tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37962570530090501662024-03-13T05:06:42.380-07:00Informed DecisionInvestigative & Background Information Services, Inc.
(805) 371-1264INFO-DECISION.COMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10995468122309511229noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3796257053009050166.post-65207929776411846592018-08-01T10:30:00.001-07:002018-08-01T10:30:45.526-07:00We're on the air!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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We're on the air! Paul Dryman is a featured guest on <a href="http://conejovalleyadvicegivers.com/" target="_blank">The Conejo Valley Advice Giver's Podcast</a>, featuring business owners, fascinating entrepreneurs, and the brightest minds from the Conejo Valley area. Hosted by husband and wife team Jay & Michelle Lieberman, the well-established local show is now in it's 117th episode. In this episode, Paul takes the listeners on a tour of how a good private investigator can help out in both business situations, and some of those other delicate moments in people's lives. It's not like the TV shows at all. The podcast episode will be airing Wednesday, August 8th, and you can listen to it <a href="http://conejovalleyadvicegivers.com/" target="_blank">here</a>.INFO-DECISION.COMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10995468122309511229noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3796257053009050166.post-52520210927556567422017-03-15T10:15:00.003-07:002017-03-15T15:49:17.302-07:00Making Minority Hiring Better In Theory And Worse In Practice<br />
<h3 style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<u>A BRIEF HISTORY OF BAD CHOICES</u></h3>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; margin: 0px;">I'm friends with some very thoughtful minority business owners who have made a conscious decision to hire ex-cons who’ve exhibited a willingness to bootstrap themselves up from where they used to be. One is Jailhouse Christian who has been blessed with financial success. His own faith took root while he was an inmate at Wasco State Prison. He now runs a very successful auto repossession business, but also suffers from the searing pain of having had to bury his own son, who he lost to the world of gangs and drugs. Another is an ex-con who runs an automotive service business in San Fernando. Both are outstanding human beings. But, unlike most business owners, they measure their success by the number of lives they can touch, not the number of dollars in their bank account. They each probably give away more money than they keep, but, as one of them puts it, “as long as he keeps blessing other people, the Lord keeps blessing him.” As much as I admire both of these men, it is clear that their business experience is not representative of the business community at large. The business community is risk-averse, and hiring people with a sordid past can be risky, especially if that past includes violence. When the City of Los Angeles enacted FCIHO, the Fair Chance
Initiative for Hiring Ordinance, city rule makers wanted to encourage employers
to give people with prior criminal histories a chance. Starting January 1,
2017, Los Angeles businesses that employ ten or more employees have been given
new mandates that are supposed to be more forgiving to those of us with a
sordid past. </span></div>
<h3>
<u>BACKGROUND</u></h3>
Let’s clear the air about pre-employment screening. The City
of Los Angeles bureaucrats meant well. The old “have you ever been arrested?”
checkbox on a background questionnaire is long gone, and good
riddance. With the original “box,” a current state prison parolee and a
60’s freedom rider were both considered equally worthless. The question made no
distinction as to whether the accused was adjudicated innocent or
guilty. With institutional bias in law enforcement, disparate sentencing
in the court systems, and a host of other societal evils, this wording was a
particularly bad choice.<br />
<br />
<div style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
While the old “been arrested” or the modern "been convicted" part of the question comes down
hard on Black and Latino males in particular, the front half of the question
“have you ever,” comes down hard on older applicants who had cleaned up their
lives and left their youthful indiscretions behind. “Have you ever,” has now
gone away too, even when followed by the phrase “been convicted of a
crime.” </div>
<div style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
The question an HR professional in California would likely
ask today, is “have you been convicted of a crime in the last seven
years.” While the “Ban the Box” or BTB concept is simple, keeping on top
of its recordkeeping requirements is not. BTB started in Hawaii in the late
90’s, and has since spread to 24 states and 150 cities and counties, each with
variations on the theme. The way it typically works is: </div>
<h3>
<u>THE OLD MANDATE</u></h3>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 48px; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;">1.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt "Times New Roman"; margin: 0px;">
</span></span></span><i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">The
employer's not allowed to ask up front about criminal convictions.</span></i></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 48px; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;">2.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt "Times New Roman"; margin: 0px;">
</span></span></span><i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">With a
signed release from the applicant, a criminal background check is done once a
conditional offer of employment is received.</span></i></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 48px; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;">3.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt "Times New Roman"; margin: 0px;">
</span></span></span><i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">If the
background reveals an adverse finding, the applicant receives a
"pre-adverse action notice," and gets an opportunity to challenge
inaccuracies.</span></i></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 13px 48px; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;">4.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt "Times New Roman"; margin: 0px;">
</span></span></span><i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">If the
applicant doesn't respond in a timely manner, an "adverse action
notice" is sent telling them they've out of the running.</span></i></div>
<h3 style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<u>THE ROCK VS. THE HARD PLACE</u></h3>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Labor
and employment laws have changed tremendously over the years. Many of
these changes have turned out to be for the better, but hiring decisions are
still ventures into shark-infested waters. The small business owner can
find him or herself stuck between a rock and a hard place. The rock that
can hit small business owners is a negligent hiring or negligent retention
action. In a negligent retention action, the sword that Plaintiff’s
Counsel is looking for is proof that:</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 48px; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;">1.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt "Times New Roman"; margin: 0px;">
</span></span></span><i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Your
employee behaved badly.</span></i></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 13px 48px; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;">2.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt "Times New Roman"; margin: 0px;">
</span></span></span><i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">You should
have known about it.</span></i></div>
Understanding the rock is comparitively
straightforward. It sticks out of the shark infested waters. As long as you do
a pre-employment background check, you’ll likely see what you
"reasonably should have known." Understanding the hard place of
“fair employment practices,” is more like sailing shark infested waters where
there are submerged reefs. Those submerged reefs are a rocky field of
federal, state, county, and municipal requirements. In a fair employment
practices action, the sword Plaintiff’s Counsel is looking for is proof that:<br />
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 48px; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;">1.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt "Times New Roman"; margin: 0px;">
</span></span></span><i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">The
employer made an adverse employment decision.</span></i></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 13px 48px; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;">2.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt "Times New Roman"; margin: 0px;">
</span></span></span><i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">The decision was made without
giving the employee a fair chance.</span></i></div>
<div style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
The first question out of a business owner’s mouth is
likely to be “that sounds kind of vague, define fair chance.” </div>
<h3 style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<u>THE NEW MANDATE</u></h3>
<div style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
Under LA’s 2017
rules, you can no longer say that a criminal background must be “passed to be
considered for a position,” and you can’t inquire about an applicant’s criminal
history prior to extending a conditional employment offer, but it’s a lot more
complicated than that. Here’s the short version for employers hiring in the
VICINITY of Los Angeles:</div>
<h3 style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<u>NAVIGATING - the short version</u></h3>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 48px; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;">1.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt "Times New Roman"; margin: 0px;">
</span></span></span><i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Make a
determination whether the applicant falls within the expanded definition of
“Employee” as defined in FCIHO.</span></i></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 96px; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;">a.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt "Times New Roman"; margin: 0px;">
</span></span></span><i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Is their
workplace within the City of Los Angeles?</span></i></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 96px; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;">b.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt "Times New Roman"; margin: 0px;">
</span></span></span><i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">If not,
during the last four weeks before the position was advertised, did the
individual performing the job perform two or more hours of work inside the City
of Los Angeles on an average week?</span></i></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 96px; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;">c.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt "Times New Roman"; margin: 0px;">
</span></span></span><i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Is the
applicant a “telecommuter” who works for an employer outside the city while
living inside the City of Los Angeles?</span></i></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 96px; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;">d.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt "Times New Roman"; margin: 0px;">
</span></span></span><i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">If you
answered yes to any of the above, they’re subject to FCIHO.</span></i></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 48px; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;">2.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt "Times New Roman"; margin: 0px;">
</span></span></span><i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Collect
resumes, applications, etc., without touching on the issue of criminal history
at all.</span></i></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 48px; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;">3.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt "Times New Roman"; margin: 0px;">
</span></span></span><i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Conduct
interviews without touching on the issue of criminal history at all.</span></i></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 48px; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;">4.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt "Times New Roman"; margin: 0px;">
</span></span></span><i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Extend a
conditional offer of employment. Get the candidate’s written permission to
conduct a background investigation.</span></i></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 48px; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;">5.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt "Times New Roman"; margin: 0px;">
</span></span></span><i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Have a
criminal background investigation done, making sure the investigator redacts
any inadmissible findings.</span></i></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 48px; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;">6.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt "Times New Roman"; margin: 0px;">
</span></span></span><i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">If a
history of criminal conduct is found, assess whether that history is deemed an
“unreasonable risk.” </span></i></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 48px; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;">7.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt "Times New Roman"; margin: 0px;">
</span></span></span><i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">If the
answer is “yes,” prepare a written notice specifically articulating why that
conditional employee’s conviction constitutes an unreasonable risk to the
company. This notification should consider, at minimum, the nature and gravity
of the offense, the time that has passed since the offense and/or sentence, and
the nature of the job held or sought.</span></i></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 48px; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;">8.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt "Times New Roman"; margin: 0px;">
</span></span></span><i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Record the
date the conditional employee is notified, follow all document retention
requirements, and give the conditional employee at least five business days to
complete the Fair Chance Process.</span></i></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 13px 48px; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;">9.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt "Times New Roman"; margin: 0px;">
</span></span></span><i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">If the
conditional employee submits evidence or other information, do the whole
assessment process over again, considering what the conditional employee
provided.</span></i></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
They say the path to hell is paved with good intentions.
They also say that “in propria persona” means your lawyer has a fool for a
client. With FCIHO, Los Angeles has reached the point when employers need to
either write their own legal arguments explaining how their conditional
employee’s criminality precludes them from working, or hire a labor and
employment attorney to write <i>custom</i> responses every time a background gets a
“hit.” </div>
<h3 style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<u>CRIMINAL CONDUCT EXCLUSION</u></h3>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; margin: 0px;">In some cases, “criminal conduct exclusion” is a fairly
clear business necessity. A past crime shouldn’t be used to exclude a conditional
employee unless it is in some way relevant to the job they are being asked to
perform. Clearly pedophiles doing childcare and bank robbers driving armored
cars are legitimate criminal conduct exclusions, but how does an employer
handle a conviction related to domestic violence where both the alleged victim
and the alleged perpetrator were criminally charged. There’s no way in the
world a streetwise California business owner would make that call without
involving a labor and employment lawyer. </span><br />
<br />
<div style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; margin: 0px;">The simple fact however, is that when business owners feel
legal pressure to give an up or down vote, things go sideways, and that’s where
the problem lies. Under the new L.A. system there are clear winners, and
clear losers. </span></div>
<h3>
<u>WINNERS & LOSERS</u></h3>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; margin: 0px;">The biggest winners are:</span><br />
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 48px; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;">1.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt "Times New Roman"; margin: 0px;">
</span></span></span><i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Los
Angeles area Labor and Employment Attorneys</span></i></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 13px 48px; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;">2.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt "Times New Roman"; margin: 0px;">
</span></span></span><i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">LA City
Bureau of Contract Administration & Office of Finance Bureaucrats.</span></i></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; margin: 0px;"> The biggest losers are: </span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 48px; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;">1.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt "Times New Roman"; margin: 0px;">
</span></span></span><i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Low
skilled Black males without criminal records</span></i></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 13px 48px; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;">2.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt "Times New Roman"; margin: 0px;">
</span></span></span><i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Low
skilled Latino males without criminal records.</span></i></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; margin: 0px;"> Why? In the words of Yogi Berra “In theory,
things turn out the same in theory and in practice. In practice, they don’t.”
Call it subconscious avoidance, pernicious racism, or a reality check, but
given the litigious climate here in sunny Southern California, the simple fact
is that employers don’t want to hire people who’ve been convicted of crimes.
BTB was conceived as a way to combat racial prejudice, and while that’s a good
premise on the surface, when we look at actual employer behavior, it’s an ugly
game of connect the dots. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; margin: 0px;">In the real world, employers know that some minority
populations, particularly young Black and Hispanic men, are disproportionally
represented in the criminal justice system. When Jennifer Doleac of the
University of Virginia and Benjamin Hansen of the University of Oregon did a
BTB study(<i>1)</i>, they found that “removing information about job
applicants’ criminal histories could lead to employers who don’t want to hire
ex-offenders to try to guess who the ex-offenders are, and avoid interviewing
them. In particular, employers might avoid interviewing young, low-skilled,
black and Hispanic men when criminal records are not observable. This would
worsen employment outcomes for these already-disadvantaged groups. In this
paper, we use variation in the details and timing of state and local BTB
policies to test BTB's effects on employment for various demographic groups. We
find that BTB policies decrease the probability of being employed by 3.4
percentage points (5.1%) for young, low-skilled black men, and by 2.3
percentage points (2.9%) for young, low-skilled Hispanic men. These findings
support the hypothesis that when an applicant's criminal history is
unavailable, employers statistically discriminate against demographic groups
that are likely to have a criminal record.” </span></div>
<h3>
<u>BOTTOM LINE</u></h3>
<div style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; margin: 0px;">The City of Los Angeles, despite good intentions, has almost
certainly taken the single largest problem with BTB, and given it a dangerous injection of steroids with the implementation of FCIHO. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<sup><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; margin: 0px;">1. Doleac,
Jennifer L., Hansen, Benjamin. <i>National Bureau of Economic Research Working
Paper No. 22469</i>. NBER, July
2016. <a href="http://www.nber.org/papers/w22469" target="_blank"><span style="border: 1pt; color: #008cc9; margin: 0px; padding: 0in;">http://www.nber.org/papers/w22469</span></a></span></sup></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>INFO-DECISION.COMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10995468122309511229noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3796257053009050166.post-26138113994741317472014-12-02T16:36:00.001-08:002014-12-02T16:43:48.191-08:00The Twilight Zone of Employment Law - Part 2<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-eaaXlBY2zjjXUpMOlO_u4iRz6-qbfbOB1gRf_0jdYM5QJrS_ySrAvlHdd56g5ZMFLMcNOJ1zZbX0bHoGH7iHrpYLy8kkZ8BG7LvvNyUP3VM61e0GDTj3W_c2Y_LAoSxGmi5kJ3K4_rY/s1600/legrand+5+up+array+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-eaaXlBY2zjjXUpMOlO_u4iRz6-qbfbOB1gRf_0jdYM5QJrS_ySrAvlHdd56g5ZMFLMcNOJ1zZbX0bHoGH7iHrpYLy8kkZ8BG7LvvNyUP3VM61e0GDTj3W_c2Y_LAoSxGmi5kJ3K4_rY/s1600/legrand+5+up+array+copy.jpg" height="72" width="320" /></a></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
by Paul LeGrand, CA Licensed Private Investigator</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Last month, we looked at the nightmare case of the fatal
attack at a Vaughan Foods plant in Oklahoma, where a 54 year old grandmother,
Colleen Hufford was murdered by a co-worker named Alton Nolen in an ISIS style
beheading. A second employee, Traci Johnson, who was stabbed numerous times,
survived her attack thanks to the quick reaction of former CEO Mark Vaughan, a
reserve sheriff’s deputy who shot Alton Nolen and rescued Johnson from almost
certain death.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Since the attack, Traci Johnson has been released from the
hospital and is recovering.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A high
school friend of Traci’s set up a GoFundMe.com page at <a href="http://www.gofundme.com/f44exo">http://www.gofundme.com/f44exo</a> to
raise money to help in her recovery, but that site has only raised a few
thousand dollars, a fraction of the actual economic impact Johnson incurred in
the aftermath of the incident. No negligent hiring/negligent retention lawsuit
appears to have been filed against the employer at this time. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The suspect in the beheading, Alton Nolen, is now in the
Cleveland County Jail after initially being hospitalized for the gunshot wounds
incurred during his takedown.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Alton’s social
media postings related to Islamist interests and claimed sharia law was coming,
and he openly admitted to killing Hufford and injuring Johnson. He remains in
custody on a first degree murder charge. His preliminary hearing is scheduled
for today. Prosecutors are expected to seek the death penalty. </div>
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Whether the Vaughan Foods murderer was a jihadist who
idolized terror, or a sociopath who developed a fascination for beheadings, Alton
Nolen was clearly a violent man with a prior criminal history. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In 2011, Alton Nolen was sent to prison for
assault and battery on a police officer. He was released in 2013 and was still
on parole when he was hired to work at Vaughan Foods. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>The
incident triggering Nolen's 2011 arrest was startlingly violent. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The female Oklahoma Highway Patrol Trooper he
overpowered and escaped from stated “He exploded out of his car, hit me in the
chest and pushed me back.” Nolan was captured 12 hours later. Looking back at
the incident, Trooper Betsy Randolph stated “I wish I’d have killed him.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Now
let’s shift gears away from troopers and jihadists.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In hindsight, it’s obvious that Alton Nolen
was a violent person. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What’s not so
obvious is that while employers continue to need employees, they need to meet
some important and sometimes conflicting standards when they hire them. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Employers clearly need to avoid hiring candidates that pose
a clear risk of harm, but they also need to be very careful not to engage in a
pattern of hiring where candidates (or employees) become victims of
impermissible discrimination. If statistical data for your company shows
disproportionate hiring, it could open the door for class action based claims
against it. While large employers have been relatively successful at fighting
class action employment lawsuits, that defense is by no means 100% successful.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
What constitutes a legal and proper background check can
vary greatly from state to state, and even from city to city. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In California, you typically can’t report a criminal
conviction from more than seven years ago, a FICO score, or an arrest where the
candidate was exonerated. In San Francisco, if you do government contracting, you can’t have a check box for
criminal convictions on your employment application. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>As a California employer, you can run a credit check
on a candidate whose position involves access to confidential or proprietary
information, but you can’t run a credit check on a candidate whose position will involve
routine access to customer’s personal information while they’re processing
credit card applications. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s a crazy world,
but those are just the cards the modern H.R. Professional is dealt these days.</div>
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<br /></div>
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In Human Resources, the name of the game is often avoiding
liability exposure down the road. In order to be fair to your employees, you’ll
want to look at what positions your company is offering, then decide, and more importantly, document
what level of background investigation is appropriate for the position prior to
hiring. Stick with the same program for all the applicants trying out
for that position. Fair is fair.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you
give warehouse workers a “level one” background, and warehouse supervisors a “level
two,” and you promote someone from warehouse worker to warehouse supervisor, a
new “level two” background check is in order. If you’re smart and organized, your
documentation should show you’ve made the effort to keep the playing field level.
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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While uniform, appropriate background checks based on
position are certainly the best practice, doing consistent checks will soon open
the door to another problem, negative adjudication. As always, it is up to the
employer to set the bar as to what constitutes a “pass” and what constitutes a “fail”
in the background. While there are many nuances to doing this, I can safely say
that deciding what to do with a candidate who has a 2011 felony conviction and
state prison time for assault and battery on a police officer is still a “no
brainer,” even in the People's Republic of California. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
INFO-DECISION.COMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10995468122309511229noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3796257053009050166.post-71193504923270253812014-10-06T16:37:00.001-07:002014-12-02T16:37:31.076-08:00The Twilight Zone of Employment Law - Part 1<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>The Twilight Zone of Employment Law –
Part 1</u></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: center;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">By Paul LeGrand</i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwSDMNIy7CmT-lc7BOFNgYMdYvkDI8UiJle_C4LkUa6Hk5LIxOVHFG1a__17J4aDxAv8zcDb2RIDcOri8ERoc72cxb8T54xqBRQbyyIuLImqXJwE8_pmxzGTSd_cTr6LWCwA1_2fzb4uk/s1600/colleen-hufford3.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwSDMNIy7CmT-lc7BOFNgYMdYvkDI8UiJle_C4LkUa6Hk5LIxOVHFG1a__17J4aDxAv8zcDb2RIDcOri8ERoc72cxb8T54xqBRQbyyIuLImqXJwE8_pmxzGTSd_cTr6LWCwA1_2fzb4uk/s1600/colleen-hufford3.jpeg" height="270" width="320" /></a></div>
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In what instantly became a national news
story, disgruntled jihadist Alton Alexander Nolan, a production line worker at
a food processing plant in Moore, Oklahoma, allegedly murdered 54 year old grandma Coleen
Hufford in an ISIS style beheading. Once the attack started, Vaughan Foods’
company exec Mark Vaughan, who is also Reserve Sheriff’s Deputy with the
Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Department, immediately came to the rescue. Though it
was too late to save Colleen Hufford, whose head was completely severed,
Vaughan immediately took down Nolan with multiple gunshots as Nolan stabbed and
was attempting to behead another Vaughan Foods employee, Traci Johnson. Without
a doubt, Mark Vaughan’s skill at arms and his quick decision to use lethal
force saved the life of Traci Johnson and countless others.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiesT9hK9HRNRMmB8CscCz5fbbbEE7AFL5F7s6tfwMHTaf8CgW2-XMX1i_IXTstOusQmwrOt_P7XsIM5R371sZZNVDRV4aXVB4YSp9vAWlmObgkT1j17GzJHvObGaGF7Hbdy4DrhwWdvho/s1600/mark+vaughan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiesT9hK9HRNRMmB8CscCz5fbbbEE7AFL5F7s6tfwMHTaf8CgW2-XMX1i_IXTstOusQmwrOt_P7XsIM5R371sZZNVDRV4aXVB4YSp9vAWlmObgkT1j17GzJHvObGaGF7Hbdy4DrhwWdvho/s1600/mark+vaughan.jpg" height="320" width="297" /></a></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
The public and the law enforcement
community both praised Deputy Vaughan for his quick and decisive action, but as
much as Mark Vaughan may have been a hero, the “it could have been a lot worse”
defense won’t be particularly useful in the event that <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><u>Johnson,
et. al. v. Vaughan Foods</u></i>, gets filed in Oklahoma’s civil court system. Heroism
notwithstanding, Mark Vaughan and the owners of Vaughan Foods are about to
enter the Twilight Zone of employment law, negligent hiring claims.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<br />
Meet the infamous Alton Alexander
Nolan, age 30. Was he a jihadist lone wolf terrorist who promoted Islam and
disparaged non-Muslims, or a production worker who acted out in a moment of
rage after being suspended? Whether they classify him as a terrorist or not, I’ll
venture to say that it’s highly likely prosecutors will seek the death penalty.
It’s also highly likely that his capital murder defense team will urge Nolan to
cop a plea in order to serve life without parole. So much for the criminal
side. Criminally, the guy’s probably toast. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimRNQwyjXUNRTjO-0oLm03qMWTOXaqpoFT5D7XxE4We33B7vm53kV6lQtyFL4VyEKjeoX6DuumAZj8gVgSBwnp4MZwIfLd5NsQTJtShaUM8aVM-gHkk-ugXJAc1uMgf-9iqU8dtWe69FE/s1600/Nolan.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimRNQwyjXUNRTjO-0oLm03qMWTOXaqpoFT5D7XxE4We33B7vm53kV6lQtyFL4VyEKjeoX6DuumAZj8gVgSBwnp4MZwIfLd5NsQTJtShaUM8aVM-gHkk-ugXJAc1uMgf-9iqU8dtWe69FE/s1600/Nolan.JPG" height="320" width="223" /></a></div>
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In the employment law civil actions
which are likely to follow, it’s time to enter the Twilight Zone. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For starters, Nolan will not be the one on
trial, Vaughan Foods will. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Whether
Nolan’s motive was revenge or religion will have little bearing on the outcome
of the civil trial. What will matter is whether Alton Alexander Nolan was Oklahoma
Department of Corrections Inmate #534241 before Vaughan Foods hired him<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3796257053009050166#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span></span></span></a>.
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nolen was released from ODOC custody on
3/23/2013. His priors include Possession of a Controlled Substance with Intent
to Distribute, Escape from Detention, and Assault & Battery on a Police
Officer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bottom line:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Pre-incident indicators of Alton Nolan’s
potential for violent behavior arguably exist. In the event Vaughan Foods gets
sued, the potential causes of action against Vaughan Foods include
negligent hiring, negligent retention, negligent supervision and/or negligent entrustment.
Each of these is a different, specific allegation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In some of these areas, Vaughan Foods may
have a pretty good defense, but not all of them. </div>
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An attorney bringing a civil case
against Vaughan Foods will no doubt claim that his client(s) would not have
been hurt, but for the employer’s actions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>There are two key questions here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>First, did Vaughan Foods exercise reasonable care in hiring Nolan? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Second, as soon as the employer had a
complaint that Nolan was acting inappropriately, did they conduct a prompt and
thorough investigation, and do they have supporting documentation leading to a
determination about his continuing eligibility?</div>
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From what we can tell based on the
media reports, Alton Nolen was suspended (not terminated) just prior to the beheading
incident.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He allegedly went home, retrieved a
knife, hid it in his boot, and returned to the company, crashing his vehicle into
cars in the company lot before going inside.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He attacked Coleen Hufford from behind, cutting across her throat with a
sawing motion and severing her head. Nolan then attacked Traci Johnson, the
woman who submitted the complaint initiating the investigation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Allegedly, Nolan made statements advocating
the stoning of women.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These kinds of
statements create a hostile work environment, so the employer appears to have
acted appropriately in suspending Nolan in order to investigate Johnson’s
complaint against him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This decision
helps the employer as far as negligent retention and negligent supervision
claims are concerned. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The negligent hiring allegation is going to be
tougher for Vaughan Foods to defend against.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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Traditional negligent hiring claims
typically come about when an employer either 1) fails to screen employees properly,
or 2) hires employees who lack the skills needed to perform their work. In the
case of Nolan, there is little public information indicating how much Vaughan
Foods actually knew about Nolan’s propensity for violence. Civil courts in the United States
have become the little guy’s lotto.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
whole medico-legal food chain involved in personal injury, worker’s
compensation, and harassment / discrimination actions is huge compared to
almost anywhere else in the world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>U.S.
Criminal courts put more people in custody than courts anywhere else in the
world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With 719 inmates per 100,000
population, the U.S. has the world’s highest incarceration rate. Germany, by
comparison, has 80.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Combine these civil
and criminal statistics and there’s a huge social problem that spills over into
employment practices.</div>
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Imagine a society where your life
is determined by what kindergarten you get into.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If companies all did exhaustive background
checks, and had a zero tolerance policy for criminality, it would lead to a
society where all people convicted of offenses become totally unemployable. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While we don’t know whether Vaughan Foods did
a background investigation of Alton Nolan before they hired them, we do know
that in the real world, employers need to hire people quickly and cost
effectively. With jobs like production line work where opportunities for theft
are minimal, contact with the public is limited, and labor rates are very
competitive, it can be very difficult for employers to decide “where to set the
bar” when it comes to backgrounds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There
are a lot of business owners out there who are looking to give people a hand
up, not a hand out. In the United States, one in four adults has a criminal of
some kind record.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s 92.3 million of
us.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3796257053009050166#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[2]</span></span></span></span></a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A quarter of the labor force would be gone if
true “zero tolerance” was the standard.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
Did Vaughan Foods have knowledge of
Nolan’s propensity to commit harm in advance?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Did Alton Nolan complete a background investigation form? Did they check
any of his references?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Did Nolan falsify
information to conceal his criminal past?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>These will be key questions in a civil case.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There will certainly be others.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In Oklahoma, an employer is liable for a
wrongful act of its employee if the employee commits the act while working
within the scope of his or her employment. Clearly, Alton Nolan did not commit
the attack during the course of his employment, and little argument could be
made that beheading co-workers was within the scope of his employment.
Ultimately, however, the person truly responsible for the act will have no
ability to pay, and Vaughan Foods’ insurance carriers will find settling this
case, perhaps even for policy limits, will be a more cost effective strategy
than putting the matter before a jury when opposing counsel can put a victim of an attempted beheading, who was traumatized by an actual beheading a few feet away, on the witness stand. </div>
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<div style="mso-element: footnote-list;">
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<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3796257053009050166#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span></span></span></a>
Oklahoma Department of Corrections inmate information <a href="http://docapp065p.doc.state.ok.us/servlet/page?_pageid=394&_dad=portal30&_schema=PORTAL30&doc_num=634241&offender_book_id=391688&imageindex=1">http://docapp065p.doc.state.ok.us/servlet/page?_pageid=394&_dad=portal30&_schema=PORTAL30&doc_num=634241&offender_book_id=391688&imageindex=1</a></div>
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
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</div>
<div id="ftn2" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3796257053009050166#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[2]</span></span></span></span></a>
Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2008</div>
</div>
</div>
INFO-DECISION.COMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10995468122309511229noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3796257053009050166.post-8598961991825752502014-09-23T10:03:00.001-07:002014-09-23T17:18:58.247-07:00A really fun speaking engagementYesterday morning we were blessed with the opportunity to give a really fun presentation. While we do many speaking engagements in the Conejo Valley and surrounding areas, we typically are sharing our specific expertise on subjects like pre-employment screening, where there are hundreds of little regulatory nuances, or evidence photography, where it is important to be consistent with your protocols and document everything perfectly. When we got the invite to speak at University Village, a very elite country club style retirement living complex, we jumped at the change. <br />
<br />
We always put a lot of prep work into our speaking engagements. When we first started planning our presentation, we were thinking about how retirees might need investigative services. The people who invited us had recently had a speaker cover the topic of scams, so that was out. We even briefly pondered doing a speech on "how to protect your grandkids when your kid's marriage breaks up."<br />
<br />
After a little conversation with their leadership at University Village, it quickly became apparent that we live weird and fascinating professional lives, and what they really wanted was a window on our world. INFO-DECISION.COMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10995468122309511229noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3796257053009050166.post-35973851270147146732013-07-26T16:47:00.001-07:002013-07-26T16:47:16.244-07:00DIGITAL FOOTPRINTS<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhumhyIBrXxcVQavQfHuCO1GK8WLwe131uLWH2rpAo8TfPfBRjW97gOEcV3Xmhj_t5HRpzsRwD5jCl17TxQJdBDzV3VUKaENeM3v6h4jd1MHDrRlNWTiokCygP6jihaYjsmSRsnm2S0KnA/s1600/data+breach.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="630" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhumhyIBrXxcVQavQfHuCO1GK8WLwe131uLWH2rpAo8TfPfBRjW97gOEcV3Xmhj_t5HRpzsRwD5jCl17TxQJdBDzV3VUKaENeM3v6h4jd1MHDrRlNWTiokCygP6jihaYjsmSRsnm2S0KnA/s1600/data+breach.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
(The blue dot above equals 1 million customer's data breached)<br /><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><u>Digital
Footprints</u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The other day I heard a talk radio host refer to a guy
robbing somebody as “analog crime.” There are bad people after both your hard
earned dollars, and your information.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nobody
wants to give in to them, and it seems like we all enjoy the convenience of
being online, except when things suddenly go wrong.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In the world of digital crime, when something does go wrong,
it’s likely to show up not in your own backyard, but halfway around the
world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The last time it happened to me, the problem came in the form of a consumer electronics purchase from a Tesco store. Tesco is a European chain store similar to the USA's Wal-mart. Though the chain does actually own Fresh & Easy, I think the closest Tesco to my house is somewhere in England. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
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Today’s crook is sophisticated, and we are currently exposed
to more financial risk from digital crime than we are from “analog” crime. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By 2017, there will be 1.3 billion online
users filing documents, images<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and
financial records in cloud storage, so there are plenty of opportunities for
people to access data.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Keeping your private stuff private helps. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Whether you’re careful, or not, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>it is very possible for your information to be
stolen from a source you have absolutely no control over, like Visa/MasterCard,
your bank, Apple, T-Mobile, or the Veteran’s Administration. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s
worth taking a good look at your statements for any erroneous charges.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s also worthwhile to conduct your life so you don’t put
out too much personal information.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Over
the course of the last month or two, news stories on people like Edward Snowden
and Julian Assange have increased public awareness of programs like the NSA’s
PRISM surveillance program, and wholesale collection of Verizon customer’s pin
register data. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Clearly the executive
branch has a huge interest in<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>data
archiving on a massive scale, and congress is not going to do anything to close
those particular floodgates. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For many
of us, personal privacy is not that important.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I’m not a particularly private person, and with a litany of past publications,
speaking engagements, and op-ed pieces of one kind or another, short of
changing my name and dropping off the grid, I really don’t expect to have much
privacy.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If you DO value your online privacy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here are a couple of thoughts</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>Online
banking provides less privacy than paper banking.</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>Encryption
is quick, cheap, and easy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span class="gmw_">It also makes you look like a suspect if it is found in certain places, but a <span class="gm_ gm_cadf2dc8-8bbc-7e02-86f1-14511268c58f gm-spell">thumbdrive</span> is probably OK. </span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span class="gmw_"><span class="gmw_"><span class="gm_ gm_a130a1d9-55f7-3d4d-95f3-67800bdf0be3 gm-spell">Thumbdrives</span> move data between machines more securely than </span><span class="gm_ gm_b0c5bc4b-47bd-9d80-c928-2204d29490c6 gm-spell">dropbox</span> or email.</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>Webmail
provides less privacy than using an email client like MS Outlook installed
directly on your PC. </div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">5.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>Cloud
storage provides less privacy than your hard drive.</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">6.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span class="gmw_">Web photo <span class="gm_ gm_a5100cc4-4192-22c8-ac52-34b856e10c88 gm-spell">aps</span><span class="gmw_"> like <span class="gm_ gm_2218574b-b424-73d6-9c91-164d95fe271a gm-spell">flickr</span><span class="gmw_"> and <span class="gm_ gm_cc0d6bd6-57f9-f37e-6a37-12d0adcbbe62 gm-spell">instagram</span> make tracking your photos a breeze! For everybody!</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">7.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>Cloud
based word processors like GoogleDocs provide less privacy than locally stored
word processors like MS Word.</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">8.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>There’s
more snooping than the general public realizes.</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">9.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>Anti-spyware
programs work against the majority of the threats to your HDD and your phone.</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">10.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>Some
things, like your retirement fund, really don’t need to be accessible at the
click of a mouse.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Figure that God, and at least one three letter acronym, are
looking over your shoulder, and you’ll probably be OK.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
INFO-DECISION.COMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10995468122309511229noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3796257053009050166.post-46755385925829221972013-05-22T17:00:00.000-07:002013-05-23T11:25:44.147-07:00Our Take On Those "Top 10 Signs He/She Is Cheating" Lists<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>On Those “Signs Your Spouse Is Cheating” Lists</u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Back in 1953, Alfred Kinsey found 50% of all married males,
and 26% of females had engaged in extramarital sex.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Since then, everybody from Ann Landers to the
blogosphere have written lists proclaiming the “signs your spouse is
cheating.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Over the years, we’ve done
surveillance and other investigations for a wide variety of clients.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While attorneys, corporate human resource
types, and insurance claims examiners all care about the quality of our work
product, no client has near the personal involvement of a “domestic” case
involving the sixth commandment. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As a field investigator with 10+ years of work in this area,
here’s a gut-feeling, seat-of-the-pants, totally unscientific collection of
opinions on those lists, from a guy who’s tailed those who’ve been there, done
that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Let’s start with the obvious. The most simple,
straightforward way to find out if your spouse is cheating is to ask them.
While you probably don’t want to “pop the question” if you’re about to send a
surveillance investigator out after them, many spouses, if given an opportunity
to “come clean,” will admit the truth, especially if the adultery involved a
relationship, not just an out of town business trip with a couple of orgasms
thrown in. It’s rare to find a spouse whose “BS detector” hasn’t gone off once
their spouse has become involved in an extramarital relationship.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To be sure, people lie to get sex, lie to
avoid getting caught, and lie “just because,” but given the opportunity to come
clean, under the right circumstances a decent percentage of marriage partners
will admit the truth when asked. When it comes to adultery, a denial may mean
maybe, but if they answer “yes” to the adultery question, your infidelity
investigation is pretty much done.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
downside of the “come to Jesus meeting” approach is that the next step could be
you sleeping alone that night, so if your exit strategy involves the kids going
off to college first, you might not want to go this way. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There have been plenty of lists of “signs he’s cheating,”
and “signs she’s cheating.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While
“becoming more conscious of their appearance” could mean either a trendy pair
of slacks or a push-up bra, a good chunk of the the underlying behavior is
gender neutral.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Men and women do behave
differently in extramarital affairs, and how they deal with them, but there are
probably more common denominators than differences.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While women and men both cheat, in
about 2/3 of divorce proceedings, the wife is the “petitioner,” and the husband
is the “respondent,” so I’ll use the male pronoun for most of my top ten
list.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: -.5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: -.5in;">
So here’s our
field tested (vicariously) read on the common “top ten lists”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: -.5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: -.5in;">
10.<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>They
don’t touch you as much, they’re gone longer, and they’re angry and critical</u></b>:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: -.5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: -.5in;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">If
you’re still providing for your family’s needs, but she’s suddenly
significantly more resentful and on edge, you may be facing a situation where
she’s involved with someone else. If he changes his patterns and avoids
communication with you, that caring is likely going somewhere else.</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: -.5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: -.5in;">
9.<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>They
go outside or retreat to the other room to make private phone calls: </u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: -.5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: -.5in;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Especially
if he’s receiving calls in the evening, and excusing himself to return the call
after you’ve heard his phone vibrate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Especially if she’s withdrawing to somewhere she can make outgoing calls
undisturbed. </i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: -.5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: -.5in;">
8.<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>They’ve
locked down access to their desktop, laptop, or smartphone</u></b>. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: -.5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: -.5in;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Keeping
a spouse out of one’s digital data is standard operating procedure for marriage
cheats.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If they’ve always been in
lockdown mode, this may not mean anything, but if they used to have everything
in plain sight, and now you’re seeing a screen saver while they’re in the John,
you’ve got a problem. One browser hit to the "life is short, have an
affair" site <a href="http://www.ashleymadison.com/">www.ashleymadison.com</a>
[1] may not be proof of ejaculation, but it’s proof of intent, and they know
it. </i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: -.5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: -.5in;">
7.<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>They
have hidden email or social media accounts.</u></b> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: -.5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: -.5in;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">If
they’ve locked down their digital data, this is still an area a professional
investigator may be able to uncover. While it’s not horrible by itself, it’s a
good indicator combined with item #8.</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: -.5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: -.5in;">
6.<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>They
delete text messages, chat history, and browser history on their smartphone
and social networking accounts.</u></b> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: -.5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: -.5in;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Especially
if it’s done selectively. If messages to Jennifer go back to when he bought the
phone, but messages to Jill from last week went poof, you’ve got a problem.</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: -.5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: -.5in;">
5.<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>They
spend tons of time with a colleague, co-worker, or friend of the opposite sex.</u></b>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: -.5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: -.5in;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">While
a sex-fueled fling may originate via an online dating site, the relationship’s
more likely to come from that temptation he’s known all along.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: -.5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: -.5in;">
4.<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>You
notice a different scent on them.</u></b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Men. We’re idiots. We’ll press our cheek up against a woman wearing Chanel
#5,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and we honestly don’t realize you’ll
figure it out.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: -.5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: -.5in;">
3.<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>They
have a “burn phone” in addition to the normal cellular phone they carry.</u></b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: -.5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: -.5in;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Very
bad sign.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Period. The charger is
probably easier to find than the second phone, but the message and call logs
will be a smoking gun if you somehow manage to find it. </i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: -.5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: -.5in;">
2.<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>They’ve
becomes more conscious of their appearance and fitness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: -.5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: -.5in;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Actually,
this is probably one of the stronger indicators.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If he’s got more muscle and less weight, a
new hairstyle, and trendy clothes, it could be a mistress, age-consciousness,
or simply gearing up to be single again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>If she’s been losing weight and toning up while stuck in a sexless
marriage, there a really powerful dynamic building up there too, that’s looking
for a release. </i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: -.5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: -.5in;">
1.<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>They
don’t come home at night.</u></b> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: -.5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: -.5in;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Seriously.
Most of us in the PI business have come across a client whose marriage life is
at this point, but they’re still grasping on to the hope of some plausible
explanation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If this is you, don’t be
embarrassed, you’re trying to keep hope alive in a bad situation, and that’s an
understandable reaction. </i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: -.5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[1]</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Canada based <a href="http://www.ashleymadison.com/">www.ashleymadison.com</a>,
with over 20 million subscribers, is the largest website specifically dedicated
to extramarital dating.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Considering
there are less than 174 million married adults in the U.S. & Canada, this
is a truly astounding number.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even if
you assume 3 million subscribers are either singles wanting to date married men
& women, or English speakers living overseas, that’s still one marriage
partner in ten. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: -.5in;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: -.5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
INFO-DECISION.COMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10995468122309511229noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3796257053009050166.post-26665844727852897662013-04-09T10:37:00.000-07:002014-12-02T16:46:18.267-08:00An Increasingly Sophisticated World?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I was going to start out this article with the phrase “As we
live in an increasingly sophisticated world,” but suddenly found myself
stopping in mid-sentence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Technology
changes the way society functions, and often changes the balance of power.
Technology changes the way we live our lives, the way we do business, the way
we fight wars, the way we govern, and certainly the way I do my job, but I’m
not at all sure it makes us more sophisticated.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>As a licensed private investigator, I deal a lot with both privacy
issues and technology. </div>
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<br /></div>
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Public and private sector entities we depend on for information
are in a constant state of flux.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Government
authorities around the world are building super-tools to track perceived
threats against them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Data mining and
cyber-warfare tools are being built faster than courts and politicians can figure
out the difference between email and texting. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Online merchandisers are building super-tools
to increase sales opportunities, and those who attack authority are developing
their own technological tools to wield in the struggle to hold the digital high
ground, a fascinating balance of power. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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Today, government entities are wielding surveillance tools
that are so powerful they have no historical precedent.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At the same time, adversaries of governments have
become more nimble and adaptable too.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Which
brings us to today’s window on the world of technology.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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In tech battles, the advantage often goes to the attacker. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When malevolent actors in places like
Afghanistan attack authority, creative melding of technologies turns the
advantage to the attacker.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Like recombining
old cellphones and unexploded munitions and turning them into tank-killing
IED’s, cheap and easy technology can serve to help us annihilate each other. Once
in a long while, however, someone comes up with an inspirational marriage of
technology that helps us to <b><u>not</u></b> destroy one another.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Today’s find was one of those unlikely marriages.
</div>
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Civil Rights Defenders, a Swedish NGO, (<a href="http://natalia.civilrightsdefenders.org/#how">http://natalia.civilrightsdefenders.org/#how</a>)
has introduced the Natalia Project, a marriage of existing technology that actually makes it harder for
evil people to get away with violence. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In
high risk parts of the world, human rights advocates are taken in the middle of
the night when no one is around.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Civil
Rights Defenders took the social networking of a twitter feed or Facebook page,
and the geolocation technology of a GPS offender tracking system, and melded
them together.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The resulting technology
is an alarm device for human rights defenders.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Activists, journalists, and others at risk of abduction, murder, or
being taken as a political prisoner latch the device, a clunky orange bracelet,
around their wrist.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When a human rights
defender realizes he or she is being attacked, they activate the unit by
pushing a button.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Like a silent alarm
from a bank to the police, once cut open or triggered, the wristband sends out
a signal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That signal will hopefully hit
a cellular or wireless network, sending an SMS text message back to Sweden and sounding
the alarm to network members in the area, along with the wearer’s GPS
coordinates.</div>
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The idea is that through notification and mass media, midnight
assaults against human rights defenders become increasingly risky to the
aggressors, especially if someone with a video camera can get to the incident
quickly. </div>
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<br /></div>
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Initial distribution of the device began in Stockholm on
April 5.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The devices are not for sale to the public. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They’re looking at having the devices on 55 at-risk
civil rights defenders by the end of the year, many of whom are in former Warsaw
Pact or Soviet states. </div>
INFO-DECISION.COMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10995468122309511229noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3796257053009050166.post-71054363286953988572013-02-26T16:59:00.000-08:002013-02-27T10:49:28.898-08:00BREAKFAST WITH A FRIEND<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
I had breakfast with a new friend today.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well, actually a whole lot of us had
breakfast… with an employment law expert Karen L. Gabler of Camarillo based, Light
Gabler LLP.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unfortunately, at least for
the rank and file, the presentation was titled “We’re Just Not That Into You…
Effective Handling of Employee Terminations.” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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In today’s labor climate, effective handling of employee
terminations is a topic that really draws a crowd.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The place was packed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There were barely enough chairs, even though
it was a 7:30 am start.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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As a professional investigator who’s been in the business
for over ten years, I’ve worked plenty of major cases, and I’ve been on the
witness stand for both direct testimony and cross examination by some darn good
attorneys.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are very few of them I’m
afraid of. </div>
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<br /></div>
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Karen Gabler’s an attorney who’s just about the last person
I’d ever want to go up against in a court of law. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not only does she know her stuff, she's the kind
of attorney who knows how to pull the chair out from under your argument and
leave you stunned, sitting there on the ground in front of the jury with a
smile on your face, wondering what just happened to you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then, with a smile on her own face, she
zings your argument a second time with an only slightly sarcastic remark,
precisely timed to make the moment stick in the minds of the jury. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Karen took us through a morning that was less PowerPoint,
and more interactive, focused discussion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Our own company does pre-employment screening, employee background
investigations, and threat management cases, and it’s easy to see how things an
employer missed on the front end of a worker’s hire can come back to bite them
later.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Karen brought lots of good information to the
table, and I’ll definitely plan on going to more Light Gabler LLP presentations.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Not sure what it portends for society and the California
economy, but Karen sure seemed to have hit on a hot topic with “Fifty Ways to
Leave Your Employee.”</div>
INFO-DECISION.COMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10995468122309511229noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3796257053009050166.post-64690285791374201592009-12-24T11:39:00.001-08:002013-04-09T15:58:32.889-07:00Merry Christmas and Happy New Year<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3Wm9OiGi94aY9Hw3ybaSM2xQ9HxLPQy6FGvbWcwVZo8qwbAoluZA7vr4H_Y5QSmVAKn1_rk2CXX9l5PlrtxFXxXFIdMvIKQhyphenhyphensWTsXXjZGSnQc_hf9MZv2Dhucb13r0nOdf1cjn1oMho/s1600-h/Architecture02a.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5418892882307361234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3Wm9OiGi94aY9Hw3ybaSM2xQ9HxLPQy6FGvbWcwVZo8qwbAoluZA7vr4H_Y5QSmVAKn1_rk2CXX9l5PlrtxFXxXFIdMvIKQhyphenhyphensWTsXXjZGSnQc_hf9MZv2Dhucb13r0nOdf1cjn1oMho/s320/Architecture02a.jpg" style="cursor: hand; float: left; height: 174px; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; width: 320px;" /></a><br />
<div>
We just wanted to take the time to say Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all of you. For more than a few of us and our friends, last year was a year of trials in our personal lives, yet we have been able to rejoice in many ways, and come closer together. As we go into the new year, we wish all of you to be blessed with hearts that are filled with peace and loving kindness. All of us at Informed Decision Background & Information Services, Inc. wish you a very Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year!</div>
INFO-DECISION.COMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10995468122309511229noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3796257053009050166.post-3839668892190464312009-12-11T09:59:00.000-08:002009-12-11T10:38:08.223-08:00'Twas The Night Before Christmas'Twas the night before Christmas, he lived all alone,<br /><br />in a one bedroom house made of plaster and stone.<br /><br />I had come down the chimney with presents to give,<br /><br />and to see just who in the home did live.<br /><br />I looked all about, a strange sight i did see,<br /><br />no tinsel, no presents, not even a tree.<br /><br />No stockings by mantle, just boots filled with sand,<br /><br />on the wall hung pictures of far distant lands.<br /><br />With medals and badges, awards of all kinds,<br /><br />a sober thought came through my mind.<br /><br />For this house was different, it was dark and dreary.<br /><br />I found the home of a soldier once I could see clearly.<br /><br />The soldier lay sleeping, silent, alone,<br /><br />curled up on the floor of this one bedroom home.<br /><br />The face was so gentle, the room in such disorder,<br /><br />not how I pictured a United States soldier.<br /><br />Was this the hero of whom I'd just read?<br /><br />Curled up on a poncho, the floor for a bed?<br /><br />I realized the families that I saw this night<br /><br />owed their lives to these soldiers who were will willing to fight.<br /><br />Soon round the world, the children would play,<br /><br />and grownups would celebrate a bright Christmas day.<br /><br />They all enjoyed freedom each month of the year,<br /><br />because of the soldiers like the one lying here.<br /><br />I couldn't help but wonder how many lay alone,<br /><br />on a cold Christmas eve in a land far from home.<br /><br />The very thought brought a tear to my eye,<br /><br />I dropped to my knees and I started to cry.<br /><br />The soldier awakened and I heard a rough voice,<br /><br />"Santa don't cry, this life is my choice.<br /><br />I fight for freedom, I don't ask for more,<br /><br />"My life is my God, my country, my corps."<br /><br />The soldier rolled over and drifted to sleep.<br /><br />I couldn't control it, I continued to weep.<br /><br />I kept watch for hours, so silent and still,<br /><br />and we both shivered from the cold night's chill.<br /><br />I didn't want to leave on that cold, dark night,<br /><br />this guardian of honor so willing to fight.<br /><br />Then the soldier rolled over, with a voice soft and pure,<br /><br />whispered "Carry on Santa, It's Christmas Day, all is secure."<br /><br />One look at my watch, and I knew he was right.<br /><br />Merry Christmas my friend, and to all a good night.<br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">- - - this poem was written by a Marine stationed in Okinawa. Please take a moment to stop and think of our heros who sacrificed themselves for us.</span>INFO-DECISION.COMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10995468122309511229noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3796257053009050166.post-5651724134537770192009-11-13T15:43:00.000-08:002009-11-13T15:55:10.916-08:00Employees Gone Wild - Part OneAs we look at Part One of our series on employees gone wild, we’ll be presenting an insider’s look into pre-employment screening. They have a saying in human resources that you interview the CANDIDATE, but hire the EMPLOYEE. Every HR pro has tales to tell about how those turned out to be two different people.<br /><br />The job market has changed. The American economy as a whole isn’t going to borrow its way out of a recession. There’s no stimulus package out there to pump up small business owners, and the government’s ready to tax the snot out of us. The good news is, if you’re a small business owner looking at hiring today, you’re probably already doing a lot of things right. Laid off workers know this intuitively, and with 17% of the workforce either unemployed or underemployed, job seekers are getting more desperate with each unanswered resume posting. Many candidates seeking jobs today are skilled workers who previously commanded a higher wage but now have a skill the market’s already saturated with. That’s why you see that five o’clock live news spot featuring manufacturing engineers and investment brokers waiting in line to become supermarket checkers.<br /><br />If you go back a decade ago, two thirds of HR professionals had pre-employment background checks done on their new hires. Today, according to the Society for Human Resource Management’s Workplace Violence Survey, 96% of HR pros have background checks done on their new hires, which is great. Of course, as industry insiders, we scratch our heads and wonder why the other 4% of HR pros are intentionally sailing into uncharted waters when they could easily buy the chart.<br /><br />We understand how small business owners rationalize a decision to take the plunge and hire unscreened employees. They like to call their own shots, they trust their gut, and they often underestimate both the cost of leaving a position open, and the cost of a bad hiring decision. In order to find the perfect job candidate, the small business owner needs to identify the required competencies for the position. Core proficiencies, like using a certain tool, are easy to identify. After that, matching the candidate to the job gets tougher. Harder elements to define, like fitting into the workplace culture, having the required self-motivation, or being able to relate to your company’s clients can be absolutely critical. The smart small business owner screens resumes for the core proficiencies, but carefully screens candidates during the initial interview to identify those harder to define elements like fitting into the company culture.<br /><br />Once you identify that hot shot who’s a rising star, it’s important to realize that time kills deals, especially with highly desirable candidates. The trick is to go from the initial contact to the second interview and close the deal before the candidate looses interest. That’s called trusting your gut. Don’t just trust your gut. Trust, but verify. A professionally conducted background report should generally clear in 72 hours.<br /><br />Today’s job market is filled with people who will say anything to get their foot in the door, and while we might admire their initiative, we’ll soon regret their hiring. Some of them are simply crooks who’ve developed a workaround because they know they have something to hide. Think of Frank Abignale, the character played so well by Leonardo DiCaprio in the film CATCH ME IF YOU CAN. He was a MASTER OF ILLUSIONS. We don’t have enough data to publish statistics, but the gut feeling we get here at Informed Decision Background and Information Services Inc., is that the appearance of this MASTER OF ILLUSIONS type of character is definitely on the rise. When you think you’re signing the next Luke Skywalker to boost your company above the stratosphere, the odds of inadvertently bringing aboard a Darth Vader go up dramatically. Fortunately, a simple social security number verification, criminal history, sex offender registry, and verification of a couple of job references will almost always screen out Darth Vader and save the company planet without breaking the bank.<br /><br />While today’s tough economy means candidates are more likely to have bumps in the financial road, you still want to look at how your prospect can handle money if the candidate’s going to have access to the company’s finances. A pre-employment credit check won’t show you a FICO score, but it will enable you to identify problems like charge offs, bankruptcies, or other indicators you might want to know, without having to dig too deeply into the personal life of your company’s CFO-to-be.<br /><br />Today we’re seeing is a re-emergence of older workers. It seems like a larger percentage of our pre-employment screening requests are for older candidates.<br />If you’re hiring for a position where a degree is mandatory, you’ll want to ask the candidate whether the name they’re using now is the same name they were using when they graduated. At Informed Decision Background and Information Services Inc, we verify people’s education and references on a daily basis.<br /><br />The legal pitfalls of negligent hiring and negligent retention are familiar issues to top HR pros. For small business owners, the game of employee roulette gets played more often. Play at your own risk only if you dare. If you think you’ve got Luke Skywalker the candidate, have him checked out. Here at Informed Decision, our typical client will ask for SSN verification, a criminal history in at least one county, a sex offender registry check, and verification of two references. Throw in driver’s license verification if the job requires operating a vehicle, and educational verification if the job requires a degree, and you’re well on the way to unmasking Darth Vader before he turns the death star on your company.<br /><br />Finding the right candidate can often be done without posting to a job board at all. Small business owners are adept at networking through friends, chambers of commerce, trade association meetings, and other people in the business. Keeping a pulse on the community can be a great start to hiring the next Luke Skywalker. Trust your gut, act decisively, but verify before you make the final decision. And oh, by the way, make sure Luke fills out those Application for Employment, and Consent for Background Investigation forms completely before he gets his chance to save the company planet.INFO-DECISION.COMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10995468122309511229noreply@blogger.com0