Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Mistaken identity in background checks can cost applicants job offers (video)
pbs newshour ^ | 8-23-2014 | MEGAN THOMPSON

Posted on 08/23/2014 4:37:50 PM PDT by Citizen Zed

MEGAN THOMPSON: Great news for the divorced 58-year-old father and professional driver who needed the extra money to help pay child support. Jones filled out the paperwork, submitted a drug test and waited to hear when he could start. Instead, he got a different kind of call.

KEVIN JONES: And Human Resources said, “There’s a problem with your background check.” And I said, “What problem?” “Yeah, there’s some criminal stuff going on. You need to talk to them.”

MEGAN THOMPSON: It turned out the background check – conducted by a company now called Sterling BackCheck – showed convictions for drunk driving, attempted petit larceny and forgery, and two stints in jail. A few days later, Jones got a letter in the mail saying unless he could clear the matter up, his job offer was being revoked.

MEGAN THOMPSON: Do you have any kind of criminal history?

KEVIN JONES: None.

(Excerpt) Read more at pbs.org ...


TOPICS: Chit/Chat
KEYWORDS: backgroundchecsk; beseeingyou; bigbother; bigbrother; cronyfascism; employment; mistakenidentity; privacyrights; sterlingbackcheck
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-22 next last
Didn't Obama say his new consumer agency would prevent this from ever happening again? Like all the other social ills he promised to fix.
1 posted on 08/23/2014 4:37:50 PM PDT by Citizen Zed
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: Citizen Zed

Some of these outfits use public records, available to anyone at the courthouse. Most of these records do not show Social Security Numbers, and seldom date of birth. They have name and address at the time the record was created. With a name like Jones, it’s not surprising that he got some matches. A good security company will go way beyond a simple records check, but that costs more money.

If you want to do this yourself, you can do it online for about $25-50. Of course, many governments are passing laws to prevent this sort of background check and the Obama Administration will probably do the same. Why do you think that PBS is writing this story? They want to prevent companies from doing this. Hate crimes, or racism would be exempt, of course.


2 posted on 08/23/2014 4:45:31 PM PDT by centurion316
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Citizen Zed

Same thing happened to me 20 years ago. I had to hire a lawyer to clear it up.

Databases are all but worthless these days with so many agencies, organizations and companies able to add info to them. No cross checking by anyone for accuracy.

Will only get worse.


3 posted on 08/23/2014 4:59:10 PM PDT by wrench
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Citizen Zed

This guy should hire a lawyer and sue for defamation. He may not need the truckdriving gig.


4 posted on 08/23/2014 5:04:05 PM PDT by henkster (Do I really need a sarcasm tag?)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Citizen Zed

Change your name to Muhamed Jihad Muhamed and they’ll be forced to hire you.


5 posted on 08/23/2014 5:12:00 PM PDT by Organic Panic
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Citizen Zed

Sloppy.


6 posted on 08/23/2014 5:45:34 PM PDT by TBP (Obama lies, Granny dies.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Organic Panic

or change your name to Lesbian Proudblack Climatechange. That’ll get you a job.


7 posted on 08/23/2014 5:50:17 PM PDT by Secret Agent Man ( Gone Galt; Not averse to Going Bronson.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: wrench

Back in 1997, a girlfriend ran an amateurish background check on me and found a similar name (different middle name) belonging to a later convicted member of Aryan Nation and a child molester. The witch caused a lot of damage.


8 posted on 08/23/2014 5:50:36 PM PDT by Fred Hayek (The Democratic Party is now the operational arm of the CPUSA)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: wrench

A guy with the same name as mine and living 250 miles away caused me all kinds of grief. He had been bouncing checks and running other scams. I could not write a check anywhere.


9 posted on 08/23/2014 5:52:43 PM PDT by gunsequalfreedom (Conservative is not a label of convenience. It is a guide to your actions.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: Citizen Zed; GeronL

Such as it is, private companies compiling erroneous “history” on people and selling it and selling it and selling it.

It’s been this same pile of crap since at least the 1980s when telmarking/massmailing marketers lobbied Congress to permit them to sell private information.

They aren’t “supposed” to have Social Security numbers but they do.

The government doesn’t NEED to compile a database on Americans when google, Krogers, et al are perfectly willing to do it for them.

For a decade I was listed online as a company that I did not have. Someone in my hometown has my dad’s name (with a different middle initial) but it all seems highly unlikely.

And then there was the angry police chief who signed up some TEA party activist into gay dating websites..


10 posted on 08/23/2014 5:55:01 PM PDT by a fool in paradise (ISIS has started up a slave trade in Iraq. Mission accomplshed, Barack, Mission accomplished.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: wrench

What do background checks matter anyway?

Barack Hussein Ubama did not undergo background checks to confirm his social security numberS, his college transcripts, his citizenship “reclamation” after becoming an Indonesian citizen, his past association with a KNOWN terrorist traitor named Bill Ayers, his 20 year history with a black separatist bigot, his...


11 posted on 08/23/2014 5:57:30 PM PDT by a fool in paradise (ISIS has started up a slave trade in Iraq. Mission accomplshed, Barack, Mission accomplished.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: Organic Panic
Is Chelsea Jihad Muhamed taken yet?


12 posted on 08/23/2014 5:59:29 PM PDT by a fool in paradise (ISIS has started up a slave trade in Iraq. Mission accomplshed, Barack, Mission accomplished.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

FReepers, Let's go!
Everyone needs to donate!



September is almost here.
Please Contribute Today!

13 posted on 08/23/2014 6:37:53 PM PDT by RedMDer (May we always be happy and may our enemies always know it. - Sarah Palin, 10-18-2010)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: wrench

It doesn’t help if you have a fairly common name, either. How many Kevin Joneses are there?


14 posted on 08/23/2014 6:41:50 PM PDT by EDINVA
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: Citizen Zed
Do you have any kind of criminal history?

Convicted? No, never convicted.

15 posted on 08/23/2014 6:42:55 PM PDT by dfwgator
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Citizen Zed

Happened to me twice.

They have me living in New Jersey, Broken Arrow, Oklahoma and Mesquite, Texas.

I would never ever live in New Jersey, Broken Arrow’s nice, as is Mesquite....to pass through, on the way to some fishing spots I know of and I wouldn’t live there either but, they show up on my background.

I even have seen cars on my background I never owned and the really amazing part is my college doesn’t show.

Oh, and they even have me working at companies I’ve never heard of.

I don’t know why companies do business with these retarded A-holes.

I once had to drive all the way to my college and get my transcript because the background company came up with a complete blank on my education.

No grade school, no high school, no GED, No college.

I was told get it resolved in 48 hours or I’m fired.

I was like “Hey klownie. How the Eff do you think I made it this far? I write complicated proposals, make tons of money, teach rightin skeels to other morons who have AA and MBA and how to be a Professional Sales Person with a system of predictable results.

That was 16 years ago and FU! Corporate Nimrods.

You suck at everything and I make way more money now and kick the living %*÷÷*% out of your non-professional and so called sales people who are always late, never have any good information and crappier answers and, and! And seemingly have one sales strategy F.U.D. idiocy and the best part is your beggars always start with facilities or the IT guy.

Always go to the guy who can sign his name to the front of a check.

Flatline intellectuals.

Have fun blowing all your money at that waste of huge swathes of time Starbucks.

What a life suck but, don’t you just feel so great telling everyone how great you but “Don’t know if I’ll make quota this month”....Again?

How freakin hard is it to let someone buy something?

Oh, that’s right. You have all these closing lines...for prepubescents...

No one appreciates being talked like that a child.

They are adults and perfectly capable of making a decision.

I hate background companies. They are liars and cheats and worse ....way effin worse...totally ineffective.

I once found myself working with a violent felon, who was later fired because uhmmmm....he sucked at life and made some very overt threats.

I called him, had drinks with him and put to him straight.

He called the company and even wrote a letter of apology.

They had a freakin security guard for 6 months checking us in before we could go to our freakin desk and even checking purses and briefcases.

I put an end to that day one and said if you think I’m going let you touch my $3,000 Bally briefcase you are seriously cracked.

Rant offfennn....


16 posted on 08/23/2014 7:02:40 PM PDT by Vendome (Don't take life so seriously-you won't live through it anyway-Enjoy Yourself ala Louis Prima)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: EDINVA
I knew a guy named J___ Smith many years ago. He lived in a major metro area and there were 5 other people with the same first and last names. Even then, when the internet was in its infancy, he had tremendous difficulties because two of the others were unsavory characters with long records of everything from bad checks to drugs and non-support.

It seems sloppy work has been around a long time, as evidenced by the occasional old tombstone out this way with words like "hanged by mistake" on it.

17 posted on 08/23/2014 7:19:35 PM PDT by Smokin' Joe (How often God must weep at humans' folly. Stand fast. God knows what He is doing.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 14 | View Replies]

To: Vendome

It’s all because of that ID card that you lost in the PX at Ft. Dix.


18 posted on 08/23/2014 7:34:49 PM PDT by centurion316
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 16 | View Replies]

To: Vendome

I wonder if there is a way to see if anyone is using your identity for Obamacare? If so, Obama’s man Mikey Dickerson, who heads the new U.S. Digital Service can maybe help. /s


19 posted on 08/23/2014 8:58:11 PM PDT by Citizen Zed ("Freedom costs a buck o five" - Gary Johnston, TAWP)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 16 | View Replies]

To: Citizen Zed

I think they’re just incompetent and real careers are on the line.

As a well known top performer in my industry this is ridiculous and nearly cost me my six figure job...for their failure.


20 posted on 08/23/2014 11:44:54 PM PDT by Vendome (Don't take life so seriously-you won't live through it anyway-Enjoy Yourself ala Louis Prima)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 19 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-22 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson