ESR Publications, News Articles, and Safe Hiring Knowledge Base

This page contains articles and special reports written by ESR on pre-employment screening background checks, safe hiring and legal compliance issues as well as news articles quoting ESR. All articles by ESR are copyrighted and may not be reproduced or republished without permission. Additional information, including the ESR 50 State Legal Compliance Guide, is available for ESR clients only.

• Short Course on Pre-employment  Screening, Safe Hiring and Due Diligence
• General Introduction to Pre-employment Screening, Negligent Hiring and Safe Hiring
• Criminal Records
• Reference Checking
• Credit Reports
• Employment Applications and Safe Hiring
• Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and Legal Considerations
• Safe Hiring Audit
• Staffing Industry
• Health Care Hiring
• Loss Prevention Professionals
• Drug Testing and Workplace Violence
• Small Business, Consumers and Safe Hiring
• High Tech and VC backed Ventures
• Hotel and Hospitality Industry
• International Screenings
• General Articles Quoting ESR
• Working with ESR
• Safe Hiring Manual 
  
  

Available at bookstores and online from ESR-the first in-depth book on Safe Hiring and Pre-employment screening; "The Safe Hiring Manual - The Complete Guide to Keeping Criminals, Terrorists and Imposters Out of the Workplace"  (512 page/Facts on Demand Press).   ESR is the firm that wrote the book on safe hiring and pre-employment screening. 

Short Course on Pre-Employment Screening, Safe Hiring and Due Diligence

Click here for a series of articles that provide a short course on pre-employment screening

General Introduction to Pre-employment Screening and Safe Hiring

Background Screening Can Help Boss and Applicants--Article in the Sunday
San Francisco Examiner/Chronicle in the Career Search Section--View Point  column by Lester S. Rosen, President of Employment Screening Resources.

NEW: Article on Effective Pre-employment Background Screening from the Spring  Issue of Protective Operations, The Journal of Security Services, Risk Management, Investigation and Consulting, a new national magazine, by Les Rosen, President of ESR. 

Ten Safe Hiring Tools --Ten Tools Employers can use immediately to promote safe hiring that don't cost a dime!! By Les Rosen, President of ESR (reprinted from the San Francisco Chronicle)

NEW!  Cost-Effective Safe Hiring Techniques for Large Employers by ESR President Les Rosen.  Published in Security Technology and Design, July 2004.  See article>>>

Background Screening and Safe Hiring-An Introduction--An article by ESR founder Lester S. Rosen-- Reprinted from the April, 2002 edition of Occupational Health and Safety Magazine (www.ohsonline.com )

For ESR Clients only:  50 state background screening compliance guide- Exclusively for ESR clients:  State-by-state guide to the proper use of arrests, criminal convictions, state FCRA laws, reference checking, and other helpful information-exclusive for the use of ESR clients.  Contact ESR Customer Service

Negligent hiring lawsuits — a serious risk for employers--article printed in the Risk Mitigation Executive newsletter (2005)

Criminal Records

Checking for Crimes: What Employers Can--and Can't--Find Out About Applicants--Column in the Sunday San Francisco Examiner Career Section by Lester S. Rosen, President of Employment Screening Resources

Special Report on Using and Obtaining Criminal Records--Part One
This is a review of the area of obtaining and using criminal records.  There are a number of legal and practical considerations that are discussed.  For example, to automatically exclude an applicant because of a criminal conviction, and it is unlawful to consider certain criminal records.  A pre-employment firm must know what records an employer can legally possess. Reprinted in HR.com

Crimes, Criminals and Hiring --A --special PowerPoint presentation on this critical area by Lester S. Rosen, Attorney at Law and President, Employment Screening Resources. (C) 2002 by Lester S. Rosen

Criminal Databases & Pre-Employment Screening: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly --Article from the July, 2005 edition of the Security Technology and Design magazine. 

Reference Checking

Use Your References Well--Article in the Sunday San Francisco Examiner/Chronicle in the Career Search section--View Point Column by Lester S. Rosen, President of Employment Screening Resources.

Special Report:  Obtaining Employment References.
This special report discusses the current state of California law pertaining to both giving and requesting references.  It also reviews the procedures used by ESR in its reference checking services.

Watch for Employment Gaps --This little story about a computer school will tell you all you need to know. (Based upon an interview with ESR Presidents Les Rosen, reported in Workforce.com)

Credit Reports

A guide to "Credit Reports and Job Hunting" published on-line at www.MedCAREERS.com and HR.com. Article by ESR for both employers and job applicants on the role of credit reports and employment

How To Read A Credit Report (PDF)--A guide on reading and understanding pre-employment credit reports.

Employment Applications and Safe Hiring

Why Applications Are Key--Column in the Sunday San Francisco Examiner/Chronicle by Lester S. Rosen, President of Employment Screening Resources. 

See also, Sample Application form (Word Format) (NOTE: Under the FCRA additional forms are needed to perform a pre-employment screening. 

Criminal Records, Employment and Employment Applications -- A special ESR report on the language that should be in an application form concerning criminal history.

NEW!! The Top 10 Signs You Are Hiring A Lawsuit Waiting To Happen 
Les Rosen (reprinted form HR.com)--Employee lawsuits often catch employers by surprise. Yet, an examination of the employee's application shows that an employer could often have predicted well in advance that they were hiring a lawsuit just waiting to happen. 

Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and Legal Considerations

Special Report:  Complying with the Fair Credit Reporting Act in Four Easy Steps.
This special report by ESR reviews the steps that employers need to take to comply with the Fair Credit Reporting Act in conducting pre -employment background screening of job applicants through a Consumer Reporting Agency such as Employment Screening Resources. Reprinted from HR.com.

Special Report:  Obtaining and Using Background Screening Information for Applicant Background Screening.
This article reviews some of the laws affecting pre-employment screening, such as the Fair Credit Reporting Act and Americans with Disabilities Act as well as special considerations concerning criminal records, credit reports, date of birth, and age and other matters.

Working with the Fair Credit Reporting Act
Article on the FCRA for Loss Prevention and Internal Security Departments covering the role of internal security in doing pre-employment screenings and investigation of current employees under the FCRA.

Only in California: The Strange Sage of AB 655--Critical New Rules Affecting SafeHiring in California
Article by ESR President and Attorney Les Rosen on the history and status of the legislation passed in California in 2002 drastically changing background screening.  Prepared for the monthly magazine published by the Northern California Human Resources Association  (NCHRA) (scheduled for October, 2002) 

National Criminal History Databases--Issues and Opportunities:  Article by Carl Ernst and Les Rosen on criminal record databases.  See>>> http://www.brbpub.com/CriminalHistoryDB.pdf 

Safe Hiring Audit

Safe Hiring Audit --An outline of 27 steps you can take during the recruiting, hiring, training, and post-hire stages to minimize any surprises concerning the background of one of your employees. By Lester S. Rosen, Attorney at law and President, Employment Screening Resources. Reprinted from WORKFORCE.com

Safe Hiring Checklist -- A checklist that can be used by hiring manager to document whether your hiring process is a safe one. By Lester S. Rosen, Attorney at law and President, Employment Screening Resources. Reprinted from WORKFORCE.com

Staffing Industry

Call a Halt to the  Parade of Horribles--Pre-employment Screening: A Vital Part of Your Business--Feature article from the Nov/Dec. 199 issue of the SI (Staffing Industry) Review, containing lengthy quotes and materials form Employment Screening Resources.   Excellent article for staffing companies.

Health Care Hiring

Due Diligence for Medical Recruiters and Hospitals
Problem doctors sometimes “slip through the cracks” during the credentialing process. A thorough due diligence program will minimize such risks. Article by ESR President Les Rosen, from www.Medcareers.com

Outsourced Screening for Hospitals -- Special Report for hospitals and health care providers-- "Outsourced Pre-employment Screening," by Les Rosen, president of ESR.  This is a report on how hospitals and health care facilitates outsource this important task.  www.medcareers.com  is the Internet's most comprehensive, easy-to-use site devoted exclusively to providing career and staffing solutions for healthcare professionals.

Hiring Safe Health Care providers
Safe Hiring and Risk Management -from the Association of Staff Physician Recruiters (ASPR) Fall, 2000 newsletter-article by  Calvin Bruce, C.P.C and Les Rosen, President of ESR, on Physician Recruitment

Risk Management and Pre-employment Screening for Hospitals and Health Care Organizations—A Critical Responsibility
It is estimated that hospitals and health care providers pay $100,000,000 a year in damages for acts caused by people that they hire with a criminal records that cause damages to co-workers or patients.  This article by ESR examines the risk-management aspects of health care providers and the reasons and steps to institute a program of pre-employment screening.

Loss Prevention Professionals

NEW for Loss Prevention Professionals: Article on Effective Pre-employment Background Screening from the Spring  Issue of Protective Operations, The Journal of Security Services, Risk Management, Investigation and Consulting, a new national magazine, by Les Rosen, President of ESR. 

Working with the Fair Credit Reporting Act
Article on the FCRA for Loss Prevention and Internal Security Departments covering the role of internal security in doing pre-employment screenings and investigation of current employees under the FCRA.

Drug Testing and Workplace Violence

How Firms Handle Workers' Drug Tests--Column in the San Francisco Examiner Career Section by Lester S. Rosen, President of Employment Screening Resources.

Screening Out Problem Employees -- Published in the Workplace Violence Prevention Reporter - May 2005

Small Business and Safe Hiring

NEW for Small Business owners--How to Avoid Hiring A Criminal for less then $20-- Five Easy Steps A Small Business Can Take Today
This special report outlines five easy and inexpensive steps any employer can take TODAY to protect their business, as well as employees and customers.  Also includes a Release form that an employer can use--an effective tool to promote safe hiring.

Protecting Yourself When Inviting Workers Into Your Home --Five Easy Steps, by Les Rosen of Employment Screening Resources

High Tech and VC backed Ventures

Info for Start-ups and Venture Capital backed firms--Do you know who you are hiring? A look at Pre-Employment Background Screening
Article by ESR originally punished in the TriNet VCO Newsletter, a firm specializing in human resources management for start-ups and Venture Capital backed firms. Republished in HR.com

Inflated expectations and exaggerated facts can lead to job-search frustration--Article from leading computer industry magazine InfoWorld, August 9, 1999, concerning employment  reference checks and salary verification in the high-tech industry with extensive information  provided by ESR. 

High tech resume traps--Article from leading computer industry magazine InfoWorld, August 16, 1999, concerning three resume pitfalls for high-tech workers that can delay or scuttle a job offer, quoting ESR

Hotel and Hospitality Industry

Hospitality Industry and Pre-Employment Screening
Article in the Lodging Magazine about the importance of background screening for the lodging industry.

Back to Top

International Screenings

International Background Screening, Terrorist Search and the Patriot Act
Helpful pointers to keep in mind when evaluating a candidate who has come form a foreign country or when hiring someone from abroad who will work for you in that country as a representative.  Details about ESR services for international pre-employment screening searches.

General Articles

The Five Finger Bonus--In depth article in the October, 2003 HRMagazine by SHRM on employee theft and embezzlement.  See: http://www.shrm.org/hrmagazine/articles/1003/1003covstory.asp

Spotting Lies--Article from the October, 2003 HRMagazine by SHRM on why reference checks alone will not stop a firm from hiring bad employees.  See: http://www.shrm.org/hrmagazine/articles/1003/1003babcock.asp

The ABC's of background screening --Article by Workforce.com summarizing pre-employment screening, including statements from ESR President Les Rosen (Text of article)

Big, Fast and Easily Bungled--Article from Workforce on how virtually overnight, the Transportation Security Administration had to hire more than 55,000 workers. Quotes form ESR President Les Rosen.  See: http://www.workforce.com/section/06/feature/23/49/38/index.html (Also see article on what various industry experts including ESR President Les Rosen would have done if they were in charge of hiring 55,000 workers).

Job Sleuths--Article in the San Francisco Business Times concerning pre-employment background screening, February 27, 1998.


Employers can help prevent identify theft in the workplace--From the February 2000 Issue of HR News—HR’s leading Newspaper published by the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM), containing information and quotes  from Les Rosen, president of ESR

HR Magazine, the official publication of the Society for Human Resource Management, published a story in the March 2001 issue on outsourcing background checks. ESR is pleased to have been a contributor to the story. See the story here>>>

Carpet Firm Hit With $9.38M Verdict in Murder
Lester S. Rosen, President of ESR and an attorney at law, testified as an expert witness on safe hiring practice and due diligence in the California court on behalf of the family of a doctor murdered by a carpet cleaner that was hired without any background check. The carpet cleaner was a violent career criminal. This tragic episode demonstrates what can occur when employers just hire any available warm body with no care or effort taken to find out who they are hiring.

WORKFORCE.com quotes ESR President Lester S. Rosen in article on, "Who are you really hiring."
See>>> http://www.workforce.com/archive/feature/23/35/80/index.php

Candidate Seems Unreal?  Investigate--Article in San Francisco Business Times featuring Employment Screening Resources.

Dr. Marty Nemko, the Monster career columnist and publisher of Cool Careers for Dummies, writes about pre-employment screening and ESR>>>

Stay tuned for other articles featuring ESR in numerous magazines, and publications

back to Top

Working with ESR

What a Business Needs to Know About Pre-employment Screening with Employment Screening Resources.

Safe Hiring Manual

Policies and Procedures for Safe Hiring including information on how to set up a screening program, materials for internal policies and procedures and employee manuals, and legal compliance information and FAQ's about the mechanics of a screening program. (For ESR clients only--see online client help or contact ESR Customer Service)

back to Top