An article in The Marion (OH) Star shows the need for background checks on "home help" workers helping inside the house, especially if it involves caring for an elderly person. In the story, the daughter of an elderly mother said her family was devastated when a home health care worker stole more than $3,000 from the 93-year-old woman and wants to make sure this type of elder abuse doesn't happen to anyone else.

According to the article, the home help worker, Lora Huffine, 40, who cashed a check for $3,774.84 sent to the mother's home and took the money, was banned from working in home health care anywhere as part of her punishment, which also includes 20 days in jail and two years of community sanctions. The article reports that Huffine had committed crimes before, and once pleaded guilty to four counts of forgery, and – after violating her sanctions – was sentenced to two years in prison in 2004.

The article reports that the daughter hired Huffine – who wasn't a licensed worker and was found through an advertisement collected from an agency – after interviewing her once for the job of taking care of her mother at the mother's home on weekends, and also that the daughter wishes that she had completed a thorough background check and verified references. An extensive background check can raise "red flags" – like a forgery conviction – that will warn people about possibly hiring criminals as home help care.

While most background check companies focus on large corporations, MyBackgroundCheck.com offers individuals comprehensive Home Help Background Checks to ensure family security and provide protection from people hired to work inside a home, including: Babysitters/Nannies, House Cleaners, Tutors, Contractors, and Home Help Workers, among others.

MyBackgroundCheck.com provides "personal" background checks for millions of individuals to use as jobseekers, renters, volunteers, students, or consumers. For more information on Home Help Background Checks, visit www.mybackgroundcheck.com, email info@mybackgroundcheck.com, or call 1-800-503-2364. To follow MyBackgroundCheck.com on Twitter, visit www.twitter.com/MyBackgroundChk.

tahearn@mybackgroundcheck.com

Jobseekers worried that bad credit scores may show up during pre-employment background checks and hurt their chances of finding work may not have to worry much longer.

A new bill introduced in the House of Representatives – The ‘Equal Employment for All Act’ (H.R. 3149) – would amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) to prohibit the use of consumer credit checks against prospective and current employees during hiring or firing processes, thus preventing employers from using credit reports as part of pre-employment background checks.

According to a press release from the offices of U.S. Congressman Luis V. Gutierrez (D-IL), the act would give “credit-challenged” citizens – such as students, recent college graduates, low-income families, senior citizens, and minorities – the opportunity to begin rebuilding their credit history by obtaining a job. Many jobseekers are turned down after background checks due to poor credit because employers “have erroneously linked credit scores to potential job performance.”

H.R. 3149 specifically states that “a person, including a prospective employer or current employer, may not use a consumer report or investigative consumer report, or cause a consumer report or investigative consumer report to be procured, with respect to any consumer where any information contained in the report bears on the consumer's creditworthiness, credit standing, or credit capacity.”

This prohibition applies even if the jobseeker consents to or otherwise authorizes the use of a background check for employment purposes. However, there are exceptions, and employers may use credit reports during background checks in the following situations:

1. When a person applies for, or currently holds, employment that requires national security or FDIC clearance.
2. When a person applies for, or currently holds, employment with a State or local government agency which requires such a report.
3. When a person applies for, or currently holds, a supervisory, managerial, professional, or executive position at a financial institution.
4. When otherwise required by law.

However, the exceptions would have no effect upon the other requirements in regards to disclosure and notification to a jobseeker when using a credit report for pre-employment background checks or for making an adverse action – such as rescinding an offer of employment – against the jobseeker.

Even though credit reports may be excluded from background checks due to the ‘Equal Employment for All Act,’ jobseekers are still advised to keep their personal information current, accurate, and secure. An error or inaccuracy found on a background check – such as a arrest or conviction put on one's criminal record because of an honest mitake or due to identity theft – can still cost a jobseeker employment.

While most background check companies focus on employers, MyBackgroundCheck.com is a leading provider of consumer requested and applicant supplied “personal” background checks. By ordering self background checks, jobseekers can take control of their personal information and share the data with whomever they wish, including potential employers.

To learn more about how personal background checks can help jobseekers, visit www.mybackgroundcheck.com, email info@mybackgroundcheck.com, or call 1-800-503-2364. To follow MyBackgroundCheck.com on Twitter, visit www.twitter.com/MybackgroundChk.

tahearn@mybackgroundcheck.com