The Integrity News
"objective risk management news"
Vol. XV No. 5
ISSN 1081-2717
September 7, 2006
Executive Legal Adviser -- July/Aug, 2006
The June 22, 2006 decision of the U.S. Supreme Court
in the case Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway Co.
v. White, dealt with egregious discrimination --- in this
case, reassignment to a less desirable position. This
article however, focuses on the fact that 'White' as it
is known, also applies to "white-collar executives who
are targets of more subtle retaliatory conduct" such as
"being disinvited to power lunches, being left off of key
committees, and seeing their social status within the
organization plummet." "The test now, after 'White',
is: Would such professional ostracism be considered
materially adverse to a reasonable person ?"
"A certain percentage of companies ... will welcome
an executive's, or other employee's, articulated
concerns and will work energetically toward a
mutually satisfactory remedial solution. The other
99 percent will see a complaining executive as a
migraine headache." The article then advises the
'injured' executive to "Bring your lawyer."
The Background Buzz -- August, 2006
"The Diploma Mill Nightmare continues. There are
more than 300 unaccredited universities now
operating in the U.S., ( not including the fake schools
outside the U.S.) While a few are genuine start-ups
or online ventures, the great majority range from
'merely dreadful' to 'out-and-out diploma mills' ---
fake schools what will sell people any degree they
want at prices from $3,000 to $5,000." They very
often adopt names that look and sound almost like
a historically prestigious school.
"It is not uncommon for a large fake school to
'award' as many as 500 Ph.D.'s every month."
"The aggregate income of these bad guys is easily
in excess of $200 million a year. Data show that a
single phony school can earn between $10 and $20
million annually."
"With the closure of the FBI's diploma mill task
force, the indifference of most state law enforcement
agencies, the minimal interest of the news media,
and the growing ease of using the Internet to start
and run a fake university, things are growing worse."
"The best defense is educated employers who
verify the credentials of new hires to ensure that
they have valid degrees."
These fake schools are so profitable that they have
invented their own accreditation agencies to vouch
for their "quality". However, major employers
have caught on to that ruse. The Integrity Center
only accepts the viability of an accreditation
agency, which itself is vouching for a "school",
if the U.S. Department of Education has that agency
listed as an "approved accreditation provider".
CNN Money.com -- July, 2006
"An HR Secret: worker 'screening' is on the rise."
"To protect themselves from litigation, regulators,
and the risk of high turnover, companies are
stepping up their screening of job candidates and,
in some cases, current employees."
"Gauging a job candidate's temper, social skills,
and reaction to stress also is a growing part of the
screening process" --- which is why The Integrity
Center has been offering
The Examiner (tm)
security interview report since 1988. It has been
used to evaluate over 11,400 applicants.
Because some companies can be held liable if an
employee is convicted of a felony before or during
their employment at the firm, more companies are
using ongoing screening of current employees.
The really scary part of the article is one of it's
last sentences where it is discussing what job
applicants should do if they have red flags in their
background. "You might apply to smaller firms
since they are less likely to conduct a rigorous
background check".
Editor's Note: In 2005, The Integrity Center saw
our client employers create a 131% increase in requests
for Civil Litigation Histories. Among other things,
one can identify dead-beats, lawsuit-happy trouble
makers, and short-tempered assault artists who
have active restraining orders.
WARNING: There is a new breed of consultant
out there who makes a good living at advising
job applicants with 'issues' how to get the job by
"beating the system". HR and Security folks
need to stay sharp.
Business 2.0 -- August, 2006
Companies are beefing up on-site benefits to keep
workers happy --- and on the job. The entire goal
of the new perks is to save the employees time,
not money.
In most cases, the perks which are almost too
varied and numerous to mention, are low cost or
are paid for by the employees --- but they are
offered at work, are very convenient for the
employees, and save the employees time.
"Even modest perks make a big difference in
employee morale."
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If you would like to discuss any of the above items,
feel free to call
The Integrity Center, Inc.
at (972) 484-6140.
Helping you with your Risk Management and HR Automation is what we do.
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