| Welcome | Welcome to the August 2007 edition of the Credential Check Examiner! This month we look at workplace violence prevention and intervention strategies, ADA compliance, and another hiring tip from Todd Palmer.
As always, please feel free to reply with your comments and suggestions!
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| Comprehensive Workplace Violence Prevention and Intervention Strategies
| While focusing on immediate reactions in the face of imminent danger, many organizations neglect to put forth the necessary effort regarding pre and post incident strategies, all of which are essential to a comprehensive workplace violence prevention program. “It is important for organizations to understand that all three strategies work together and the importance for any plan to include all three” States Timothy Whiting, Director of Corporate Services, with Credential Check Corporation. Each stage has critical components, outlined below, that are crucial to protecting your organization and its employees:
Prevention
- Pre-employment screening.
- Effective policies that are actively enforced and communicated to your workforce.
- Training and education across all levels. Unfortunately, when there are budgetary restrictions, training is one of the first things to go. How can you expect your employees to proactively recognize the warning signs of escalating inappropriate behavior and help report suspicious activities if they are unsure what to look for? There are many cost effective ways to train, such as online training modules that correspond with your organization’s budget while providing critical and life-saving information to your staff.
- Implement reporting mechanisms in which your employees can anonymously report concerns. Remember that workplace violence can manifest itself in harassing and bullying behavior and does not always culminate in bloodshed. If your employees are the recipient of this psychological harassment or witness to it, it is likely they would prefer anonymous ways to report the abuse.
- Implement a detailed organizational response to reported concerns so each concern is responded to efficiently, consistently, and appropriately.
- Proactively analyze security systems.
- Have established relationships with legal consultants.
Intervention
- Have a threat management team, which consists of (at a minimum) an organizational decision maker, Human Resources, corporate security, legal advisors, clinical professional, and public law enforcement (when needed).
- Conduct a thorough investigation and threat assessment into the inappropriate behavior and threats as soon as they come to your attention to prevent any future violent behavior.
- Use the investigative and threat assessment results to help dictate disbursement of disciplinary action. If termination is warranted, consider implementing a separation negotiation, in which you can tie benefits to future behavior, in lieu of a simple termination.
- In the event an incident of workplace violence occurs which exposes the organization to imminent danger, the organization should focus on safety first! It is important to implement your emergency exit plan, engage a crisis counseling team, liaison with local law enforcement, and PR representatives should have content ready so they are prepared to answer media questions appropriately.
Post Incident Follow-Up
- Your work is not complete once you remove the threat from your organization. Post incident follow-up with the organization is imperative. Such methods include victim/target debriefing, team debriefing, continued crisis counseling, continued training, and re-emphasis of organizational policies.
- Continue organizational assessment, especially related to the systemic attributes that may have escalated the behavior (i.e. authoritative managerial style).
- On-going security assessment of facility.
- On-going legal consultation.
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| Homeland Security and European Union Reach Travel Data Accord
|   The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the European Union have recently reached a new agreement that will allow the DHS to continue using Passenger Name Record (PNR) data as an essential screening tool for detecting potentially dangerous transatlantic travelers.
PNR data is utilized as a resource for attempting to connect the dots associated with, and alert authorities to, possible terrorist activity and transnational crime. PNR data shared under the agreement will include names of travelers, dates of intended travel, all available contact information, travel itineraries for specific PNR’s, payment and billing information, travel agency, travel status including confirmations and check in status, ticketing information, all baggage information, and seat number assignment among other relevant data.
European Union Data Privacy and Protection considerations will be honored in the case of sensitive information, such as personal information revealing racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, trade union membership and data regarding health or sex life of an individual.
According to DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff, investigations after some terrorist attacks have showed that PNR data would have helped to identify many terrorists by linking their methods of payment, phone numbers and seat assignments, (specifically the DHS asserts that the 19 hijackers in the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Center would have been identified in a matter of moments).
The new agreement also changes how the PNR data is collected from airline reservation systems. Air carriers will now transmit PNR data directly to the DHS. The agreement also provides legal assurance to European air carriers that they will not be in potential violation of European privacy laws when complying with U.S. laws concerning PNR data.
The information gathered will be utilized to enable DHS Personnel to disrupt terrorist travel, and deny admission to the U.S. to individuals presenting security concerns.Records will be maintained for seven years in an active file, and eight years thereafter in a dormant file with limited access. DHS believes they will be able to identify and investigate threats that might develop over a period of years.
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| | Is Your Organization ADA Compliant? | If we can think back to the years before 1990, we remember that it was not always common to see handicap accessibility in businesses and public facilities. However, since the passing of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1992, we have seen significant changes in how buildings and policies are structured to make accommodations for those with disabilities. Thus, the ADA was created to protect disabled individuals from discrimination by making daily activities easier for those who would not normally be able to go to the store, a restaurant, or ball game. Although the law was originally set up for the purposes of convenience and equal treatment, failure to follow ADA compliance standards can lead to costly lawsuits for your organization. Over the past several years, a number of attorneys have begun to specialize in the prosecution of businesses who fail to make the necessary improvements to accommodate disabled individuals. Many will come into businesses and look for violations while others simply drive by, see that you have no signs and file a suit that names the compliance issues. You always have the option to settle, but if you chose to litigate, you will be investigated by the plaintiff who will be looking for other non-compliant items. Legal experts suggest that making improvements to your business in the present is much cheaper than facing a lawsuit in the future, which could end up costing several thousand dollars between settlements and litigation. Most cases are filed in federal court and businesses are accused of everything from ADA violations to discrimination and hate crimes. Organizations are responsible for features that are inside the building as well as outside, and include everything from the physical world to communication. Required outside amenities include ramps, designated parking with signs that are visible and correct in color, hand railings on the stairs, door levers as opposed to round handles, and a welcome mat that is not too thick or too soft. Amenities inside must include ATMs and signs including Braille instructions, TTY machines on public telephones in buildings for the deaf and hearing impaired, financial statements availability in Braille and large print, the lack of clutter in hallways that prevent passage, water fountains and shelves that are at the correct height for wheelchairs, and bathrooms that are easily accessible. It is also required that you provide your employees with information about how disabled customers/co-workers should be treated and accommodated. You can protect your business by educating yourself and your employees about compliance violations and the consequences. It is not safe to assume that your landlord or building contractor is responsible. The ADA suggests that you put yourself in the position of someone who has a disability and imagine the difficulties that they experience when you think about making changes. Experts suggest you pay attention to the outside improvements first followed by those that are the easiest and least expensive. Some things can be done right away such as lower fixtures and clearing hallways. It is also a good idea to consult with your attorney or insurance agent regarding protection of your business and personal assets. Documentation is important as a record of the improvements will show that you have made a reasonable effort should legal action occur. While this process can be gradual, it is absolutely crucial for protecting your organization. top
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| | Vacations Benefit Employees and Organizations |  The late summer months are unquestionably the peak vacation time for employees. While employers may rue about business slowing down and being unusually short-handed, it is worth mentioning how important vacation time is to employees and their organizations. Unfortunately, many employees do not take advantage of their vacation time. Some employees worry about what will happen with their customers or projects while on vacation, and others are simply so overwhelmed with the demands of their job responsibilities that taking a vacation does not seem possible. Most employees experience some sort of anxiety about the work that will pile up while they are on vacation, or simply the number of e-mails that they will have to respond to upon returning. However, the benefits of a true vacation (with laptops and cell phones turned off) are tremendous. Employees who take vacations have more energy and return from their time off renewed and reenergized. Organizations receive a return on investment for the resources spent on vacation benefits in the form of increased productivity and morale. So encourage your employees to use their vacation time! top
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| Quote of the Month: "Doubt is not a pleasant condition, but certainty is absurd. "
-Voltaire (1694 - 1778)
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| | Vocabulary: Spoliation | Sometimes it is not the evidence that you have, but the way you retrieved and stored it. Such is the argument often made in litigation surrounding spoliation. Spoliation, by definition, is the deliberate or inadvertent modification, loss or destruction of evidence by a party who as been put on notice of litigation but has failed to take appropriate steps to acquire and/or preserve potentially relevant data. A common spoliation claim these days surrounds digital evidence; for example, that an organization altered data on an employee’s hard drive or did not properly preserve chain of custody while obtaining potentially damaging information against that employee. Such data can be rendered inadmissible during litigation if it is found to have been subject to spoliation. Advice: when seeking potentially relevant data, make the acquisition and preservation of that data part of your strategy, and seek outside consultation when in doubt. top
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| | Todd's Tips: Resume Red Flags | Like it or not, resumes are the standard reading fare of hiring managers to locate candidates for job openings. A lot of job seekers may not like the meticulous and formal way of representing themselves to find a job that does not require nearly as much formality such as an entry level position, but the information contained and not contained in resumes is vital. When it comes to resumes, there are some other major things I see all too frequently that send up huge red flags. So, before you comb over your next batch of resume’s for a job opening, keep your eye out for any of these problems: - Job descriptions that are too short: If someone was a machine operator for three years, don't just accept "Operated machine". Look for specifics that apply to your particular opening. You shouldn’t have to guess at what type of work the candidate was doing previously.
- Too long of job descriptions: details are great, but not every single one. Look for candidates who tell us what their main jobs were, but not everything little thing they did on a daily basis. Often employers are looking for specific skill sets and if they get lost in a mess of irrelevant information, we may stop looking.
- Unexplained Job-hopping: How often did the candidate switch jobs? Companies don't like to hire someone who isn't planning on sticking around for long. If the candidate worked seasonal or temp jobs, it's important to list that under the job description.
- Large gaps: If you went a long period of time without work, the first question to be: "What were you doing during that time?" Sometimes the answer is reasonable, however, more often a gap in their resume is a sign to dig deeper for more info.
Here’s hoping all of your hires are “A” players!
Todd Palmer, President, Diversified Industrial Staffing top
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| | Contact Information | If you are interested in obtaining additional information about these articles or the services offered by Credential Check Corporation, please contact one of the following individuals:
Thank you! We'll see you next month!
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