To add to the growing woes of BP (NSYE:BP), the latest problem is the failure to perform criminal background checks on people hired to help with the cleanup efforts.
The consequences are a co-worker in the cleanup has allegedly been raped by convicted sex offender, who was hired as a supervisor.
When queried about background checks, a BP security official said they were told to only screen for drugs and nothing else.
Jackson County, Mississippi, Sheriff Mike Byrd, said if there had been background checks in place, it could have prevented the alleged rape from happening, as Charles Rundy Robertson, who was charged with the rape, was on probation from a felony, although not registered as a sex offender, even though he was required to.
Byrd added the background checks would have been done for free by his office, leaving the monetary issue off the table. It seems nobody even thought of it because they were in too big of a hurry to get bodies out there to work.
BP spokesman Robert Wine said the responsibility lies with Aerotek, which they contracted out to do the hiring.
Aerotek said once they send people out to the place of business they are no longer responsible for them.
While everyone can understand the chaos surrounding the oil spill and the frantic efforts to plug it and clean up the damage from it, a company needs to have a controlled response, and not just a knee-jerk reaction which results in this type of outrage.
It looks like another case of finger-pointing, and the courts will probably have to end up sorting out who is responsible. But it's just another failure on the part of BP on the operational side, which seem to be their key weakness as a company.
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