Anyone who ever has been involved with something new understands the risks of growing pains associated with that new endeavor.

It's therefore no surprise that some of the state's new slot machine parlors are experiencing some "bumps in the road" in getting their operations fully up and running.

Add to that the fact that slot machine gambling in Pennsylvania is in itself new, so glitches on two levels — the gaming control board level as well as at the casinos — could not have been unanticipated.

Slots parlor officials have grounds to be frustrated with current requirements tied to the hiring of workers, but cutting corners for prospective workers — even those not designated to handle money — could prove more damaging than the burdens associated with the guidelines currently in place.

For those who have been offered non-casino jobs, such as for cleaning, valet services or staffing restaurants, a criminal background check and a review of past work experience is required — and essential — in connection with the person's application, which must be submitted to the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board. Understandably, a casino worker typically gets a more exhaustive background check.

Because the background-check process takes a couple of weeks, some people who cannot afford the wait in terms of earning money are reluctant to apply. That has left the state's new casinos with the need to keep some of their operations curtailed until they can navigate the existing hiring process and get a full staff on board.

Slots parlor officials suggest that the gaming board could simply register the non-casino workers who are at the heart of the concern and allow them to start working right away. Or, the officials say, the board could issue temporary licenses to new hires so they do not have to wait for clearance before they begin working.

But cutting corners would be unsettling in terms of ensuring that the people who should not be employed at casinos are in fact not working.

It would seem that the current situation and concerns are but a temporary inconvenience; once the casinos are fully staffed and fully operational, the hiring process should settle into an easily manageable routine, even with the current procedures.

Still, troubling is the casino operators' agitation over the requirement that even those applying for non-casino jobs should disclose petty crimes that they are not prepared to disclose.

In a money environment such as the casinos, such a reporting requirement should not be compromised.

The state's new casinos should strive to start on the right foot in every way, not just in the profits that they yield.

Job applicants should be properly screened, no matter what inconveniences that process involves.

But the gaming board can help ease the concerns by speeding up its end of the background-check process without eroding the thoroughness and reliability of that process.