Minnesota is one of fourteen states in the U.S. currently not requiring background checks for licensed nurses. Due to a simple yes or no question asking applicants if they have been convicted of a felony or misdemeanor charges, a loophole exists allowing convicted criminals to become a licensed nurse if they lie on their application. In Minnesota alone, 50,000 people per year must self-disclose any convictions in order to get or renew their nursing license. According to Shirley Brekken, executive director of Minnesota’s state Nursing Board, the Board does not conduct a separate background check to verify whether or not license applicants are answering truthfully. When asked to gauge an estimate of how many applicants may be lying on their applications, Brekken replied she would “only speculate about that.” Brekken says that the nursing board does not have the resources to conduct criminal checks.

Investigators at Fox 9 in Minneapolis-St. Paul have uncovered several cases of nurses with criminal records working throughout Minnesota. When hospital nurse Jessica Baird went to renew her nursing license in 2011, she answered “no” to the convictions question, despite past convictions for a DWI and disorderly conduct. She was also under an active police investigation for stealing painkillers from a patient. The stolen pills were discovered after causing a car accident in which she and another driver were injured. The nursing board was not alerted until Baird pled guilty to the drug theft and related DWI and careless driving charges in April, after which the board suspended her license for 18 months. In another case, a licensed practical nurse working at an assisted living home in Minneapolis also lied on his renewal application. Nurse Bert Sieler had previous convictions for DWI and driving after revocation, before ending up in federal court for stealing over 400 Percocet pills from two residents in his care. Sieler pled guilty to the theft and for selling the pills, and the nursing board pulled his license once they were alerted to his crimes.

Although a criminal history found through a background check does not necessarily bar someone from obtaining a nursing license, it does alert regulators to take a closer look to ensure that person can be trusted as a care giver. The state of Kansas started conducting FBI fingerprint checks on nursing hopefuls in 2008 after it was discovered that a prison escapee stole a nurse’s identity and obtained a nursing license. Even after implementation of the criminal record checks, the Kansas Nursing Board still found a large number of applicants lying about their past. “Twenty-nine percent had a criminal history that was not disclosed on their initial application,” said nursing board director Mary Blubaugh.

Don’t make the same mistake as the Minnesota nursing board by relying only on self-disclosure instead of using a background check. With access to countless criminal databases nationwide, backgroundchecks.com provides several options for instant and affordable results. Their US OneSEARCH criminal record search also includes sex offender information from 49 states (plus Washington D.C., Guam, and Puerto Rico) with photos. Or try their National Wants and Warrants search. This search will give results within one to two days, and is a nationwide search of local, county, state, and Federal extraditable warrants, and may include misdemeanors or felonies. Most law enforcement agencies contribute to this database. Why leave it to chance? Find out what potential employees may be hiding with backgroundchecks.com.

About backgroundchecks.com -

backgroundchecks.com - a founding member of the National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS®) and cofounder of the Expungement Clearinghouse - serves thousands of customers nationwide, from small businesses to Fortune 100 companies by providing comprehensive screening services. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, with an Eastern Operations Center in Chapin, S.C., backgroundchecks.com is home to one of the largest online criminal conviction databases in the industry. For more information about backgroundchecks’ offerings, please visit www.backgroundchecks.com.

Source: http://www.myfoxtwincities.com/story/18403196/investigators-nursing-license-loophole

Bouncy play houses and castles are a common site at children’s parties and other events for children, making for a fun time for the children who attend. A small business that provides the inflatable toys had no idea that they had hired a convicted sex offender into their business that caters to children. USA Inflatables, based out of Champlin, MN, learned the hard way when employee Greg Sissala was recently arrested for failure to register as a sex offender. Business owner Kurt Wresh was shocked to find out, since Sissala never made any mention of previous arrests. According to a report from WCCO-TV, it turns out Sissala has an extensive criminal past. Convicted of a sex crime in Chisago county in 1995, fortunately Sissala was not directly working with any children, since he was only assigned to work out of the warehouse.

This is lucky for USA Inflatables, who prior to this incident, were not in the habit of running criminal background checks. In business for eleven years, and with 20 employees, new hires are checked for driving related offenses, including a driver’s license and DOT check, and must pass a drug test. According to Wresh, Sissala was questioned on his background but made no mention of his criminal past.

The Anoka County Sheriff’s department reports that this was not the first time Sissala failed to register, which is a violation of his release conditions. He now waits behind bars while a case is presented to the county attorney for potential charges and extra jail time.

Wresh has learned from this ordeal, and now wants to get the word out to other business owners the importance of background checks on potential employees. This incident is the beginning of hiring policy changes at USA Inflatables. Wresh states that they have now run background checks on their remaining staff. This is especially important if there is a chance any employees in your business could have contact with children.

These stories are becoming all too common. Small businesses are even more prone, as they may not have the resources in place, or think performing background checks is too difficult or time consuming. However, as seen in a recent article, Sex Offenders Have an Open Door in Florida Thanks to Weak Law, organizations who have weak regulations concerning background checks are more likely to allow sex offenders and other criminals through their doors, possibly giving them access to children.

Don’t be caught off guard the way Kurt Wresh was. Many people with criminal pasts will not voluntarily admit so. The only way to know for sure is to perform background checkson both prospective and current employees. A company like backgroundchecks.com provides several affordable options for instant results. Their US OneSEARCH provides information from more than 355 million criminal records from counties, Department of Corrections (DOC), Administration of Courts (AOC) and State Sex Offender Registries covering 49 states plus Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, and Guam. Also included are national and international terrorism sources, more than 4.1 million photos, and their proprietary database of previously completed reports. And if you’re only looking for sex offender records, the US Offender OneSEARCH Offender Registry search includes information contained in the US OneSEARCH. This data includes sex offender information from 49 states (plus Washington D.C., Guam, and Puerto Rico) with photos. Make backgroundchecks.com part of your hiring process, and protect yourself from unexpected surprises down the road.

About backgroundchecks.com -

backgroundchecks.com - a founding member of the National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS®) - serves thousands of customers nationwide, from small businesses to Fortune 100 companies by providing comprehensive screening services. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, with an Eastern Operations Center in Chapin, S.C., backgroundchecks.com is home to one of the largest online criminal conviction databases in the industry. For more information about backgroundchecks’ offerings, please visit www.backgroundchecks.com

Source: http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2012/05/21/sex-offender-case-highlights-need-for-background-checks/

As if it’s not bad enough to be harassed by collection agencies when a consumer does not have the money to pay, imagine if those companies hired felons who not only harassed consumers, but also stole their information.  Unfortunately, Minnesota consumers don’t have to imagine this, because it’s a reality.  Regulators found six separate debt collection agencies who had hired “dozens and dozens” of felons to carry out collections.  As it turns out, these felons participated in unlawful harassment of consumers and then stole financial information, making the financial situation of the consumers in question much worse than they already were.  Investigative reporters found approximately 743 criminals working as debt collectors in Minnesota alone, all working for agencies who had failed to carry out state required background checks.  The companies will be paying about $900,000 in fines and promises to make the appropriate corrections to their hiring procedures.

Whether these companies were trying to save time or money is unclear.  What is clear is that they would have avoided almost a million dollars in fines simply by following regulations.  While by paying the fines, the companies do not have to admit their guilt, they do have to shape up operations going forward.  This means consumers will not know whether the hiring of felons was intentional or not, but due to the increase in debt and the rising aggression with which credit collection agencies are going after debtors, the agencies might have been trying to hire more intimidating personnel.  Unfortunately, this also meant hiring someone willing to commit yet another crime.

The Federal Trade Commission does not have an exact number of felons currently working for these companies, nor do they know exactly how many consumers were affected by the breach.  It is likely they will be keeping a much closer eye on these and similar companies in order to prevent further financial crimes.  The affected companies will need to beef up hiring protocol by requiring all hires to go through strict screening processes.  They will need to check national databases like US OneSEARCH and US AliasSEARCH for criminal records for both new hires and current employees, in order to rid their company of any potential security threats.  Fortunately, there are many background checking companies out there who can help make this process as fast as possible.

About backgroundchecks.com -

backgroundchecks.com - a founding member of the National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS®) - serves thousands of customers nationwide, from small businesses to Fortune 100 companies by providing comprehensive screening services.  Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, with an Eastern Operations Center in Chapin, S.C., backgroundchecks.com is home to one of the largest online criminal conviction databases in the industry. For more information about backgroundchecks’ offerings, please visit www.backgroundchecks.com.

Source:  http://m.startribune.com/news/?id=131258524