California is once again looking at making changes to how employers can use information from background checks in employment decisions. The California Civil Rights Department’s Civil Right Council released their most recent draft of changes to their Fair Employment and Housing Ace (FEHA) this past December. This update addresses proposed changes to the use of criminal history for employment decisions.
More and more employers are considering applicants from other countries to fill vacant positions. While international checks take a longer time to complete, employers can help themselves get through the process more efficiently by providing required information up front.
If you use a consumer reporting agency or third-party vendor such as ASE to conduct a background check on an employee or applicant, you must comply with the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) by first providing the employee or applicant with a written consumer report disclosure. Employers that fail to do this or do it incorrectly expose themselves to significant liability.
When we think of identity theft, our minds typically go to the culprits opening up credit card accounts or getting loans using another person's information. Identity theft has gone up over the last five years, and according to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the number of reported identity theft cases in 2021 increased more than 70% over 2020.
Most people who use background checks for employment purposes are at least familiar with the Fair Credit Reporting Act, or FCRA. But did you know that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has some control over what records a background screening company, commonly referred to as a consumer reporting agency (CRA), can provide to you as an end-user of background screening reports?
Spring has sprung, at least by the calendar, which means it is time to hire summer help. Help could come in the form of interns, co-ops, work study programs, or perhaps even just helping a young person with an employment opportunity. What does this mean for employers?
If you run background checks which include employment verifications, you are most likely aware that most employers these days use automated systems for employment verifications. One of the biggest of these systems is The Work Number, which is owned by Equifax.
Last year seemed to fly by, but there was plenty of time for lawmakers to make updates to existing laws regarding background checks.
Earlier in the year ASE shared information on the pending law that would redact dates of birth from court records. The law, that was to take effect July 1, 2021, was postponed until January 1, 2022. This change would have made it difficult, if not impossible, to conduct criminal record checks in the State of Michigan.
As more and more states make the use of cannabis being legal, for medical or recreational use, employers have been challenged with making policies that will best protect the company while still allowing them to fill positions.
ASE is a member of the Professional Background Screening Association (PBSA). Recently, the PBSA, along with the HR Research Institute, completed a research report, “Background Screening: Trends in the U.S. and abroad 2021.” Of the responding employers with locations in the U.S., 95% stated that their company does some type of background screening, and 77% of those companies have a documented screening policy.
Back in June we were gearing up for the new identifier redaction policy that was to go into effect in Michigan on July 1st. This policy would have caused dates of birth to be redacted from court records before those records could be provided to the public. It would also have prohibited court clerks from using date of birth in searches and from verbally verifying dates of birth.
A Michigan Supreme Court decision will make it difficult for employers to run background checks on applicants effective July 1, 2021. The court has ordered that birthdates and other personal information are to be redacted for court records.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Section 605(a), of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) addresses limitations on information contained in consumer reports, more commonly referred to as background check reports or background check profiles. This provision is intended to prevent agencies from reporting outdated information.
Some drug test results return as “dilute.” While a result of “positive dilute” is a positive result, a test that shows “negative dilute” does not necessarily mean the test is negative.