Martial Arts Insurance Information
Martial Arts Insurance: Background Screening
Jennifer Urmston on Sexual Liability
Background screening is inexpensive. It has to be part of your school liability insurance reduction strategy. You can get a full screening for around $25. This is an important point. If screening is so cheap and easy, as a martial arts school owner, you have no excuse for not getting it done.
In other words, if you're sued for the actions of a staff member with a record, you have no defense. You could have easily discovered his/her past and prevented the incident from occurring.
It is critical that you understand who you are hiring, and who will be representing your school to every student and prospective student.
The background screening industry is regulated by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and all firms are required to adhere to rigorous standards ensuring privacy of individual’s information.
When employees ask why these screenings are required, it’s important to emphasize that a screening does not mean suspicion, nor does submitting to a screening impact a person’s credit score. Having a fully screened staff provides your students and families with peace of mind.
MATA recommends the background screening services of E-Verify.
- Search both the multi-state criminal database, and local jurisdictions. There is no such thing as a “national” criminal database as many jurisdictions choose not to report criminal convictions.
- All crimes are not alike. Misdemeanors and felonies may not be reported forever, depending on where the convictions occurred.
- Criminal conviction records are kept by name, not Social Security number. For the most thorough screening, make sure your background check company is searching both given and alias names.
- Even if you’re not working with children, a diligent search should always include the national Sex Offender Registry. Adults are not immune from sexual predators!
