BRB's Public Records Blog: Occupational Licensing

BRB's Public Records Blog: Occupational Licensing: "BRB Publications Launches New Web Page www.verifyprolicense.com Providing Access to State Licensing Boards

BRB Publications annouced today a new website that enables the public to verify individuals and businesses required to be licensed or have a certification or registration.

This free, new resource enables a researcher to check the representations people make to the public in day-to-day personal or business life. Users of www.verifyprolicense.comcan choose an occupation or business category, by state, to find the direct address, phone number, and web page of the licensing or certification board. The resulting screen also provides a hot link to a License Validator to verify the license, permit, and registration information for individuals and or businesses. Another valuable feature of the search is that it often indicates when disciplinary action has been taken against an individual or business. This site is updated weekly and includes over 8,000 occupations with over 4,500 'name searchable' links providing immediate results.

According to BRB Publication’s CEO Michael Sankey, 'Professional occupational licensing and non-voluntary certifications and registrations are generally a matter of public record, intended to protect the public from fraud and the misrepresentations of qualifications. It is simply a smart business practice to check on those with whom you deal, particularly if strangers come into a home, or if money and property are involved.'

Also, the new website is dedicated to educating the public about The Sue Weaver C.A.U.S.E. (Consumer Awareness of Unsafe Service Employment).

About the Sue Weaver C.A.U.S.E.
On August 27, 2001, Sue Weaver was brutally raped and beaten to death by a twice convicted sex-offender. Ms. Weaver’s attacker was hired through a major department store to do service work in her home. In memory of Sue Weaver, C.A.U.S.E. was founded in 2004 as a non-profit organization that brings awareness and education to consumers and employers regarding the necessity of criminal background checks on all service employees, contractors and subcontractors hired to work in or near clients’ homes. For more information about C.A.U.S.E. visit www.sueweavercause.org.

Posted at 12:17 PM in Occupational Licensing, Pre-employment Screening, Recommended Resources, State Agencies | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
August 30, 2007
Urban Myth: Licensed Professionals Such as Doctors, Lawyers or Teachers, Do Not Need Background Checks

Posted with permission from ESR Newsletter and Legal Update, a newsletter by Lester S. Rosen Esq. and Employment Screening Resources (ESR), www.esr.com

A popular urban myth is that members of regulated and licensed professions, such as doctors, lawyers, CPA’s, nurses or teachers do not need a background check because some governmental agency is in charge of ensuring that individuals that commit crimes or misconduct will not have a license to practice their profession.

Unfortunately, nothing can be further from the truth. Licensing is conducted by numerous boards in the 50 states and territories. Due to some of the following factors, it is entirely possible for a criminal to be licensed by a state agency:

The system for a licensing board to discover a criminal conviction is far from perfect. Conviction data may not be sent to a licensing board immediately, or at all. In addition, there can be a substantial lag time between the alleged criminal act, the arrest and the conviction. Even if the criminal conviction is discovered by the licensing board, the disciplinary process takes time. Unless the licensing board takes action to issue an immediate suspension, the licensee may be able to continue to practice while the administrative procedures drag on.

While the disciplinary action is pending, a licensee may simply move to another state and apply for a license, covering up the proceedings in the first state. In other words, a licensee may try to “beat the discipline” before the new state finds out about it.

Even if a person is suspended in one state, an employer cannot assume that all state licensing boards share information with each other. As we discovered post 9/11, we do not live in a world where the government routinely collects and shares data with other governmental entities. There can even be situations where a person commits a crime that does not result in losing a license, but is still important for an employer to know about. In fact, in some licensed occupations, a person may even get a “private” reprimand meaning that a check with the appropriate licensing board may not reveal anything.

The bottom-line: Employers that hire a member of a licensed or regulated occupation cannot assume that they are immune from liability simply because a person appears to have a current license. Since it is possible for criminal convictions or acts of misconduct to “fall through the cracks,” an employer still has a duty to exercise due diligence by its own independent background check.

For a free comrehensive listing of the numerous state agencies that license occupations, see: http://www.brbpub.com/pubrecsitesOccStates.asp

Posted at 10:27 AM in Occupational Licensing, Pre-employment Screening | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)
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