The Oklahoma Bar Journal May 2023

It might be advisable to create a form for potential employees to sign providing all that information, including prior names. I would also encourage you to observe the candi date when you tell them a criminal background check will be required. One grimace may be worth a thou sand words. If they say, “I know what you will find. Let me explain,” then let them do so, and give them some credit for their candor. They might confess something in another state that might not be picked up by the Oklahoma background check. But it is also likely they have a reasonable, non-disqualifying explanation. EMBEZZLEMENT RISK Depending on the type of law practice, temptations can be pre sented to employees. Suppose an employee who normally doesn’t handle money is the only staffer remaining at the end of a long day. A client shows up just before closing with a $300 cash payment. The staffer takes the payment and, because it is the end of the day, does not write the client a cash receipt. The bank deposit has gone for the day, so the employee puts the cash in an envelope and puts it in their desk drawer to be turned over the next day. But they do not know how to enter the payment into the client’s ledger. Then maybe absences or the weekend remove it from the top of the employ ee’s mind. Three weeks later the employee notices a crumpled enve lope in the back of the desk drawer. Even the honest employee will rec ognize that if someone was going to say something they would have done so by now. They may also note that when they turn the cash in, they may be criticized for not writing a receipt or hanging onto the money too long. Add in other complicating factors like the utility cutoff notice they just received.

law firms, no longer provide much information because of liability concerns. Sometimes all you will receive is employment verification with the start date and end date. Others have suggested you might obtain more information by asking if that former employee would be eligible to be rehired at the firm. A simple “No” response gives you valuable information. CRIMINAL BACKGROUND CHECKS Today it is prudent to run a criminal background check for every new hire. There will be some exceptions, but the back ground check is relatively inex pensive and can be done online. You can also exercise your own judgment with the results and explain to the potential employee that not every mistake is disqual ifying. For example, a DUI arrest reduced to reckless driving 10 years ago may not be a problem. But if the person is still on probation for their third DUI and the job involves driv ing to courthouses to file documents, the past at least merits further discus sion, if not moving on to another can didate. Prior theft or embezzlement charges are most likely disqualifying.

Historically, some law firms do not contact law enforcement when they discover embezzle ment, whether it is from embar rassment at being a victim, the time involved in dealing with law enforcement or preconceptions about whether charges would be filed. This is another reason why it is important to check references and pay attention to significant employment gaps in their resume. State background checks can be done at CHIRP, the Criminal History Information Request Portal. 1 The website states: In addition to a subject’s first and last name, requests for criminal history record infor mation must include a date of birth. CHIRP will search three (3) years before and after the date of birth for possible matches. Additional identi fiers such as aliases (maiden names, previous married names, nicknames) and social security numbers, if known, can be provided for a more thorough search of the OSBI

Computerized Criminal History (CCH) Database.

80 | MAY 2023

THE OKLAHOMA BAR JOURNAL