Excerpted from a GazetteXtra article by Neil Johnson

A Janesville, Wisconsin company is suing a local employment agency for providing workers with criminal records after the agency failed to conduct background checks on them.

In a summons filed last month in Rock County Court, Diamond Assets, an electronic equipment and technology systems supplier, claims that Express Employment Professionals in Janesville placed at Diamond Assets a dozen workers who had not been vetted through pre-employment criminal background screenings in July 2017.

The company claims Express had promised in a staffing contract and in emailed exchanges that it would handle the screenings, according to the suit.

Diamond Assets is suing for breach of contract, deceptive practices and misrepresentation. It is seeking undisclosed damages, according to the suit.

Diamond Assets says Express did not screen the workers for criminal offenses including theft, sex crimes, violent crimes and recent felonies—offenses the company would have flagged through its own employee screening processes.

According to the suit, a dozen workers reported to Diamond Assets as “temporary” staff hired and employed by Express through its office at 32 S. Main St., Janesville. They were supposed to staff Diamond Assets’ electronics production lines during the company’s busy season, working with the information technology departments of school districts, governments and private companies.

One of the workers Diamond Assets claims was not screened showed up for work with an electronic monitoring bracelet and had to leave early to report back to a jail, according to the lawsuit.

You can read the full article here.