Letters From Our Readers: June 24, 2013
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Many Customers Require Tech Background Checks
I cannot believe Joanna Turpin wrote an article on background checks [“Employment Background Checks Drawing Government Scrutiny," June 3, 2013]. There is no way I’d hire anyone without doing background, child abuse [checks], and have them fingerprinted. We follow DOT [Department of Transportation] with pre-employment physicals and drug testing. We do random drug and alcohol testing. Every year there is a check on driving records, and if any problems are detected, they cannot drive a company vehicle.
Many of my customers require this documentation, and we must produce it to be able to service their equipment.
While doing all of this, we have not been turned down to work at federal prisons, Army bases, Coast Guard, Navy, CIA, Homeland Security, ICE [U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement], Pentagon facilities, overseas military bases, schools, and churches.
There is something wrong with people who do not want to do these background checks. The government would be in trouble [with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission] since they are the ones requiring some of these checks. Many times the government facility will even do further checking, depending on the facility.
People have to be responsible for their actions, and if not, they are going to be limited in what type of jobs they can hold. We as contractors need to know that an employee is not going to cause an issue, and you also get a better employee.
George Hummel
President
Worden and Shewell
York, Pa.
Publication date: 6/24/2013
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