Back to Facility Manager
Contents
Back to Home |
Facility
Pre-Employment Information And Verification,
The First Level Of Security Defense
The nature and importance of
pre-employment information has changed dramatically since the tragic events
on September 11. For example, on February 27, 2002, federal officials
charged 20 employees at Boston’s Logan International Airport with giving
false information in order to obtain jobs and security badges. All of those
arrested were immigrants, and 15 of the 20 were in the country illegally.1
This follows the dismissal of over 271 workers at Salt Lake City
International Airport in December for falsifying employment applications,
and other arrests at major airports throughout the country for similar
violations.2
Security concerns have come to
the forefront throughout the country. Besides the use of security badges and
identifications in more and more businesses, federal buildings have
maintained restricted access, including the cessation of tours at several
federal buildings, including the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia, for an
indefinite period. Even Walt Disney World and Sea World have instituted
routine bag checks prior to entering the parks, a step never before taken.
Public Assembly facilities are
likewise included in the areas receiving additional security scrutiny. Super
Bowl XXXVI at the Louisiana Superdome and the Salt Lake Winter Olympic Games
were deemed by the White House Office of Homeland Security as “national
security special events,” meaning the United States Secret Service led the
coordination of all security with help from the National Guard. At Super
Bowl XXXVI and the Olympics, all employees, subcontractors, vendors,
sponsors, and anyone that was planning to work the event, underwent a
background check by the Secret Service. Picture identification badges with
limited access codes were issued to each employee and contractor. Employees
and contractors still had to undergo security screenings whenever entering
the secured perimeter around the facility.
Public assembly facilities host
the largest mass gatherings of people on a regular basis, and thus are
feared to be possible targets of terrorism. What is a manager to do to
ensure the safety of attendees, employees, the press and contractors? The
first place to start is with the employment process. The employment
application and background check, including references, has never been more
important. It is important not just for the safety of our attendees and
employees, but is required by our customers. Our commercial clients and
customers (meeting planners, promoters, show producers and others) prefer to
do business with facilities that have instituted reliable security measures.
Checking the accuracy and
veracity of pre-employment information will not guarantee the safety of
attendees at an event, but it will perhaps deter and reduce falsification of
employment information and help prevent an inside security concern. Below is
a pre-employment checklist for you to review and consider:
-
False Statements: As
part of your facility employment policy manual, a statement should be
included stating that any false information provided as part of the
employment process shall result in the immediate termination of the
employee.
-
Written Security
Requirements: Any offer of employment should be made on the condition
that the applicant meets all of your written security requirements stated
in the facility’s employment manual.
-
IRS: The Internal
Revenue Service requires that each employee complete a W-4 with a Social
Security Number and other federal tax information.
-
INS: The Immigration
and Nationalization Service require all employees to fill out an I-9 that
requests information regarding immigration status. Accordingly, you must
verify whether an applicant has the legal right to work in the United
States.
-
Current Residency:
Verify current residency information including telephone numbers.
-
Employment History:
Verify employment history information and any references supplied by the
candidate.
-
Name Verification: It
is permissible to ask whether the applicant has been known by any other
name in order to check an applicant’s references or prior work history.
-
Education: If a high
school or college education is required for the job, then this information
should be verified by the facility.
-
Driver’s License Number:
If related to the job, it is permissible to verify the driver’s license
number and crosscheck this information with other pre-employment
information. Pursuant to the EEOC, because of disability discrimination
concerns, you should obtain the driver’s license information after an
offer of employment has been made with the condition that the applicant
must meet all facility security requirements.
-
Arrests: An arrest is
only an accusation. In the United States persons are considered innocent
until proven guilty. Therefore, an arrest is not an indication of guilt,
and an employment decision may not legally be based on whether or not an
applicant has been arrested. In fact, the EEOC and some state civil rights
agencies say that it is illegal for an employer even to ask about an
applicant’s arrest record, since the inquiry may discourage otherwise
qualified applicants.3
-
Convictions: A
conviction is an indication of guilt. Thus, convictions may legally be an
employment disqualification. Generally, however, it may not be a good idea
to automatically disqualify someone for a job because of a prior
conviction. You should examine the type and seriousness of the crime, the
length of time since the conviction, and how the type of crime might be
related to the particular job. In some instances, however, convictions for
certain crimes may be used as an automatic disqualification for certain
positions. A conviction for theft, burglary, robbery, or embezzlement, for
example, could be an automatic disqualification for any position involving
the handling of money.4
-
Military Discharges:
There are four common types of military discharges: honorable, general,
undesirable, and dishonorable. Undesirable and general discharges are
given for a variety of reasons, and may or may not indicate that the
discharged individual was found guilty of an offense. A dishonorable
discharge, on the other hand, is given only to individuals whose guilt has
been adjudicated. The EEOC and the courts treat less-than-honorable
discharges resulting from an adjudication of guilt the same as a
conviction. That is, there should be a review of the length of time since
the discharge, the nature and seriousness of the underlying offense, and
the relationship of the nature of the offense to the particular job
applied for. If, however, an individual has received an undesirable or
general discharge but has not been convicted of an offense, the discharge
is, like an arrest, not an indication of guilt, and may therefore not be
used as an employment disqualification.5
In closing, a facility manager
should require all subcontractors to verify the information of its
employees. For example, Logan Airport’s private security firm employed six
of those arrested. Every subcontractor, including concessions, security,
vendors, exhibitors, and promoters should be urged to screen their employees
as well. For large events and multiple events, the number of part-time
workers increases substantially, but the need to thoroughly screen these
employees does not. For more information, you may go to the Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission web site at
http://www.eeoc.gov.
Turner D. Madden, Esquire,
serves as the general counsel and chief lobbyist for IAAM and is with the
law firm of Madden & Patton, L.L.C. in Washington, D.C. Turner’s e-mail
address is
maddesq@bellatlantic.net
-
New York Times,
www.nytimes.com/2002/02/28/national/28LOGA.html.
-
Washington Post,
www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/a14401- 2002Feb27?language=printer
-
Allen G. Siegel ET AL., Public
Assembly Facility Law, Chapter 10 at p.345 (Turner D. Madden, Esquire,
ed., IAAM 1st ed. 1998).
-
See id. at 345
-
See id. at 346
|
|
