Do you have employees who drive for work purposes? Are you aware of everyone who does so for your company? Most importantly, do you have policies and procedures in place for checking motor vehicle records on all employees who drive for work purposes, and is your staff aware of the policies?

Here we are at the beginning of a new year again. This is a good time to review all of your background and drug screening forms, policies, and procedures.

If you are using AI information in making employment decisions your activity could fall under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and therefore require compliance with the FCRA.

The state of California can be a challenge for employers who want to conduct background checks for employment purposes. The state has restrictions on using credit checks for employment decisions which have very restrictive exceptions.

The legalization of marijuana use, either for medical, recreational, or both, has led to an increase in positive marijuana tests as reported by Quest Diagnostics. In 2019 the percentage of positive tests was 3.1%. In 2023 the number rose to 4.5%. However, the number of positive tests is not the only thing that has gone up. The number of workers cheating on their drug tests has also risen.

It’s summertime and parties, vacations, weekend get-a-ways, and public celebrations are increasing.  We are more likely to relax and let our guard down as we enjoy barbeques, birthday parties, or family get togethers. One thing we should not let our guard down on is drug and alcohol testing.

Summer is almost here, and orange barrel mating season is well underway. The nice weather also brings more motorcycles, cars pulling boats, and large recreational vehicles on the roads. In other words, there are a lot more hazards on the roads.

Spring has sprung and hopefully all the April showers will bring May flowers. This is a good time for companies to “spring clean” their documents, processes, and procedures, particularly those that are part of background checks.

Last week I read a post on LinkedIn where the poster shared her need to be busy all the time. It caused me to recall how often my dad used to say, “Do something while you are resting.” That fostered a need in me to keep my hands busy all the time.

As more states and cities make marijuana legal in some format, we can expect drug testing laws to change, and they are. It should not be a surprise that California has already put a new law in place as of January 1, 2024.

Entitled is a word that we hear a lot these days. It is often thrown around casually to describe groups of people and individuals even when not necessarily a fair assessment. But have you ever had to work with people who are truly entitled? They could be a boss, co-worker, or perhaps a vendor or supplier.

It seems like just a minute ago it was January. Now summer, with all of its holidays and vacations, are gone and Halloween is just a memory. We are heading into Thanksgiving, Christmas, and all of the other holidays that come between now and the end of the year.

Now that marijuana has been legalized for recreational use in Michigan and 23 other states and all 50 states have legalized some form of use – from CBD oil only to medical marijuana to fully legalizing use – employers are wondering if they should continue to have applicants/employees submit to drug tests.

In this day and age it is hard to believe, but there are still so many employers who either don’t run employment background checks on applicants/employees, or they use free online systems without considering the pitfalls of relying on these free sites.

As I sit in a hotel room in Texas the day before the start of the Professional Background Screening Association (PBSA) annual conference, it made me pause to consider how much better this is than going virtual during the pandemic. Don’t get me wrong, there are benefits to learning virtually, and I can learn from both virtual and in-person classes, but there is something different about an in-person conference.