Today, we’re going to talk about the necessity of employee background checks for prospective maintenance staff at facilities like hotels, condo and apartment complexes, hospitals, nursing homes, and assisted living centers.

After all, these maintenance staff and cleaners often have access and/or keys to rooms where residents are staying, either for the short or long term. If these prospective employees aren’t thoroughly checked out, your business could be at risk of thefts, sexual harassments, sexual assaults, violent attacks, and lawsuits.

There Can Be Horrible Consequences if You Don’t Do Due DiligenceRegarding Employee Background Checks.

 In June, 2022 A maintenance man at a Georgia apartment complex was arrested after police say he sexually assaulted a tenant in front of her two toddlers.

The incident happened at The Pointe at Augusta apartment complex in Augusta, GA according to WJBF.

Police said Ellis Bell III, 33, went inside the victim’s home on June 6 to repair her A/C unit. According to WJBF, he put $100 down in front of the 21-year-old woman and told her she could “earn the money in 15 minutes.” The victim declined.

Bell then began groping her and penetrated her with his hands in front of her one- and two-year-old toddlers, according to police. The victim said she fought him off and screamed at him and Bell left.

He’s been charged with aggravated sexual battery and two counts of non-aggravated child molestation. (Source: WSB-TV Atlanta)

In September, 2022 Chandler, AZ police arrested an apartment complex maintenance worker suspected of sexually assaulting a boy. The man is suspected of having led a 7-year-old boy away from his bus stop and sexually assaulting him in July at an apartment complex.

The boy told police a man, driving a golf cart approached him at his apartment complex near Warner and McQueen roads. The man reportedly took the boy to a different location of the complex and sexually assaulted him.

Documents state results from the DNA test came back with Jesus Delcampo’s DNA matching DNA evidence collected from the boy. Delcampo was a maintenance worker at the apartment complex where the boy lived. He was arrested on two counts of child molestation and one count of kidnapping. (Source: The Arizona Republic)

In March, 2022 an apartment maintenance manager in Spokane, WA was accused of entering a woman’s apartment and sexually assaulting her. He is accused of using his master key to get into the woman’s unit as she slept and sexually assaulting her.

The Spokane County Sheriff’s Office responded to a welfare check of a woman who lived in a Spokane Valley apartment. When deputies got there, the woman told them in a low voice that a man was still inside her apartment. Investigators went inside and found Lee McNutt, 39, hiding naked in her bedroom closet.

McNutt was charged with first-degree rape, first-degree assault, second-degree assault, harassment-threats to kill and unlawful imprisonment. (Source: KXLY.com Spokane)

What Can You Do to Prevent These Horrific
Incidents from Happening?

Incidents like these are rampant. What can owners of facilities like hotels, condo and apartment complexes, hospitals, nursing homes, and assisted living centers do to prevent these heinous crimes from happening?

The first thing you can do is a thorough employee background check of anyone you plan to hire, especially those who will have access to the rooms of unsuspecting and vulnerable residents.

What is included in a thorough employee background check?

We recommend a thorough employee background check that includes the following:

• Misdemeanor and felony criminal record searches at county/state/national levels
• Jurisdictional (state, tribes, territories, the District of Columbia) and national public sex offender registry websites
• State child abuse and neglect central registries
• Written applications and interviews
• Personal/professional reference checks
• Social Security number traces and validations
• Employment and/or education verifications
• Professional license verifications
• Credit reports, civil records, driver’s license, and motor vehicle record checks
• Driver’s record check (for employees who would be driving/transporting children)
• Military records verifications
• Workers’ compensation history searches
• Healthcare sanction checks
• Address history checks

We hope that this blog is helpful in protecting your business, staff, and customers by providing the first step in preventing crimes like these from happening.

Why Choose The Hire Authority for Your
Employee Background Screening?

 When hiring employees, it’s important to hire an experienced and professional firm like The Hire Authority to do a thorough screening. Hiring the wrong employee can cost you a lot of money in the form of assaults, theft, fraud, accidents, low productivity, damage to your reputation, and even lawsuits.

Importantly, The Hire Authority is also expert in complex compliance issues regarding state, federal, and county laws. Failure to comply can cost you big in the form of fines and even shutdown.

Be safe, not sorry!

We’d be happy to talk to you about screening your employees. Call us at
(508) 230-5901 or visit our website www.hireauth.com with any questions you may have.

The foregoing should not be construed as legal advice. Employers should always consult their own legal counsel for advice on labor and employment m