08/11/2013 How to Keep a Psychopath Out of Your Workplace

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How to Keep a Psychopath Out of Your Workplace
Josh Cable
Thu, 2013-11-07 10:27
It's easier said than done, of course. But there are red flags that can give an employer insight into an
applicant's propensity for bad behavior.
If one in 100 men and one in 300 women are psychopaths, as some experts estimate, how do they get into
the workplace?
The answer is simple: "We hire our problems," risk-management consultant Steve Davis asserted at the
2013 America's Safest Companies Conference in Atlanta. "We actually put them on the payroll and pay
them to come to work, without properly screening them and without understanding what the risks are."
Regardless of whether or not an individual has psychopathic or sociopathic tendencies or suffers from
some other personality disorder or mental illness, when a worker engages in violence or other bad
behavior, the human and financial costs can be steep.
"It's cheaper and better to keep people out of the workplace than allowing them in," said forensic
psychologist Harley Stock.
Easier said than done, of course. A true background check one that delves deeply into a person's personal
and professional past can cost tens of thousands of dollars, according to security consultant Mike
Canaan, president of Kent, Wash.-based Trident Investigative Service Inc.
"We can only make a reasonable effort to do what we need to do for the position we're hiring for," Canaan
told EHS Today. In many cases, that effort takes the form of a pre-employment screening, in which "we're
looking for behaviors in a person's history that might cause an employer to go, 'Hmm,'" Canaan explained.
Military History
As a starting point, Stock recommended taking a close look at the applicant's military record (if there is
one) specifically, the DD-214, or certificate of release or discharge from active duty.
"Bad military service is the best predictor of future bad behavior in the workplace," asserted Stock, who is
a managing partner at the Florida-based Incident Management Group Inc.
The DD-214 contains several key pieces of information for prospective employers, including the
separation code (which indicates the type of discharge) and the pay grade upon discharge.
"We expect most people who complete their term of service to come out, no matter what the service is, at
E4 if they're not officers," Stock explained. "If we see somebody who comes out at an E1, absolutely 100
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percent of the time it tells you that they've had problems in the military."
Likewise, if the DD-214 indicates that the person has anything lower than an honorable discharge, "inquire
about it," Stock added.
Also, employers should look at Box 27, or the re-entry code. Stock showed a sample DD-214 in which the
individual (whose name was deleted) received an "RE-4," which is a red flag. "RE-4 means that not only is
he not eligible for re-enlistment [in his own service], but he's also not eligible for enlistment in any service
in the military," Stock said. "There's a lot of information about potential bad behavior contained in the DD-
214 that we can use to keep people out [of the workplace]."
Criminal History
As a police officer, private investigator and security consultant, Canaan has observed that when a person
engages in criminal behavior, he or she rarely goes "from zero to 60." More often than not, there are
warning signs indicating that the person has mental problems or other issues.
"There are always indicators that family, friends, co-workers or neighbors see, but they either don't report
it or don't know who to report it to," Canaan said.
In the cases he has handled, the downward spiral typically plays out over the course of several years, and
follows a common arc. As the person's life deteriorates in lockstep with his or her worsening mental
condition the individual does something that lands him or her in jail or a mental institution.
"They'll be assessed by a mental health professional and then put on medications for their mental health
problem, perhaps go through court-ordered counseling if it's free and get released into society," Canaan
said. "Then, almost always in my experience, they fall off their meds for whatever reason either they
don't think they need them anymore, they can't afford them anymore or they just forget to take them. And
then that slide downward begins again, until they get arrested again."
When looking at an applicant's criminal history as part of a pre-employment screening, Canaan suggested
paying close attention to the types of crimes committed. "Is it a shoplift? Is it an assault? Is it harassment?
A rape? A sexual assault?" Canaan said. "Is it trespassing? More specifically, was the person hiding in the
woods? Peeping in windows? Sending threatening letters? Have there been restraining orders or no-contact
orders?"
Generally speaking, it is legal for an employer to look at an applicant's criminal record, Canaan noted.
"However, there are state and federal laws as to how far one can go back into a person's history," Canaan
added. "Here in Washington state, we can go back five years into a person's criminal history. We can go
back three years into their driving record. Each state has different laws that might be more restrictive than
federal law."
While there's no law forbidding employers from conducting background checks, Fisher & Phillips labor
attorney Todd Logsdon noted that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission believes that such
checks have "a discriminatory effect on certain populations," and has taken several companies to court
challenging their background-check policies. To avoid running afoul of the EEOC, Logsdon urged
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employers to institute consistent policies and procedures governing the use of background checks such
as having the same background-check process for all applicants for a certain job classification.
Employers also should consider keeping data on the results of their background checks, to determine
whether or not they've had a disparate impact on minorities or other populations. "If there has been a
disparate impact, then you have to have that good business reason for why it's still important for you to do
that particular background check for that particular job," Logsdon said.
Don't Trust Anything
When it comes to vetting applicants who might have strong psychopathic tendencies, Kelly Wilson offered
this advice: Don't trust anything on their resumes.
"There have been numerous studies that have shown that as many of 40 percent of degrees claimed on
resumes are false, and as many as 50 percent of the phone numbers and job experiences [are false]," said
Wilson, who is president and director of forensic services for Minneapolis-based PsyBar LLC. "And many
people will put cellphone numbers of their friends [as references] and call them 'Mr. So and So.'"
When contacting references, Wilson recommend calling the main switchboard of the reference's employer
instead of the number listed on the applicant's resume.
Because of their bad behavior, psychopaths often bounce from job to job, targeting employers with lax
screening procedures. That's why Wilson also recommended asking for pay slips from prior jobs to verify
the dates on their applications.
At the very least, take a close at the applicant's resume before the interview, because a psychopath's
resume often contains inconsistencies, Wilson said. Telltale signs to look for in an interview include:
Ordinary achievements described as monumental.
Appearing too relaxed. "You should be a little nervous if you really want a job," Wilson said.
An inability to describe the personal qualities of former supervisors or co-workers.
"It's always a good idea to ask them for details about things," Wilson said. "Ask them to name a mistake
they made. That's really hard for a psychopath, other than getting caught. But then ask them how it
impacted others. Whenever it has something to do with the feelings of others, they don't have the words to
describe that very well."
Still, the best way to identify a psychopath, according to Wilson, "is to talk to their co-workers."
"[Psychopaths] tend to rate themselves much higher in capability than the people around them," Wilson
said. "And unbeknownst to them, they're often viewed by other employees especially ones who don't
have a stake in this person succeeding as unethical and taking credit for work they didn't do. They
frequently make empty promises and pawn work off on other people."

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