Maybe you haven’t heard of Kimberly Kitchen, a Pennsylvania woman who was in the news for the wrong reasons. But her story perfectly illustrates the critical importance of due diligence when hiring a new employee.
Kimberly Kitchen worked for almost a decade as a lawyer for a law firm in Pennsylvania. Her credentials were good: educated at the Duquesne University School of Law, a professor at Columbia University Law School, 10 years as a paralegal prior to becoming an attorney, even a stint as president of a county bar association. She was a rising star, and her firm made her a partner.
Unfortunately for her firm, it was all a lie. The documents were forged, the bar number was someone else’s (attorneys are assigned a unique identifying number by the bar association), and Kitchen had never studied the law or passed the bar exam.
She was sentenced to 2-5 years in prison. Her firm has spent considerable amounts of time and money to clean up the mess. Its reputation is ruined, and its liability from having a “fake attorney” work for its clients is considerable.
And it all could have been avoided if the firm had simply taken the small due diligence steps of independently verifying her:
- Education
- Work history
- Professional licenses
Any one of these steps would have revealed Ms. Kitchen as a fraud.
While her story is a particularly egregious example of someone who falsified their credentials, lying to advance one’s professional goals is not uncommon. The liability for the job-seeker might be as minimal as not being hired, if the deception is discovered. But the liability for a company that doesn’t protect itself by doing a thorough background check on all prospective employees can be huge: loss of business, loss of reputation, fines or other potential penalties, even an ongoing scandal that can sink the firm.
Critical Verifications
Depending upon your firm and industry, as well as the position, verification needs will vary. For example, if someone is going to drive for your company, checking his/her driving record is a must.
But you should do due diligence whenever an applicant claims any education, professional license (e.g., CPA, nursing, architect, etc.), or employment. All of those things can be faked and must be confirmed.
Education. There are two items to verify when checking education: that the applicant earned the claimed degree(s), and that the degree comes from an accredited institution. If an applicant has not yet earned the degree, verify the dates of attendance. Experts estimate that more than 100,000 fake degrees are sold each year in the United States.
Licenses. While some professional licenses, such as broker licenses, are regulated at a national level, many are issued by individual states. Due diligence should include not only checking licenses/credentials in your state and states where the individual claims to have worked, but also other states where the individual may have practiced. That due diligence should verify that the license/certification is valid, current and in good standing. This verification should also uncover any disciplinary actions, adverse actions or complaints associated with that license. Every regulatory body shares licensing information in a different way, so be sure to work with a background screening firm that knows how to obtain thorough and accurate results.
Employment. Employment verifications are necessary to ensure that an individual’s self-reported career is consistent with their actual work history and level of job responsibility. While automated employment verification systems are widely used, many employment verifications still need to be conducted by directly contacting a company. Often, additional research is required, such as when a merger or acquisition leads to discrepancies in employment dates reported by companies and automated verification services. When a business is acquired, its employment record data is not always merged with existing data (and unfortunately is sometimes lost). In these instances, an investigative analyst must contact an employer representative to find these records and piece together the information to determine the accuracy of the prospective employee’s self-reported work history.
Driving. If driving is part of an employee’s duties, verifying his or her motor vehicle records can reduce liability associated with hiring a “bad driver” or, worse, an unlicensed driver. Motor vehicle records can also be used to verify an individual’s legal name and date of birth. In addition, a lengthy history of motor vehicle violations may indicate that an individual is irresponsible or reckless.
Protect Yourself
Anyone, from entry-level employees to top executives, is capable of misrepresenting him- or herself in hopes of improving the chances of landing a job. Unlike Kimberly Kitchen, the penalty isn’t likely going to be a jail sentence. But for an employer, the liability is much greater. A thorough review of education, licenses and employment is an affordable and sound investment to protect your company’s interests.
