Back in September of 2018, then Governor Rick Snyder enacted a ban-the-box law that removed questions about criminal history from Michigan’s employment application, and he encouraged private employers to do the same. This came after he signed a bill in March of the same year limiting the ability of city and county governments to enact ban-the-box laws when it comes to private employers. Indiana enacted a similar law the year before.

This is the last installment in the list of locations which have laws restricting the use of credit checks in employment decisions. Keep in mind that laws are constantly changing, and new laws can be enacted at any time.

In my last article, Know Employment Credit Check Limitations Per State, I provided information on some of the states that prohibit credit checks for employment purposes unless certain exceptions apply. There are additional states with similar laws, and here is the information on some of the remaining states.

Most employers are at least somewhat familiar with the restrictions placed on employment credit checks by California and New York City, but there are additional states and cities with restrictions on employment checks.

When requesting a background check it is important to provide complete and accurate information to your screening company to get the most accurate and timely report possible. Following is a general list of information needed to complete checks:

We are about two weeks into the new year, and if you have not already, this is a great time to do some housekeeping regarding your background forms and processes.

One of the biggest issues for newly minted supervisors and managers is that their buddies now report to them.  So how does one go from buddy to supervisor?  It’s common for many new supervisors or managers to forget their role and ignore the performance issues.  They don’t want to rock the boat and want to keep their personal friendships.

This has been a challenging year to say the least. COVID has drastically changed our lives both at home and work. Human resources professionals have had to pivot on a dime many times over the past nine months. One of those areas is in drug testing.

For several years now there has been a contentious divide between the Republican and Democratic parties, so much so that it seems that if one party says up the other party will say down just for spite. However, here in Michigan, at least on one subject, the parties managed to see past politics to give bipartisan support for a bill that will have a positive impact on the State of Michigan and many of its residents. House Bill 4980 was signed by Governor Gretchen Whitmer on October 13, 2020.

Reasonable suspicion drug testing can be a challenge for employers, especially with so many states making recreational marijuana legal. Whether you have a current drug testing program or if you are new to drug testing, make sure that you have a clear, documented policy on your drug testing program that includes reasonable suspicion procedures. If you are subject to federally regulated drug testing, make sure you follow the steps as required by the federal agency under which you are covered.

There has been a lot of press in the last few years about the steps employers must follow before obtaining a background check on an employee or applicant. While there is no doubt that it is very important for employers to obtain completed FCRA compliant Authorization and Disclosure forms, the employer obligations do not stop there.

While most of the world has been wrapped up on all things COVID related, there is still work going on regarding background check laws. From December 2019 until as recently as July 1, 2020, new ban the box laws have been enacted.

Do you know what your employees have been up to during the four months of the stay-at-home order? If you are watching the news, you know that a lot of people have been up to protesting, sharing their views on wearing masks, and sharing political views.

Marijuana is still an illegal substance at the federal level. However, at the state level there are only eight states that have not made marijuana use legal to some degree. The biggest majority of states have legalized marijuana at the medical use level. There are 11 states which have decriminalized the use of marijuana for medical or recreational use. This can affect past criminal records.

You have run a credit check on an applicant or employee, and the report came back with negative information. Because of the information included in the credit report you have decided that you do not want to move ahead with the applicant, or in the case of the employee, keep them on staff. So, can you just rescind the offer to the applicant or let the employee go? The answer is no.