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ESR Speaker and Training Bureau

Lester S. Rosen, the Founder of ESR, is available to speak on critical topics effecting a safe workplace, including Safe Hiring Procedures and Techniques, Criminal Background Checks, Pre-Employment Screening, Reference Checks, the Fair Credit Reporting Act and other related topics.  Sessions can range from 45 minutes to all day workshops.

Sample Topic:

Crimes, Criminals and Employment–The Role of Criminal Records in the Hiring Process

Hiring an employee with a criminal record can lead to disaster. Employers who fail to exercise due diligence in their hiring practice can be liable for negligent hiring or supervision should problems occur.  Failure to take precautions has led to workplace violence, theft, embezzlement and numerous other problems.

However, employers and Human Resources professionals face a host of legal and privacy concerns in obtaining and using criminal records. In fact, it is unlawful to even consider certain types of criminal records in California.

This session will review the legal use of criminal records in the hiring process, including how to locate, interpret and evaluate criminal records. The session will also cover ten steps an organization can immediately take to avoid hiring a criminal and a safe hiring practices audit.

In this session, you will gain:

1. An understanding of the importance that criminal records play in the hiring process and the why exercising due diligence is so critical

2. An introduction to obtaining and evaluating criminal records.

3. An overview of the legal aspects of obtaining and using criminal records, including the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), discrimination laws and the effect of state laws.

4.  Ten (10) steps an employer can take immediately to promote safe hiring that costs nothing and a safe hiring practices audit attendees can use to evaluate the due diligence practices of their own organization.

The Use of Search Engines and Social Netorking Sites to Screeen Applicants

Job applicants have long used the internet to research employers. But now, employers are using the internet to research job applicants as well. Employers aren't only using search engines to find information on applicants but are now examining social networking sites, such as Facebook or MySpace. For job applicants of course, social networking sites are places to interact with peers in any manner they choose. Entries on these sites are typically not meant for employers to view. Employers tell anecdotes of avoiding serious mistakes by using these tools. Conversely, some job applicants feel they have been denied opportunities unfairly by employers or recruiters snooping on social Web sites and viewing materials out of context or Web entries meant just in fun for friends.

This seminar  will review this emerging area of recruiting and employment law, examining the pros and cons of employers utilizing such tools and the legal landscape. Topics will cover how and why employers utilize these sites. It will then cover a number of legal implications, such as problems with employers obtaining information they should not have and discrimination,  privacy and authencity. Finally, we will examine approaches that employers and applicants may consider. 

How to Avoid Hiring Problem Employees-10 Easy Steps HR can take today (and cost nothing)

Employee problems are usually caused by problem employees. Human Resources professionals have become painfully aware that hiring someone with a criminal record falsified credentials or undesirable background can create a legal and financial nightmare.   Employers are increasingly turning to pre-employment screening to prevent problem hires in the first place. 

However, HR mangers must contend with a number of challenges in implementing a safe hiring program, including legal regulations and limited budgets.

This workshop will review the basic principles of safe hiring, including pre-employment screening and the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). It will also include a review of 10 strategies that HR professional can implement immediately that cost nothing but will significantly improve a company's chances of avoiding a bad hire. Finally, participants will have the opportunity to conduct an audit of their organization's safe hiring procedures and due diligence practices.

The Strategic Role of Safe Hiring in the Human Capital Markets:  The emergence of the pre-employment background screening industry 

The Human Capital Management (HCM) market is expected to reach nearly $10 billion by 2003. Effectively managing a firm's human assets is the difference between success and failure, since nearly three-quarters of corporate spending is allotted to "human capital assets."

Because of the need for information about job applicants, as well as the security and due diligence concerns that have been further fueled by the events of 9/11, the pre-employment background screening and credential verifications industry has emerged on the scene as a major new player in the human capital arena.    Once characterized by small local and regional firms in a very fragment market, the pre-employment screening industry is now a multi-billion dollar business, with deals that have topped a billion dollars.  These events have captured the attention of Wall Street and investors as well. 

The talk will review the development and current status of the screening industry, the various workflows and challenges involved in obtaining information used by employers, the evolution and role of technology, the needs and behaviors of the customer, the various types of firms in the market, the market structure, barriers to entry, the role of consolidation and whether size counts. Finally, the talk will review various models for the industry as it matures, and scenarios on how the industry may evolve in the future. 

The seminar also reviews the feasibility of developing a true human capital databases, since no market can operate without information about it's critical resource.  Data about the work force is needed in order to create a true human capital market, where the right person is seamlessly matched to the right job at just the right time with a minimum of delay and transaction cost. 

The speaker, attorney Lester S. Rosen, is a recognized national expert on background screening, as well as the federal and state laws that regulate the area.  In addition, he is the founder and CEO of Employment Screening Resources (www.ESRcheck.com), a national screening firm that was rated in November, 2002 as the top background-screening firm in the first independent survey of the pre-employment screening industry just released by HR.com, North America's largest web destination for Human Resources (HR) professionals.

Giving and Receiving Employment References–A Catch 22

References from past employers can be an essential part of the hiring process. However, many employers are so concerned about lawsuits, they will only provide dates of employment and job title. Many employers want references, but cannot give them to others. Good applicants can be prejudiced, while applicants with a negative history can go on to new and unsuspecting employers.

This workshop will cover effective employment reference strategies HR professionals can utilize despite these difficulties.

In this session, you will gain:
1. An understanding of the legal do's and don'ts when it comes to giving and asking for employment references and why labor attorneys often advise employers to limit their information to dates of employment and job title.

2. Strategies to gain references from past employers, even when faced with employers who have a "no comment" policy.

3. Ten (10) steps an employer can take immediately to promote safe hiring that costs nothing and a safe hiring practices audit attendees can use to evaluate the due diligence practices of their own organization.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) And Employers–Developments And Trends Affecting Pre-Employment Screening and Employee Investigations

The federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) regulates how employers conduct pre-employment screening and investigations of current employees. Any employer, Human Resources or Security professional involved in pre-employment screening or employee investigations must have comply with this complex law. However, the FCRA is full of potential landmines that can expose unwary employers to liability. In addition, at least 27 states have their own version of the FCRA.

This session will first review the basic operation of the FCRA for employers. It will also cover pending legislation on conducting internal investigations, and the impact of Federal Trade Commission staff opinion letters, as well as new cases and future trends.

BIO:

Lester S. Rosen is an attorney at law and President of Employment Screening Resources (www.ESRcheck.com), a national background screening company located in California . ESR was rated as the top screening firm in the US in the first independent industry study.  

He is the author of, “ The Safe Hiring Manual--Complete Guide to Keeping Criminals, Imposters and Terrorists Out of Your Workplace.” (512 pages-Facts on Demand Press), the first comprehensive book on employment screening.  Heis also the author fo, "The Safe Hiring Audit."
He is also a consultant, writer and frequent presenter nationwide on pre-employment screening and safe hiring issues. He has qualified and testified in the California, Florida and Arkansas Superior Courts as an expert witness on issues surrounding safe hiring and due diligence. His speaking appearances have included numerous national and statewide conferences. 

He is a former deputy District Attorney and criminal defense attorney and has taught criminal law and procedure at the University of California Hastings College of the Law. His jury trials have included murder, death penalty and federal cases. He graduated UCLA with Phi Beta Kappa honors, and received a J.D. degree from the University of California at Davis , serving on the Law Review. He holds the highest attorney rating of A.V. in the national Martindale-Hubbell listing of American Attorneys. He is also a licensed Private Investigator in California.

Mr. Rosen was the chairperson of the steering committee that founded the National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS) a professional trade organization for the screening industry which has over 300 members. He was also elected to the first board of directors and served as the co-chairman in 2004.

Revised 5/09