher company morale, increased productivity, and fewer turnovers.

At INC.com, recent negotiations regarding employee drug testing of aircraft repair companies has caused a great deal of controversy.

Apparently, the U.S. Court of Appeals last month ordered the Federal Aviation Administration to re-evaluate the extra costs of a proposed drug testing program, which would have required all aircraft-repair subcontractors at every tier - from machine shops to dry cleaners - to test their employees.

The basis of re-evaluation is that employee drug testing is not cheap, and under the Regulatory Flexibility Act, federal agencies are required to assess the economic impact of proposed regulations on small businesses, while considering less costly alternatives.

But at the same time, the FAA has the safety of thousands of people in mind when they suggest employee drug testing at all levels.  With an estimated 20% of the American workforce using drugs or alcohol on the job, it's easy to see how accidents happen.  And an accident with an airplane full of people is just too frightening to imagine.

There are many ways that a small business can cut corners, but when it comes to protecting the safety of clients and employees alike, drug testing shouldn't be one of them.

At journalrecord.com, employers are advised not to trust "the job applicant whose resume seems too good to be true." But, unless quality background screening is being implemented, including a resume check, it's actually smarter not to trust the average worker either.

A recent survey released by the National Association of Professional Employer Organizations (NAPEO) suggests that the majority of business owners believe that employees are lying on their resumes.

And actually, they're probably right.

An estimated 34% of all resume checks reveal exaggeration or patently false information.  And while only 6% of those were covering up dangerous information, it's still important to rely on background screening to protect co-workers and clients from harm, and the business itself from negligent hiring liability.

And things aren't getting better.  According to the article "New York-based Kroll Inc., a global risk-consulting company, found that discrepancies in screening job candidates for clients rose last year – for example, differences in what candidates said about their education jumped from 14% to almost 22%."

This only serves to reiterate that while criminal background screening and drug testing will always be important to the hiring process; you just can't underestimate the importance of a resume check too.  It may cost a little more, but in reducing turnover alone all companies stand to save a great deal of time, money, and headache.

At EmeraldCoast.com, the importance of the social security number search for employers and new hires reflects increasing pressures to control the hiring process.

In Panama City, Florida, two male job applicants at Personnel Resources were identified as undocumented immigrants and were arrested by the Bay County Sheriff's Office.  Their status as undocumented immigrants did not become clear until a social security number search was performed, since both individuals had provided their employer with false information.

Many employers don't mind looking the other way when it comes to hiring undocumented workers, but as Homeland Security cracks down more and more on the hiring of illegal aliens, potentially high fees are making many employers more careful.

And of course, a social security number search can also rule out potentially dangerous employees who have changed their personal information in order to slip into unsuspecting workplace environments.  

All of this explains why it is that a quality background screening agency will always start with a social security trace, and evaluate a potential hire from there.

As studies on addiction continue reporting drops in drug abuse, many employers might be thinking that they can relax their employee drug testing protocols.  But, as SAMHSA's newest study proves, this is definitely not the case.

According to an article at wboy.com, "while about 15,000 of the illicit drug users in West Virginia were between the ages of 12 and 17, another 105,000 users were aged 18 and older.  And many of them are working full-time jobs."

And every time these employees abuse drugs on the job, they're putting their co-workers, employers, and clients at risk.  This is particularly the case with certain fields of employment that are prone to drug abuse, including construction and mining.  

This is also why employee drug testing is so important; it's an issue that doesn't just save money, it can save lives.  

But West Virginia isn't the only state that needs to enforce and maintain employee drug testing policy.  "According to one of the SAMHSA studies, 8.2%of all full-time American workers used some type of illicit drug and 8.8% used alcohol heavily between 2002 and 2004."

This is why quality background screening services always offer extensive drug testing solutions for any employer looking to foster workplace safety.