new corporation investigating health care workers

[CRNI-ICU20]

Hi kids,

Because I am considering a traveling position in the near future, I have been applying with many companies, etc. One in particular wants me to sign a "pre-employment and disclosure release form". This sounds innocuous enough when just scratching the surface....the usual personal references, etc. However, when reading the fine print, this gives permission for credit history/checks, driving records, address history/ies, public records relating to criminal charges, if any, and an "investigative consumer report, which means a consumer report or portion thereof in which information on a consumer's character, general reputation, personal characteristics, or mode of living is obtained through personal interviews with persons having knowledge."

This is done through a company that has been in existence since 1983 as a background investigation company, but since 1993 have been assisting health care facilities in verifying healthcare credentials and healthcare integrity.

It all sounds good, right?

Here's the part that seems NOT OKAY.

If you are denied a job because of false or mis-construed information obtained about you by this "investigative" company, ie, people who may go through your garbage for instance, or who may talk to your neighbors, or who may speak to a former room mate, take pictures of you without your knowledge while you are seen going into a club or pub... speak to a boyfriend/girlfriend, or former teacher, and you have no RE-COURSE for rebuttal, because, this is afterall, ALL CONFIDENTIAL even from you, then it smacks of PROFILING....

To me this is no different than not hiring someone because they aren't the right color, religion, sex, or age......which under the Employment Freedom Act, is ILLEGAL....but doing "background checks" like this are not included in this situation......

How do you all feel about this?

Here is the website of the company.....http://www.precheck.com/about.shtml

Personally, I find it to be a real invasion of privacy just to get a job!

I am surprised that no one in any major nursing association is questioning this at all.....

Why should an employer have the right to know where you shop, what you buy, who you entertain, what movies you watch, where you eat out, whether you have drinks with dinner, what books you read.....all of this to provide a prospective employer with a "character profile".....?

I can understand needing to know whether or not someone is a felon, whether they are lying about their educational background or credentials.....and finding out that information is completely easy to do without getting "personal"....

Eventhough I am not hiding anything, and I certainly don't have anything in my closet to be ashamed of, I wonder how a seemingly innocent situation could be skewed against me just because I went out with friends to a local pub to hear a good band one evening.....I am not kidding....Is this what hospitals and HR departments are spending their money on??? give me a break!!

I would prefer that the particulars of my divorce not be common knowledge amongst some in HR, whether they are able to keep it confidential or not.....even though it's a matter of public record, why would my employer or potential employer need to know the entirety of my divorce proceedings....including the reasons why I filed, etc?? Here's a list from their website what they look into....

• Criminal records search (county, state, federal, and international)
  
• Employment history verification
  
• Credentialing of licenses, certifications and permits
  
• Education verification
  
• SSN verification
  
• Adverse action notification
  
• Civil records search (county, state, and federal)
  
• Credit history check
  
• Motor vehicle reports
  
• NPDB (National Practitioner Data Bank) - HIPDB (Healthcare Integrity & Protection Data Bank)
  
• Personal references
  
• Sanction search of excluded individuals
  
• Maiden Name / AKA search
  
• NHDB (National Healthcare Data Bank) cumulative sanction
  
• screening

I know this sounds almost paranoid, yet, I have to wonder why hospitals would need to know the particulars of my civil court case, ie divorce in order to hire me....or where I go out to eat....or what companies I do business with....

How do you guys feel about this?? crni

[time4meRN]

You're not paranoid. There's way too much big brother. My daughter is a teacher. They told her in orientation to be watchful over the funds they contribute to. There is a teacher that gave to an orginization back in the 70's. Somewhere along the line the organization became tied to terrorist. Now due to the Home Stead Act. They told the teachers he is in for the fight of his life to prevent being charged. Hope they never find out I used to listen to Cat Stevens. I could be big trouble. (kidding I think !)

[teeituptom, BSN, RN]

Big Brrother is watching

One of my favorite past times is taking my paintball gun and shooting the cameras up there, we also spraypaint whatever security cameras we can get to. We are trying to start a nationwide grassroots camera painting movement to foil the conspiracies of big brother.

[CRNI-ICU20]

I have about a half gallon of left over green paint.....if ya need it....and it doesn't wash off with water!!

Thanks for helping me see the lighter side of this....even if it's a bit daunting to think I could have some schmoe crawling up my colon looking for more than a few polyps!! ugh.

Let's UNITE!! or UNTIE!! orwhateverthehellyadowhenstufflikethishappens!!

I need a cold beer and a foot rub now! (is that on their list??)

I am ALWAYS on somebody's list....heheheh!

crni

[woody62, RN]

I don't know who told one of you that the U.S. Marshall Service was doing a background check on an active duty military person but they do not know what they are talking about. First of all, Honor Guards for active duty personnel being buried in our national cemeteries are selected by their company commander, with the exception of a personal request from the dead military person's family. The Honor Guard at Arlington National Cemetery is drawn from a special unit you have to be named to. And they are based at Fort Meade. My source, my father's twenty-eight years in the U.S. Army, plus my four years in the Air National Guard. And I had to attend the burial of a twenty-three year old young friend, whom I had known since he was five. He had been married less then seven weeks. Had been a graduate of West Point for sixteen months and he had been in Iraq for seven weeks. And Todd was buried at Arlington, with full military honors, awarded the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star.

Second, I wouldn't sign any permission that denied me the opportunity to correct or question a background check on me. With the exception of the FBI and Secret Service, most of these companies don't have a clue as to how to conduct a proper background search. No job is worth that much to me to give someone else free rein over me or my professional or personal life.

Woody:balloons:

[teeituptom, BSN, RN]

I like green

[Cindy1008RN]

Ok, so now if you want to be a nurse, you have to be perfect? I wonder how this job description would look..... HMMMM, Sounds like the peak of a slippery slope. I am thinking I better be careful what I post.:) I agree.....very close to profiling.

Thanks for the information.....................

[sharona97, BSN, RN]

Hey Judy Ann, Identity theft comes to my mind with your post. It is never to late to report stuff like that to the Federal Gov't. Hope it was just a stupid company with wrong info.....

[EmmaG, RN]

**** like this makes me want to do something subversive.

[Altra, BSN, RN]

I'm not saying that your concern is paranoid or anything like that. However ... I think you're making some personalized assumptions about, for example, the theory that someone wants to read the details of your divorce. A "civil court records check" simply turns up court docket numbers. So yes, it will turn up that you were a party to a divorce, but not the details.

I've read so many posts here from members freaking out about credit checks as part of pre-employment background checks. Once again ... unless you're handling cash or other financial assets as part of your job, it's highly unlikely that anyone cares a whit what your balance is at Nordstrom. What is gleaned from credit reports, from a human resources standpoint, is confirmation of other information you have provided: employment, current and previous addresses, evidence that you are who you say you are, etc.

I'm not saying that I necessarily agree with the level of scrutiny that has become standard practice in the human resources field these days, but these practices are not meant to intimidate prospective employees but protect the organization from legal/risk exposure. And this is not all restricted to health care fields. The most comprehensive pre-employment background check I ever underwent was for a position as a part-time receptionist, go figure.

[leslie :-D]

i find it downright creepy.

leslie

[sharona97, BSN, RN]

You're not paranoid. There's way too much big brother. My daughter is a teacher. They told her in orientation to be watchful over the funds they contribute to. There is a teacher that gave to an orginization back in the 70's. Somewhere along the line the organization became tied to terrorist. Now due to the Home Stead Act. They told the teachers he is in for the fight of his life to prevent being charged. Hope they never find out I used to listen to Cat Stevens. I could be big trouble. (kidding I think !)

Funny! I always liked that guy!

[sharona97, BSN, RN]

And now car and homeowners insurance need an"insurance score" but "we don't look at your credit report" Yeah right.