October/November 2006 Pre-employment Screening News

• Northrop Grumman Defensive Over Security Plan
  
• Employment Issues Raised By Civil Suit vs. Trash Co.


• Background Checks May Help 9/11 Families With Lawsuits


• For First Time, Airport Workers To Be Screened


• DOE Reduces Use Of Polygraph Technology

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Northrop Grumman Defensive Over Security Plan (11/12/06) - Dailypress.com
NEWPORT NEWS -- The security director at Northrop Grumman Newport News has told the Coast Guard that requiring the shipyard to participate in a planned federal screening system for port workers would be onerous and increase the costs of building ships.

As proposed, the credentialing system, expected to go into effect next summer, would impact 19,000 Newport News shipyard workers and some of the shipyard's 60,000 yearly visitors.

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Employment Issues Raised By Civil Suit vs. Trash Co. (11/6/06) - Massachusetts Lawyer Weekly
A $10 million wrongful-death suit brought against the trash company that employed the man accused of murdering fashion writer Christa Worthington is raising significant questions over an employer's use of background checks on potential employees.

Specifically, lawyers said the civil case being brought by the Worthington estate could expand the duty of care business owners - especially those in businesses where client contact is minimal like a trash collection company - owe to customers when owners become aware of a potential employee's past criminal record.

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Background Checks May Help 9/11 Families With Lawsuits (11/1/06) - GovExec.com
The Transportation Security Administration announced Wednesday that it intends to do background checks on plaintiffs who have filed suit in federal court to determine if they can have access to restricted aviation information.

The move is expected to help family members of victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and their lawyers move forward in litigation against U.S. airlines, airports and security contractors.

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For First Time, Airport Workers To Be Screened (10/18/06) - WCBS.com
(CBS) NEW YORK Airport workers are finding themselves subject to surprise screenings as the government issues new security tactics at airports nationwide. The changes are a direct response to this year's foiled plot to blow-up America-bound airplanes.

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DOE Reduces Use Of Polygraph Technology (10/16/06) - FCW.com
The Energy Department plans to end its across-the-board polygraph testing of job applicants and employees, according to a rule that department officials published in the Federal Register. The policy change becomes effective Oct. 30.

Some researchers say there have been no major physiological or technological advances in the past few years to justify the use of polygraphs for employee security screening at federal agencies. Opponents of polygraph testing have argued for years that DOE and other agencies should scrap such evaluations. Now, after ignoring studies that show that polygraphs are not reliably accurate, DOE has decided to decrease its reliance on such testing for screening prospective counterintelligence employees.

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