workers comp claims coronavirusWorkers’ Comp Claims… During and After the Coronavirus

Right now, there are many people that continue to work and expose themselves to the Coronavirus. I am talking about law enforcement, first responders, doctors, nurses, grocery store workers, pharmacists and many other essential services.  What will happen if and when these workers file workers’ compensation claims if they contract the coronavirus. Here is my take on Workers Comp Claims, during and after the coronavirus.

First off we should be VERY thankful that these people and the companies they work for are continuing to operate. This awful pandemic that is sweeping across the US and the world is leaving a wake that is impacting everyone.

I wanted to discuss how the Coronavirus will impact employers when it comes to Workers’ Compensation Claims during and after the coronavirus pandemic.  If an employee contracts the virus in the course and scope of work how will employers, health care providers and insurance companies deal with these claims?  Will there be people that take advantage and lie about how they were exposed to the virus?

Will the exposure trigger a Workers’ Compensation Claim?  Will the carriers investigate these claims, deny them or just accept them?  The coverage issues that will arise will likely be litigated for years to come so stay tuned.

In my experience there will be employees that will take advantage of the situation especially if layoffs occur.  Employers will get frustrated with these claims because they can and will impact their premiums.  This means that there will be litigation.

If there is litigation, then there will be a need for investigation.  The important thing to remember is that investigating these things after getting notice of a claim or upon notice of litigation will pose tremendous challenges.

My recommendation is to document anything and everything you are hearing from your employees, managers and executives as it relates to employees having any exposure to virus.  Please take the CDC guidelines seriously and make sure your managers are following through so that potentially infected employees are not interacting with your partners, employees or contractors.

The best defense in these types of cases is documented evidence that tells the story.  There haven’t been similar events in the past that we can look to for guidance on how to handle things today.

I am going to throw out a few investigative tools and techniques that I think will be useful once claims related to the Coronavirus are filed.  When it comes to contracting the Coronavirus, it is all about where people were and who they interacted with.

The first investigative tool that comes to mind would be a vehicle sightings report.  This type of report could tell you where the employee was when they allegedly contracted the virus.  Were they at home?  Were they meeting with a customer?  Were they on a job site?  These are all questions that need to be answered if we are looking to determine if the virus was contracted in the course and scope of employment.

Another investigative tool that can uncover useful evidence would be Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) and social media research/preservation. What is the employee saying on social media about the virus?  Who are they interacting with and where? Are they talking about how a family member or person they reside with tested positive?  There are unlimited possibilities when it comes to social media research.

What trends do you see when it comes to investigations of Workers Comp Claim During and After the Coronavirus? Please leave your comments below.

If you have any suggestions or questions, please let me know.

Court ClosuresHow are background checks impacted by the court closures?

We are really navigating through some uncharted waters.  The court closures that are sweeping across the United States are necessary to protect people from the COVID19 pandemic.  Background checks will be impacted by court closures.  The challenge is that with the courts being closed for hearings, trials and filings this also means that background screening researchers cannot access the public terminals required to conduct searches and verify information in criminal cases.

This will inevitably cause the background screening process to slow down for those searches that go beyond a database check.  The reason is that if a record is found in a database search needs to be verified there is no way to complete the verification.  If the county being searched is not available for online searching, then a physical search must be completed just to see if records exist.

This means that for employers in compliant industries like HEALTHCARE and TRANSPORTATION that need to stay operational and need to hire new employees during the COVID19 pandemic there could be challenges in the background screening process.

There are some things that can be done to get around the issues that the court closures cause.  First if you can conduct a statewide criminal search you should do it.  These searches aren’t as current or updated as the county level searches, but they are an option.  In states like California a statewide search doesn’t exist, but in states like Michigan and Washington they are an option.

If an employer elects to conduct a National Criminal database only or a statewide database search to avoid the issues caused by the court closures, they need to be aware that they could be missing out on records that should be reported.  One suggestion would be to conduct your National Criminal database search and then conduct re-screens after 1-year, 2-years or 3-years of employment assuming you have this policy documented in your company handbook.

If you have any questions or suggestions please let us know.

 

Trends 2019 From Tim Santoni

Trends 2019 – From Tim Santoni

In our business we work with businesses and their trusted advisors (Lawyers, CPA’s, Commercial Insurance Brokers, Business Brokers, Human Resources Consultants, Brand Managers, Marketing Teams & Consultants).  Our investigation and background checks are really just a tool to help mitigate risk in the hiring process or develop evidence and information to make an informed legal or business decision. As we enter the 4th quarter, I wanted to point out some trends that I have observed as a result of our work and interactions with our clients.

Investigations

In the information age that we live there are vast amount of data and information available online through free and paid providers.  The parsing through and verifying of this information is now the challenge.  Online research tools and Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) are becoming the standard to conduct background research on litigants and people injured at work and in automobile accidents.  The open source tools offering by OSINT and other providers have been maliciously hacked and were forced to be taken down. Many of the free tools available are now protected behind paid sites or software offerings.  As far as new searches go, the Vehicle Sighting Reports is an amazing tool to track down where someone is living, working and who they might be associating with.  If at all possible insurance carriers would forego the expense related with surveillance/subrosa and activity checks if they can get more cost effective information obtained through databases.

Background Screening Trends

Industries with forced compliance such as, Finance/Banking, Information/Technology (IT), Construction & Healthcare are consistently in need of custom background screening programs to meet the requirements of their contracts with state and government agencies.  Employers are also looking into continuous monitoring of criminal activity so they are alerted when current employees have runs in with the law.  Proper authorizations and disclosures are a key focus of plaintiff attorneys looking to files cases against employers and  background screening companies which are often referred to as CRA’s.  Electronic Authorizations and Disclosures are emerging as a great solution to decrease turnaround time on background checks while maintaining compliance.  

IP & Brand Protection

Trademark clearance and registration related investigations are on the rise with increased Trademark Applications being filed.  Trademark applications from Chinese based applicants have really spiked. There is an increasing need to identify rogue sellers of infringing and counterfeit products on sites like Amazon that often give counterfeiters an identity shield. We are seeing an increased need for evidentiary “undercover” buys from sellers that are not having their sales fulfilled by Amazon and other e-Commerce providers in an effort to identify and enforce. The removal of domain name ownership records, commonly referred to as “WHOIS” data is making it more and more difficult for brand owners and their attorneys to identify the operators of rogue sites that are selling counterfeit/infringing products.  The lack of WHOIS information is also impacting the ability for online brand protection providers to send automated C&D letters as the first step in the enforcement process.

Risk Mitigation

Open Workers’ Comp Claims are still an ongoing concern for many California employers.  Businesses are frustrated with the lingering claims that are costing them time and money.  They are also fighting back to show their employees that they do not pay out on exaggerated and fraudulent claims.  Trade Secret & IP theft is now a concern for all types of employers. We are seeing an overwhelming need to upgrade and update IT policies so that when internal theft of IP occurs it can be investigated and tied to the perpetrator.  If employers are hit with Trade Secret, IP Theft and Employment Practices lawsuits they need to look at having an on-demand computer forensics partner to forensically preserve the data in a timely manner to avoid spoliation and overwriting.

 

Tim Santoni, President/CEO of Santoni Investigations

Tim Santoni was a recent guest on “Workplace Perspective”, a podcast series for employers and employees. Tim and SAFFIRE LEGAL PC’s founder and principal attorney Teresa McQueen discussed the importance of employers conducting employment background checks and how they are used when hiring employees.

Thank you to Teresa for inviting Tim to be a guest on her show. If you have any questions about background checks or compliance, please leave them in the comments below.

 

 

Process Server Daily Podcast Tim Santoni

 

 

Tim Santoni recently spoke with Michael Reid on his podcast “Process Server Daily” about life as a Private Investigator and President/CEO of Santoni Investigations.  Michael and Tim discussed many topics including IP/Brand Protection , Anti-Counterfeiting Investigations, Surveillance and Risk Mitigation  . Also covered were the many ins and outs of both the Private Investigation and Background Screening businesses. Our thanks to Michael for having Tim on his show.

Small Claims Background Checks

Small Claims Background ChecksAre you concerned about hiring someone that has been sued in small claims court?  Do you need to know how to conduct a small claims background check.  Here are some tips and tricks you can use.

Small claims cases are typically filed in the county where the defendant or business lives or does business, but there are some exceptions.

The California Courts website has a great resource page you review by visiting this link; http://www.courts.ca.gov/9745.htm

Knowing where the cases can be filed frames where you would need to search for any cases involving the party you want to investigate.

There are 58 counties in California and many of them have websites where you can search civil cases; some of which are free and some charge a fee.  If a court does not have a website with case searching ability you would need to travel to or hire someone to conduct a manual search on-site or submit the search request via mail (which can take weeks).  Some counties that require an on-site or mail request include, but are not limited to: San Luis Obispo, Contra Costa.

This means that even if you use a search tool like Intellius and they say they are conducting a comprehensive search it is impossible for them to search counties that don’t make their records available online.

In order to search civil cases, which is where small claims cases are typically filed, the only information you need is the defendants name or business name.  Because these are name only searches having a middle initial can be very important to make sure the records you are finding pertain to the person in question.

If you want to watch a video about how to conduct a small claims background check from the #AskAPIShow here is the link.

LINK TO THE VIDEO

[kad_youtube url=”https://youtu.be/RJ_MkJe4wxY” width=560 height=315 ]

 

The 3 Types of Background Checks3 Types of Background Checks (1)

At our private investigation and background screening company, our most frequently ordered service is the background check. Our first question to a potential is, “what kind of information are you looking for and what is the situation that is triggering you to look into someone’s background.”  There are three (3) types of background checks and we are going to talk more about what they can uncover, what situations they are best used for and which ones can be done discreetly without authorization or notice to the subject.

Obtaining background information on an individual often occurs in these three situations.

  • Before you hire an employee to work at your company.
  • At the onset of litigation it is common to look at the background of the plaintiff, witnesses and any parties that will be deposed or testify as their credibility is crucial.
  • During the M&A (Merger & Acquisition or when you are looking to acquire a company it is important to understand the background of the owner and key executives.

While looking into someone’s background is an excellent business practice, not all types of background checks are made the same. Some of them are extensive and verify the person’s previous employment, location, assets, litigation history, and so on. Others will simply see if the person has ever been convicted of a crime. And sometimes, that little bit of info is all you need to make a decision.

So how do you figure out how much information you need? How deep do you really need to go in order to get the job done?

Here are the three main types of background checks and what is usually involved with them.

 

Pre-Employment Background Checks / Employment Background Checks

This background check is sort of self-explanatory. It is primarily used to determine if a potential employee is a good fit for a company. Plain and simple.

There are some important things you need to know about pre-employment screening, though.

  • Should ONLY be conducted by an employer seeking to hire the applicant as an employee
  • You have to get permission from the person being screened before you can do anything
  • There are a set of rules that must be followed from the FCRA. Check them out here
  • The employee is entitled to obtain a consumer copy once the background check is completed

A pre-employment background check typically involves searching for criminal records, pulling a driving record, verifying employment and education.  This type of background check is the lowest priced of the three we will review. A typical employment background check will range from $30 to $100 per applicant. The variability in price will come from how wide you look in terms of counties searched and whether or not you conduct verifications of employment or education.

A very basic background check that only looks for criminal convictions can be turned around in 24-72 hours or less.

Background Checks for Litigation

If you are involved in litigation it is crucial that you understand everything you can about all of the parties (Plaintiff, Defendant, Witnesses & Experts).  The credibility of the parties will play a huge role in the outcome of the case.  In these situations a background check can be conducted without authorization or notice.  This allows you to discreetly look at everything from criminal records to social media.  A typical litigation background check might include the following;

  • Verification of Information (Name/Alias, SSN, DOB)
  • Address/Residence History
  • Criminal Court Searches (State & Federal)- Counties/States of Residence
  • Civil Court Searches (State & Federal)- Counties/States of Residence
  • Multi-state Criminal search with watch lists and sex offender searches
  • Patriot Act Watch List
  • Sex Offender Search
  • National Security & Terrorism Watch Lists
  • OFAC (Office of Foreign Asset Control)
  • Interpol Most Wanted List
  • OIG
  • General Services Administration Excluded Parties System List
  • Denied Persons List
  • Corporate & Business Affiliations
  • Consumer Public Filings
    • Bankruptcies
    • Judgments
    • Liens
  • Professional Licenses
  • News/Media Searches
  • Social Media

The information that you uncover in a litigation background check can give you the upper hand or maybe even the evidence you need to swing the scale of justice in your favor.

Social media is especially revealing. A lot of people don’t realize how incriminating some photos they post can be. Pictures of consuming alcohol inappropriately, being around certain people or places that they shouldn’t, or even saying things that they shouldn’t.

Every legal case is different. Because of that, a background check can be tailored to focus on finding the information you need for litigation purposes. You don’t necessarily need to know every unlawful thing a person has done, just the stuff that is relevant to your case.

These investigations can be a little bit more expensive than a pre-employment check. The starting price is usually in the $300 to $1,000 range and can take anywhere from a couple days to a couple weeks to complete.

If you need a litigation background check be sure to partner with an investigation firm that has the resources, experience and databases required to uncover the necessary information.

Due Diligence Background Checks

If you are looking at acquiring a business, partnering with a business or engaging in M&A activity a due diligence background check can be your friend.  Due Diligence Background checks can be done discreetly and the can be conducted on individuals and businesses.

The components of a due diligence background check would include the elements referenced in the Litigation – Legal Background section, but they will also include the following;

  • Assets
  • Related Entities / Subsidiaries
  • Licensing/Regulation Checks
  • Trade Journal / Media Research
  • Corporate Filing Review
  • Regulatory Sanctions
  • Interviews
  • Business / Professional License (review/verification)
  • Domain Names

The information uncovered in a Due Diligence Background Check will tell you if the acquiring company will be able to successfully operate the succeeding business.  It will tell you if the buyer is bankable and can secure the necessary financing required to operate the business.  You will learn about litigation, both civil and criminal that can impact credibility. A snapshot of social activities and relationships will be evident in reviewing social media and potential family law cases.

In the end you will have a full profile of owners, executives and key employees of a business you are looking acquire.  This will help you in structuring and negotiating a deal after all of the facts are on the table.

5 Mistakes that Elevate Risk in Your Business

When you’re the head of a small or middle sized business, you have a dozen hats to wear and never enough time to take care of everything. These 5 mistakes that elevate risk in your business can be avoided.  Learn these 5 tips and keep your company, employees, partner and clients safe.

It’s inevitable that some things will slip through the cracks.

1) Not Conducting Background Checks

 

To some people, this may seem obvious.

Before you bring someone on-board, make sure they are who they say they are.

Unfortunately, there are a staggering amount of employers who think that they don’t need to run a background check. They liked the person who showed up at the interview and will hire them without hesitation.

How could this possibly be dangerous?

Conducting a background check gives insight into the applicant’s behavior and patterns.

We had a client that hired a nice young woman based on her experience as a CPA. Come tax season, she stole the social security numbers of all the employees. Then she used them to commit tax fraud and collect their returns.

When our client ran a background on her, they found several counts of theft, harassment and arson.

Even if there aren’t any white collar crimes to report, there might be other things lurking in the shadows.

A DUI, for example, is no laughing matter.

Having a charge on your record displays a pretension for irresponsibility. If they’re not wise enough to not drink and drive, how do you think they’ll act within your company?

What about assault and battery charges?

During the interview, the prospective employee might seem charming and be a perfect fit. Then you find out, a month or two down the line, that they have problems handling their anger. They could potentially take out their issues on your employees.

People like that have a record of patterned behavior.

Solution: Check out their background before giving them a job offer. You might be surprised by what you find.

 

2) Blind Trust with your IT Personnel

Since we are in the digital age, most everything a business does occurs over the web.

You’ve put the necessary precautions in place – installing anti-virus software on your main computer and hired an IT staff to handle everything else.

You’re set, right?

Not necessarily.

Just because you’re working with an IT company doesn’t mean they automatically know how to protect your business.

A good IT firm will have recommendations about security protocols to put into place as soon as you sign up with them. These protocols that protect you, your employees, your customers and your vendors from having their information stolen or corrupted.

Unfortunately, just putting the protocols into place doesn’t inherently stop the bad guys from getting into the system.

Security measures have to constantly be updated, monitored and tested in order to really protect you.

An anti-virus program from 2010 will not stand a chance against a virus or malware software from 2016.

You have to remember that a cyber-attack is always around the corner and can happen anytime, anywhere and to any company.

Just ask Target, Sony, GoDaddy, Staples, Anthem Insurance, and Experian about cyber crime.

These are big name companies with a lot of money to put into cyber defense. Yet, they were hit hard and suffered massively when attacked.

If these massive corporations can be knocked down by a hacker, it would be even easier for a small business to be broken into.

Solution: Ask your IT people what they’re doing to protect you and your company from these threats.

 

3) Lack of Education About Workers’ Compensation


One of the banes of owning a business is when an employee gets injured on the clock.

According to the US Department of Labor, every year in California, 9,000 to 11,000 employees file for workers comp.

In 2015, this amounted to $438,000,000 in compensation and medical bills paid for by business owners.

The odds of encountering a claim skyrocket if you operate any type of business that deals with heavy machinery, transportation and construction.

In order to protect yourself and properly care for your employees, education is key.

They need to know what to do if they are injured and you need to make sure everything is filed correctly. A workers’ comp claim can take years to settle or close.

The only way to speed up the process is to be as compliant as possible. Make sure that the employee fills out the right paperwork and  is seeking out medical attention.

If you suspect fraud, however, talk with your business insurance provider. They will probably send out an investigator to look into it. Depending on what you find, the claim might continue or be closed based on the evidence.

Still, you don’t want to have to rely on catching the employee somewhere down the line.

Educate your employees on the consequences they face if they file a fraudulent claim.
Solution: Take every workers’ comp claim seriously and make sure your employees know how a claim can affect the overall bottom line.

 

4) Failure to Preserve Electronically Stored Information (ESI)


Not only do you have to worry about threats from the outside world, but also inside your own company.

Imagine this scenario: You’ve have a poorly performing employee who needs to be cut from payroll. They’re enraged and can’t believe you’re firing them.

They leave and you continue finding someone to replace them.

Unbeknownst to you, the employee can access work email and other cloud services via their personal cellphone. And even though the employee is no longer at the office, they can still get their hands on sensitive information.

Because you don’t know they have this access, you turn over their computer to the employee who replaces them.

Now, let’s say that the former employee wants to trade the information they have about your company with your competitor so they can get a new job.

You find out about this later and file a lawsuit against the former employee for corporate espionage.

During the course of the lawsuit, you need to prove the former employee’s guilt because the information they gave to the competitor was only on their computer.

You might find this difficult to prove, because the new employee has the computer with all the information on it.

Unknowingly, you just ruined your case. Or, at the very least, jeopardized your chances of winning.

By not immediately locking out the terminated employee from all access to the company, you’ve exposed yourself to risk.

Solution: Preserving electronic data is really as simple as swapping out an old hard drive for a new one.

The next step is to change passwords on email addresses and other places of logging in. This creates a barricade that, while not impenetrable, can help protect you from harm.

 

5) Not Really Knowing Your Supply Chain


Any time you bring in a third party to support your business, you’re putting yourself at risk.

Once you expand your business outside of the corporate office, you’re putting the fate of your company into others’ hands.

Sometimes, you find out after the fact that the people you do business with aren’t as reliable as they seem.

Take a look at these causes and effects that impact business owners’ every day.

Delays in Production:

Cause: Unstable suppliers who can’t meet your needs

They could be too slow at producing the final product or they’re not checking the product as it passes through various layers of production. This can lead to a defected product at the end, needing to be thrown away and start over.

Effect: Upsets purchasing managers, distributors and customers. Lag time on deliveries causes delays in revenues.

Solution: Work with the manufacturer to make sure the best processes are in place to make the product.

Keep an open flow of communication so they let you know when they run out of material or have broken machinery.

Delays can happen. Knowing about them as they arise gives you breathing room to plan around them.

Counterfeiting & Diversion:

Cause: Rogue distributors & manufacturers exploit your IP & Brand.

Effect: Upsets authorized distributors and consumers leading to brand erosion, customer confusion and loss of profits.

Solution: Conduct frequent audits on your manufacturers. If they aren’t compliant, don’t work with them.

IP & Trade Secret Leaks

Cause: Failure to protect your tangible and intangible IP.

Just because your office is secure doesn’t mean your manufacturer’s office is. Their computer systems can be broken into and your company information could be leaked to a competitor or counterfeiter.

Effect: Patent designs and secure information can get into the hands of counterfeiters. They can distribute low-quality products that look just like yours.

Solution: Ensure your manufacturers have up-to-date security protocols in place. Encourage them to work with an IT company that can protect their business from attack.

 

Hopefully this helped you understand how protect yourself internally, in the cyber world, and from white collar sharks.

If you put up the right defenses, it will show others that you’re serious about your business. It will show hackers that you’re not one to mess with and to go pick on someone else.

But most of all, put the right procedures in place so you can focus on what matters: expansion, revenue, and being the best in your industry.

California Passes Law to Shed Light on Criminal Background Checks, or Lack Thereof

California Passes Law to Shed Light on Criminal Background ChecksIt’s hard to believe but the holidays are just weeks away. And during this time many families, especially those with working parents, scramble to find Winter camps or classes for their kids during the vacation break. For years, parents have taken for granted that these programs have screened their staff to weed out child predators, but in recent years we have heard all over the news about an increasing amount of child molestation cases.

And yet, not all businesses that come in contact with children have to conduct criminal background checks, and their employees don’t have to disclose if they’ve been arrested for felony cases when there have been no convictions. Furthermore, information may not be complete or incorrect, making searching the Meghan’s Law website, a database of sex offenders, even more challenging for parents.

Because of the publicized child abuse incidents and the lack of employee screening, momentum has been building for more laws to protect kids.

Parents, Fear No More?

In an effort to prevent child abuse, Governor Brown signed into law Assembly Bill 1852, which requires that all businesses where employees work directly with minors must prominently disclose in writing whether or not they have employee criminal background checks on file. To be clear, the new law, which takes effect January 2015, doesn’t require these businesses to conduct the employee background checks only to tell you their policy on whether they obtain them.

The law doesn’t affect child care centers or schools, which have their own set of rules to protect children. AB 1852 affects businesses providing mentoring, tutoring, or instructional services such as math tutors or dance schools, to name just a few after school program activities.

Choosing After School Program Activities Wisely

The new law may not be 100{2f3748b5ca5ab0ef62f1154c571df9c56b0d52fa28ba96fa4f869e5919b9e929} comforting but it does arm parents with more information about who their kids come in contact with. Some businesses may not have been forthcoming about their employee screening policies but now they’ll be forced to disclose whether they’ve been lax in this area. And if they start losing customers it may encourage more businesses to vet their staff better. Come January, parents can make better informed decisions about their kids’ extracurricular activities.

Assurance through Criminal Background Checks

For companies that want ensure their clients’ safety and protect their business through full criminal background checks, Santoni Investigations & Backgrounds offers these services and more. Customizable reports can be ordered to comply with state laws while satisfying customers’ need for assurance that their children will be safe. Santoni has access to the most up-to-date databases and the experience to verify the information so that all parties can focus on the kids.

Learn more about Employment Background Screening:

Online Background Checks: They Aren’t What You Think

Free Background Checks May Really Cost You

CEO’s, CFO’, COO’s, CMO’s often don’t know how they can take advantage of a professional corporate investigation firm with experience handling legal investigations and employment background screening. Discreetly and compliantly obtaining verified information is something that an experienced corporate investigator and employment background screening firm can do for the c-suite executives.  Think of a professional and trusted investigation firm with a background screening division as the “secret weapon” used by the management team.

Our c-suite executive clients typically call when…

  1. They want to know more about a new supplier or distributor
  2. They need competitive intelligence or sample products from a competitor
  3. Product starts disappearing (internal/external theft)
  4. Worker’s Compensation Claims are costing the company time and money
  5. Volatile ex-employees and criminals pose threats to their people and resources
  6. Their employee background screening is costing them key talent
  7. Former employees have stolen customer lists or proprietary information
  8. Their brand is being infringed upon and their goodwill is being compromised