A Human Resources expert testifying in the wrongful death civil lawsuit against a concert promoter told jurors that the promoter should have performed a background check on the doctor for deceased pop singer Michael Jackson and “did indeed fail to follow adequate hiring processes,” according to a report by KNX 1070 News Radio in Los Angeles, California. The full story is available on the CBSLA.com website at http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2013/07/01/hr-expert-aeg-should-have-conducted-10-background-check-on-conrad-murray/.
KNX 1070 reports that expert HR witness Jean Seawright testified that a financial background check she said would have cost promoter AEG only $10 should have shown that Dr. Conrad Murray was deeply in debt and that his indebtedness presented “a potential conflict of interest.” The doctor would receive $150,000 each month only until the tour stopped under his contract with AEG, KNX 1070 reports.
KNX 1070 reports the HR expert also testified Murray was “a high-risk employee, given his access to the singer’s home, children, and confidential records” and that the risks associated with his role “should have been reason enough to perform a background check on the doctor.”
According to KNX 1070, the wrongful death lawsuit claims AEG is liable for Jackson’s death in 2009 when the singer “died in his sleep after Murray allegedly administered a deadly dose of propofol” because the promoter hired, retained, or supervised Murray while the singer was preparing for his tour. AEG argues Jackson requested the doctor and it does not provide background checks on independent contractors.
KNX 1070 also reports that AEG attorneys presented an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) policy “that said credit checks should be avoided because they can be discriminatory to potential applicants.” An attorney for Jackson said the EEOC policy “was neither a regulation nor a statute.”
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