Group One background checks in Texas

U.S.A. Texas

Published

I have been put into group one, which is a reporting agency that allows other healthcare facilitys to see why I was terminated. I was not given a chance to resign before termination. My question is, can I request to have it changed? Is this a type of discrimination? all this is making me want to get out of healthcare all together, seems like i will allways have a disadvantage being a guy and all.

Thanks. I'm new to this site. I did a search to see what was on the forum for Group One and everything I found was several years old.

I have heard of that if you speak up in Hopsitlas in Texas and the worst is North Texas you get black balled or put in Group One. Does any one have or had similar expreince?

Specializes in Med/Surg, Acute Rehab.

I plan on moving back to Dallas when I graduate with my RN in December. I keep seeing comments about Group One and how "all" the hospitals use this service. When I looked on their client list, it was mostly Baylor affiliates, Parkland, and some others. There are so many more large hospitals in Dallas that were not on the list. Does anyone know if that client list from Group One is accurate? Would appreciate any help. Thanks

Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.

Every hospital in the DFW area is serviced by GroupOne, including those not listed on their website's client list. Several local nursing homes and skilled nursing facilities also report to GroupOne, although you won't see the names of these facilities on that client list.

For example, I submitted an application at a nursing home in Hurst about 2 years ago. Along with the application was a release to conduct a consumer reporting check through "GroupOne."

Specializes in Too damn many.

One thing I hadn't seen in any of these threads are references to lawyers who can help us chalenge some of this eronious information. I have been a nurse for nearly 18 years with no major issues ever. 2 Years ago I have a conflict of interest with my hospital and am not only fired, but writen up in "Group One" as having violated policy by the nature of my business on the side which they were made fully aware of and assured that I maintained a profesional distance when it came to common clients. (My partner handled them)

A family member who accessed our services outside my hospital raised cain because she was not happy with the services my company provided and subsequently the hospital decided it was easier to fire me rather than point out to the complaining party how unreasonable she was being.

Now I have a black mark on my group One file that has led to me being denied an oportunity at a Hospital I had been looking forward to Joining.

Group One might have originated with good intentions, but it is very obviously now little more than a backdoor blacklist that offers NO easy solution to challenging hearsay and opinion. If these allegations were brought to a court, the judge would have the prosecuter's ears boxed for wasting the courts time, unfortunately Group One has no such standard to live up to.

I still want to know a lawyer I can go to for help with this. ANyone feel free to PM me. Would be appreciated.

I've evidently been blackballed by Group One also.

Manager found out I was looking for another job & started writing me up, had 2 jobs lined up and was told I failed the background check, and that Group One was the reporting agency.

Outside of leaving the area, anyone have any suggestions?

Specializes in Emergency/Trauma/Education.
I've evidently been blackballed by Group One also.

Manager found out I was looking for another job & started writing me up, had 2 jobs lined up and was told I failed the background check, and that Group One was the reporting agency.

Outside of leaving the area, anyone have any suggestions?

Contact GroupOne so you can review your report. You can challenge what is on there and potentially get it removed.

Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.
I've evidently been blackballed by Group One also.

Manager found out I was looking for another job & started writing me up, had 2 jobs lined up and was told I failed the background check, and that Group One was the reporting agency.

Outside of leaving the area, anyone have any suggestions?

You can also apply for a job at a hospital that doesn't pay close attention to GroupOne reports, such as Kindred or Healthsouth. Many nursing homes will hire you without ever reviewing GroupOne. Or, you can fight to get this report cleaned up via the FCRA (Fair Credit Reporting Act).
You can also apply for a job at a hospital that doesn't pay close attention to GroupOne reports, such as Kindred or Healthsouth. Many nursing homes will hire you without ever reviewing GroupOne. Or, you can fight to get this report cleaned up via the FCRA (Fair Credit Reporting Act).

I'm in the process of doing so.

In the meantime I'm going to become a traveling nurse (kid just started college and I'm single, have been considering traveling for a few years)

Group One is just begging for a class action suit IMHO.

Group One-Don't Think It Can't Happen To You!! I feel a need to report the unfortunate ruining of my brand new career in respiratory therapy, mainly due to Group One. This is a long story but I want people to know what can and does happen, with total disregard on the impact on people's lives, in my case with six children to support and now locked out of any jobs.

I am 46 years old with a bachelor degree from UTA way back in 1988. I hated college and just wanted a degree, as everyone back then said, "Oh, just get a degree, and all of these doors will open up for you." Not really, as I ended up staying in the automotive field as a mechanic and then as a manager for the better part of twenty-five years. Now, let me start from the beginning.

Back in 1991 my ex-wife (as of April, 2008) and I had a very difficult pregnancy with our first son. A very long story short, he was born weighing 14.3 ounces and was not expected to live. He was in the NICU for eighteen months before we were ever able to take him home, literally died twice, Care-flighted to Cooks in Fort Worth 5 times, on and on and on. His medical history is immense, when the hospital sent the initial bill it had to be delivered by UPS because it was too heavy to go througbh the post office. Regardless, I had a fantastic image of Cooks Hospital and always thought to myself what a great place to work. As I got older, and I thought wiser (not) I decided to make a gigantic career change because I wasn't happy fixing cars anymore. I told my wife and six children that I wanted to go back to school and do something else. I thought respiratory therapy would be a natural choice since I had been doing it at my house with my son for sixteen years. I left a good salary in the mechanic field, made a lot of sacrifices materially and entered RT school.

My first semester there an opening was posted for a part-time "equipment technician" that was after school and every weekend. I interviewed for the job and was ecstatic because I was getting to work at the place of my dreams. It was very difficult for me as I had been out of school for all these years and working after school until 10 three nights a week as well as the weekends almost killed me. I did it to get my foot in the door because I was told when I graduated I would be guaranteed a full-time RT position. Basically I cleaned monitors, CF nebs, stocked all of the respiratory stock rooms, ran the pasteurizer, and the drier for the flow sensors. When I graduated I indeed was given a full-time position working nights and weekends. Everything was working as planned.

The strain of school and night shifts and raising six children, again one with very special needs, took its toll on my marriage, and I found out during my last semester that my perfectly Catholic wife was filing for divorce, not because of an affair or anything, but I didn't do enough around the house, as well as other issues. What a shock!! I am not trying to make this a pity party but this info is necessary to understand what has happened. During this difficult time, living between two houses, I did not get, for whatever reason, my renewal notice from the state for my RCP license. Cooks has a policy also that all employees will be notified when any employee's license, or other credentials, are within one month of expiring. I DID NOT get any notice from them either, as they admitted to by terminating the person responsible for issuing these notices. Regardless, I did not get either notice, and my license expired in December of 2007. I had fantastic reviews, got along great with everybody, and had just been oriented to the NICU and was scheduled to work there full-time. When my superior found out my license had expired, I was called ON THE PHONE and told I was being terminated, and that it would list on Group One as " terminated for policy violation." The last thing I was told by the higher-ups was, "be sure to get a job before this shows up on the Group One." I was also told by the head of the department that I was eligible for rehire, but " I wouldn't call back in two or three months though." Luckily for me my night supervisor had taken a new position at a hospital thirty-five miles away and he hired me immediately when he found out what had happened, as he emulated that I was an excellent therapist (his words, not mine.)

I then applied to Dallas Childrens because I wanted to get back to a pedi setting. I was willing to either drive from southwest Fort Worth or take the little commuter train for the opoortunity. Anyway, I put on my application, truthfully, that I had indeed been terminated from a previous position for policy violation. The truth is always best, right? I interviewed with three different individuals, all therapists, on three different occasions. The first words out of my mouth were "I am on the Group One list, this is what happened, these were the circumstances." Everyone said it would not be a problem because I had told them up front and they wanted me as a therapist. I did not even know what Group One was as it took me six months to find out about this "secret entity" that no one would discuss. Anyway, I was received a WRITTEN OFFER in the mail from them, and at this point I decided to turn in my two week notice. When I gave notice I mentioned that I wanted to stay on prn.

I had just taken my drug screen and at 1000 on the morning of around the 20th of September I had received a call from Dallas Children's occupational health department to schedule my physical, which I did. Thirty minutes later I received another call from the HR recruiter, the same person who made me the verbal and written offer, that because of my Group One entry they were rescinding the offer. When I finally found out that I could comment on this Group One entry I decided to do that not two weeks before this call. I felt compelled to reply because the way Cooks left it "policy violation" could be anything from a license revocation to giving the wrong medication and killing someone! So I replied," This entry is the result of an accidental expiration of my RCP license from the state of Texas, as I was not notified, per Cooks policy, that my license was coming up for renewal." I was not implying in the least that it was not my fault for the expiration, I was just trying to defend myself. they did not have to put me on the Group One "list" as I know several people who have been terminated from there and were not put in this inclusive category. Anyway it apparently is an arbitrary decision of the manager to do it or not, in my case she sure did. The lady at Dallas Childrens told me off of the record, " You may want to reword your response to take the word accidental out of the equation. She then went on to inform me how it was my responsibility to keep my license current as a professional and on and on. She would send me a letter regarding this and goodbye. I don't know if it was the actual Group One entry or my response that led them to make the "judge and jury" judgment that I was trying to blame the hospital for my license expiration. How ridiculous!! But again, they are the only ones that get any imput here. I was not asked to explain any circumstances or give any imput before they made this determination. I called the respiratory manager and asked her and she said she fought HR for me and explained to them that she had told me on two different occasions that the Group One entry would not be a problem. She said," If you get a written offer, everything is a go." I got the offer, took off, and exploded like Challenger.

Luckily I was somehow valued enough at my present position that they for some reason took me back, but what if they had not? So here I am- I cannot get another job anywhere in the metroplex. I do not know enough people in the field as I have only been out of school a little over a year now. Basically this has completely tied my hands and ruined my "new career." I was not even notified of my entry on Group One, which seems illegal to me.

Now, everyone says, "You need to sue them." I DONT HAVE THE MONEY TO SUE THEM. I have access to someone with plenty of money and I am trying to decide if that is a route I want to explore. I have a phone call into my brother about truck driving. You have been warned and if anyone has any ideas for me I would certainly appreciate them. Sorry for the length but I thought it was necessary. Best of luck to all of you. What a terrible shame- the medical establishment loses a therapist who is in it for the right reason, and I can't even get a job. I'm sorry for the cynicism but I feel really screwed and I can do nothing about it because Texas is a right to work state. I always loved being born and raised here- not anymore.mad.gif

Group One-Don't Think It Can't Happen To You!! I feel a need to report the unfortunate ruining of my brand new career in respiratory therapy, mainly due to Group One. This is a long story but I want people to know what can and does happen, with total disregard on the impact on people's lives, in my case with six children to support and now locked out of any jobs.

I am 46 years old with a bachelor degree from UTA way back in 1988. I hated college and just wanted a degree, as everyone back then said, "Oh, just get a degree, and all of these doors will open up for you." Not really, as I ended up staying in the automotive field as a mechanic and then as a manager for the better part of twenty-five years. Now, let me start from the beginning.

Back in 1991 my ex-wife (as of April, 2008) and I had a very difficult pregnancy with our first son. A very long story short, he was born weighing 14.3 ounces and was not expected to live. He was in the NICU for eighteen months before we were ever able to take him home, literally died twice, Care-flighted to Cooks in Fort Worth 5 times, on and on and on. His medical history is immense, when the hospital sent the initial bill it had to be delivered by UPS because it was too heavy to go througbh the post office. Regardless, I had a fantastic image of Cooks Hospital and always thought to myself what a great place to work. As I got older, and I thought wiser (not) I decided to make a gigantic career change because I wasn't happy fixing cars anymore. I told my wife and six children that I wanted to go back to school and do something else. I thought respiratory therapy would be a natural choice since I had been doing it at my house with my son for sixteen years. I left a good salary in the mechanic field, made a lot of sacrifices materially and entered RT school.

My first semester there an opening was posted for a part-time "equipment technician" that was after school and every weekend. I interviewed for the job and was ecstatic because I was getting to work at the place of my dreams. It was very difficult for me as I had been out of school for all these years and working after school until 10 three nights a week as well as the weekends almost killed me. I did it to get my foot in the door because I was told when I graduated I would be guaranteed a full-time RT position. Basically I cleaned monitors, CF nebs, stocked all of the respiratory stock rooms, ran the pasteurizer, and the drier for the flow sensors. When I graduated I indeed was given a full-time position working nights and weekends. Everything was working as planned.

The strain of school and night shifts and raising six children, again one with very special needs, took its toll on my marriage, and I found out during my last semester that my perfectly Catholic wife was filing for divorce, not because of an affair or anything, but I didn't do enough around the house, as well as other issues. What a shock!! I am not trying to make this a pity party but this info is necessary to understand what has happened. During this difficult time, living between two houses, I did not get, for whatever reason, my renewal notice from the state for my RCP license. Cooks has a policy also that all employees will be notified when any employee's license, or other credentials, are within one month of expiring. I DID NOT get any notice from them either, as they admitted to by terminating the person responsible for issuing these notices. Regardless, I did not get either notice, and my license expired in December of 2007. I had fantastic reviews, got along great with everybody, and had just been oriented to the NICU and was scheduled to work there full-time. When my superior found out my license had expired, I was called ON THE PHONE and told I was being terminated, and that it would list on Group One as " terminated for policy violation." The last thing I was told by the higher-ups was, "be sure to get a job before this shows up on the Group One." I was also told by the head of the department that I was eligible for rehire, but " I wouldn't call back in two or three months though." Luckily for me my night supervisor had taken a new position at a hospital thirty-five miles away and he hired me immediately when he found out what had happened, as he emulated that I was an excellent therapist (his words, not mine.)

I then applied to Dallas Childrens because I wanted to get back to a pedi setting. I was willing to either drive from southwest Fort Worth or take the little commuter train for the opoortunity. Anyway, I put on my application, truthfully, that I had indeed been terminated from a previous position for policy violation. The truth is always best, right? I interviewed with three different individuals, all therapists, on three different occasions. The first words out of my mouth were "I am on the Group One list, this is what happened, these were the circumstances." Everyone said it would not be a problem because I had told them up front and they wanted me as a therapist. I did not even know what Group One was as it took me six months to find out about this "secret entity" that no one would discuss. Anyway, I was received a WRITTEN OFFER in the mail from them, and at this point I decided to turn in my two week notice. When I gave notice I mentioned that I wanted to stay on prn.

I had just taken my drug screen and at 1000 on the morning of around the 20th of September I had received a call from Dallas Children's occupational health department to schedule my physical, which I did. Thirty minutes later I received another call from the HR recruiter, the same person who made me the verbal and written offer, that because of my Group One entry they were rescinding the offer. When I finally found out that I could comment on this Group One entry I decided to do that not two weeks before this call. I felt compelled to reply because the way Cooks left it "policy violation" could be anything from a license revocation to giving the wrong medication and killing someone! So I replied," This entry is the result of an accidental expiration of my RCP license from the state of Texas, as I was not notified, per Cooks policy, that my license was coming up for renewal." I was not implying in the least that it was not my fault for the expiration, I was just trying to defend myself. they did not have to put me on the Group One "list" as I know several people who have been terminated from there and were not put in this inclusive category. Anyway it apparently is an arbitrary decision of the manager to do it or not, in my case she sure did. The lady at Dallas Childrens told me off of the record, " You may want to reword your response to take the word accidental out of the equation. She then went on to inform me how it was my responsibility to keep my license current as a professional and on and on. She would send me a letter regarding this and goodbye. I don't know if it was the actual Group One entry or my response that led them to make the "judge and jury" judgment that I was trying to blame the hospital for my license expiration. How ridiculous!! But again, they are the only ones that get any imput here. I was not asked to explain any circumstances or give any imput before they made this determination. I called the respiratory manager and asked her and she said she fought HR for me and explained to them that she had told me on two different occasions that the Group One entry would not be a problem. She said," If you get a written offer, everything is a go." I got the offer, took off, and exploded like Challenger.

Luckily I was somehow valued enough at my present position that they for some reason took me back, but what if they had not? So here I am- I cannot get another job anywhere in the metroplex. I do not know enough people in the field as I have only been out of school a little over a year now. Basically this has completely tied my hands and ruined my "new career." I was not even notified of my entry on Group One, which seems illegal to me.

Now, everyone says, "You need to sue them." I DONT HAVE THE MONEY TO SUE THEM. I have access to someone with plenty of money and I am trying to decide if that is a route I want to explore. I have a phone call into my brother about truck driving. You have been warned and if anyone has any ideas for me I would certainly appreciate them. Sorry for the length but I thought it was necessary. Best of luck to all of you. What a terrible shame- the medical establishment loses a therapist who is in it for the right reason, and I can't even get a job. I'm sorry for the cynicism but I feel really screwed and I can do nothing about it because Texas is a right to work state. I always loved being born and raised here- not anymore.mad.gif

Most employment attorneys take cases on contingency. I would call the local bar association, or law school, and ask if they could refer someone to you. I am so sorry for what happened.

Lindarn, RN, BSN, CCRN

Spokane, Washington

I would never willingly move to TX and attempt to work in healthcare because of what I have read about Group One. I have had enough of a traumatic work history simply trying to deal with what individuals have said about me, for whatever their agenda was at the time. I, myself, would never participate in blacklisting a person if I could possibly avoid it. It is one thing to have a low opinion of a person, or their work, and quite another to insure that they can't make a living. At the end of the day, some of us have a different criteria allowing us to sleep at night. Interfering with the livelihood of another human falls into this category for me.

+ Add a Comment