HR News: Overemployment, North Korean Scammers, and Employee Monitoring with Patrick Richter

Good Morning, HR

In episode 180, Coffey and Patrick Richter discuss recent HR news items about remote worker fraud and employee monitoring.

They discuss North Korean operatives using stolen identities to infiltrate U.S. companies through remote work positions; the growing trend of "over-employed" individuals secretly working multiple full-time remote jobs; the rise of technology tools like mouse jigglers to deceive employer monitoring systems; the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's recent position that employee-monitoring-software firms are consumer reporting agencies; the importance of proper employment verification and cybersecurity measures for remote workers; the importance of managing remote employee performance rather than simply monitoring activity; legal implications of employee monitoring on personal devices; and the critical role of consistent policy enforcement in remote work environments.

Links to stuff they talked about are on our website at https://goodmorninghr.com/EP180 and include the following topics:

- US claims North Korea put workers in US companies to extort money for weapons

- Fourteen North Korean Nationals Indicted for Carrying Out Multi-Year Fraudulent Information Technology Worker Scheme and Related Extortions

- FBI Warns of Rise in Work-From-Home Scams

- Overemployment Reddit: Wife’s company threatening termination for using a mouse jiggler. Any tips to avoid detection?

- (Don’t) Buy a “mouse jiggler” on Amazon

- Remote Employee Monitoring Software Is the Wrong Solution for Absenteeism

- CFPB warns of workplace tracking technology in US firms

- Consumer Financial Protection Circular 2024-06

- Employee lawsuit accuses Apple of spying on its workers

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If you are an HRCI or SHRM-certified professional, this episode of Good Morning, HR has been pre-approved for half a recertification credit. To obtain the recertification information for this episode, visit https://goodmorninghr.com.

About our Guest:

Patrick is an experienced mediator, litigator, and employment attorney with expertise ranging from first chair trial lawyer to advisor on mergers and acquisitions to counselor on the full spectrum of day-to-day HR issues. As an employment lawyer, he has significant experience representing employers and employees with wage & hour issues, class and collective actions, and intellectual property and trade secret issues, including non-disclosure agreements and covenants not to compete—both in the drafting and preparation of the underlying agreements as well as litigation and appeals. He also has considerable experience with matters before the National Labor Relations Board and in assisting employers with union avoidance. Apart from employment-related matters, He is a certified mediator and has significant experience with non-patent intellectual property litigation, commercial litigation, and corporate transactions -including mergers and acquisitions and venture capital investments. No matter the issue — from sensitive employee termination issues to high-level harassment investigations, to protection of trade secrets — he partners with his clients to help them achieve their business objectives while minimizing legal risks and obstacles.

Patrick Richter can be reached at:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/pat-richter-986b19

About Mike Coffey:

Mike Coffey is an entrepreneur, licensed private investigator, business strategist, HR consultant, and registered yoga teacher.

In 1999, he founded Imperative, a background investigations and due diligence firm helping risk-averse clients make well-informed decisions about the people they involve in their business.

Imperative delivers in-depth employment background investigations, know-your-customer and anti-money laundering compliance, and due diligence investigations to more than 300 risk-averse corporate clients across the US, and, through its PFC Caregiver & Household Screening brand, many more private estates, family offices, and personal service agencies.

Imperative has been named the Texas Association of Business’ small business of the year and is accredited by the Professional Background Screening Association.

Mike shares his insight from 25 years of HR-entrepreneurship on the Good Morning, HR podcast, where each week he talks to business leaders about bringing people together to create value for customers, shareholders, and community.

Mike has been recognized as an Entrepreneur of Excellence by FW, Inc. and has twice been recognized as the North Texas HR Professional of the Year.

Mike is a member of the Fort Worth chapter of the Entrepreneurs’ Organization and is a volunteer leader with the SHRM Texas State Council and the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce.

Mike is a certified Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) through the HR Certification Institute and a SHRM Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP). He is also a Yoga Alliance registered yoga teacher (RYT-200).

Mike and his very patient wife of 27 years are empty nesters in Fort Worth.

Learning Objectives:

1. Implement comprehensive identity verification and cybersecurity protocols for remote worker hiring and management to prevent fraud and data theft
2. Develop performance management systems that focus on measurable outcomes rather than activity monitoring to effectively evaluate remote workers
3. Establish and consistently enforce clear policies regarding acceptable technology use, monitoring practices, and performance expectations for remote employees