While most service workers are not a threat, there have been reports across the country of companies sending dangerous criminals into people’s homes. In most cases these companies don’t do background checks on their employees. For nearly ten years Lucia Bone has been on a relentless campaign, pushing for federal legislation that would require thorough background checks to be done on all in-home service workers. Her inspiration is a personal tragedy that occurred when her sister was raped and beaten to death in her home when an air duct cleaner returned to her house 6 months later. The department store who hired the killer had not done a background check. Bone has since formed a non-profit organization that urges businesses to get the Cause Certification, which means they conduct annual high-standard background checks on all in-home service workers voluntarily. However, she says most business owners don’t want to foot the bill for proper background checks. Bone says there are four questions you should always ask: 1. Do you perform criminal background checks on your employees and subcontractors? 2. When are the background checks performed? 3. Which background screening company do you use to perform background checks? 4. How can I be assured that the person being sent into my home has had a criminal background check performed?
