| EMPLOYMENT
SCREENING NEWS |
Collateral
Damage: America's Failure to Forgive or Forget in the War on
Crime - A Roadmap to Restore Rights and Status After Arrest
or Conviction
Collateral damage occurs in any war, including America's
"War on Crime." The expansion of the nation's criminal justice
system over the past 40 years has produced a corresponding increase
in the number of people with a criminal record. The collateral
consequences of conviction - specific legal restrictions, generalized
discrimination and social stigma - have become more severe,
more public and more permanent. Background checking has made
it all but impossible for a person with a criminal record to
leave the past behind. It is time to recognize that America's
infatuation with collateral consequences has produced unprecedented
and unnecessary collateral damage to society and to the justice
system.
Read
more
Doctor's Sex Assault Case Spurs Talk of Background Checks
Revelations
that a former Catonsville doctor obtained his Maryland medical
license despite having a rape conviction on his record is sparking
a push for criminal background checks of physicians - a proposal
that has failed and been ignored in recent years. This case
has regulators and legislators talking about reforms in Maryland,
one of 13 states that does not conduct background checks on
physicians, according to the Federation of State Medical Boards.
Now that the board has made other suggested reforms, including
reducing a backlog of complaints, it plans to focus on the background
check issue, said Chairwoman Dr. Andrea Mathias.
Read more
Reding says that US Safe Harbor changes nearly agreed
Viviane
Reding, EU Vice President and Commissioner for Justice, said
on 6 June: "I think that 95% of what could be agreed - has been.
There are the last sticking 5%, which are not yet agreed, which
concern the judicial redress. For example, when Americans come
to Europe and they think the authorities have not handled their
case correctly, they can go to a European court. However an
EU citizen cannot do the same in the US and go to an American
court. There is no reciprocity; we do not have the basis for
judicial redress. You cannot make an agreement if you do not
have judicial redress. The US has recognised the importance
of this request on several occasions - but they need to have
a law."
Read
more
Former UC Berkeley Administrator Allegedly Stole From
School
A former
research administrator at UC Berkeley who had a prior conviction
for embezzlement allegedly stole "tens of thousands of dollars"
from the university. Alameda County prosecutors have charged
Sonia Waters with nine felony counts of grand theft, attempted
grand theft, embezzlement of public funds, and attempted embezzlement.
"We have identified a hole in our practices that can lead to
some employees hired in non-sensitive positions - not requiring
criminal background checks - moving to sensitive positions without
undergoing background checks," said a UC Berkeley spokeswoman.
"We will certainly be looking to improve our oversight in this
area and will put procedures in place to address this issue."
Read more
Fort Stewart to Run Background Checks on Visitors
Fort Stewart
visitors who do not hold a valid Department of Defense identification
card will now be required to submit to a background check before
they enter the Army installation. The new policy brings the
post in line with other U.S. military installations across the
nation and overseas, said Army Maj. Ann Meredith. Visitors in
the past have had to present a valid driver's license and current
proof of vehicle registration and insurance. They've also been
checked against a list of those barred from access to the installations.
The new policy only adds the National Crime Information Center
Interstate Identification Index background check.
Read more
House GOP Members Criticize the EEOC on Background
Checks, Enforcement Tactics
Republicans
on a House Education and the Workforce subcommittee have criticized
the EEOC for discouraging employers from conducting necessary
criminal background checks on job applicants and for pursuing
meritless discrimination suits. Rep. Tim Walberg said the EEOC's
2012 guidance on employers' use of arrest and conviction records
"has made it more difficult for employers to ensure the safety
of their customers and co-workers." Rep. John Kline, said the
EEOC guidance is a potential job killer as small employers in
particular might choose not to hire anyone rather than deal
with the agency's long, complicated guidance about what employers
must do when conducting criminal checks.
Read
more
Reducing
Security Threats Posed by Contract Workers
In a time of budget sensitivity, many businesses,
government agencies and other types of organizations are turning
to independent contractors as a more flexible and less expensive
alternative to hiring regular, full-time employees. However,
the cost savings of using third-party contractors can also come
with certain risks, most notably in terms of security. Contractors
and other third parties, including vendors, delivery people
and other "outsiders," may create a breach in physical security,
which compromises all other elements of a security program.
Awareness of the potential risks associated with contractors
and proactive steps to address those risks should be part of
every security program.
Read more
Uber Driver with Felony Conviction Charged with Battery
for Allegedly Hitting Passenger
Uber driver
Daveea Whitmire, faces criminal charges after being accused
of physically assaulting his passenger during an argument. Though
drivers using Uber, Lyft and other car service apps have faced
accusations ranging from creepy text stalking to raping a passenger
to killing a 6-year-old girl, Whitmire is only the second driver
to face criminal charges for an incident while driving for a
car service company. Whitmire's alleged assault is made worse
because he shouldn't have been driving for Uber at all, due
to past criminal convictions. Prosecutors hope to make this
case an example of a need for stronger safety regulations among
car service apps.
Read more
Criminal Record Checks Draw Criticism
Though
some business leaders contend that background checks protect
employers from hiring potentially dangerous or untrustworthy
applicants, opposition to their use in job applications has
gained momentum. Employment attorney Sharon Dietrich, said that
though state law only allows employers to consider felony or
misdemeanor convictions, employers often reject applicants even
when previous arrests and charges did not result in a conviction.
They also ignore the law when they reject clients for summary
offenses. "They've done everything the system has asked them
to do," said Vladimir Beaufils, president of the Reentry Coalition
for Central PA. "But they still keep paying, sometimes for decades
after the get out."
Read more
'Ban
the Box' Gets Initial D.C. Council Nod, but Further Tweaks Expected
After years of abortive efforts, the D.C. Council
voted to give job applicants with criminal records new protections
against discrimination from potential employers. On a 12-to-1
vote, lawmakers gave initial approval to the Fair Criminal Record
Screening Act - known to its proponents as "ban the box" - which
restricts when employers can check a job applicant's criminal
background. The new bill, introduced by Tommy Wells (D-Ward
6), places new curbs on when during the hiring process an employer
can check an applicant's criminal background, thus banning the
practice of screening applicants based on their criminal records.
Read more
Illinois Moves to Ban Criminal Background Questions From Job
Applications
Private
employers in Illinois with 15 or more employees will have to
revamp their job applications to remove questions about criminal
background history and postpone such inquiries to the job interview
or conditional job offer stage of the hiring process under legislation
that is expected to be signed into law by the governor. The
"ban the box" measure, titled the Job Opportunities for Qualified
Applicants Act will take effect January 1, 2015, if, as expected,
Governor Pat Quinn approves it. The governor already previously
banned criminal background questions from most State of Illinois
government job applications in October 2013 by an administrative
order.
Read more
New Jersey Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee Approves
Significantly Less Onerous Version of Ban the Box Legislation
The New
Jersey Legislature has been considering "ban the box" legislation
since February 2013. Amidst opposition from business groups,
the proposed law underwent several changes over the last 16
months. On June 5, 2014, the Senate Budget and Appropriations
Committee voted 9-1 to approve a significantly less onerous
version of the bill. The current version of the bill now awaits
approval from the full Senate. This version is significantly
less burdensome on employers than prior versions of the bill,
which outlined a lengthy process for criminal background checks
and enumerated the crimes about which an employer could inquire.
Read
more
| Welcome
to the U.S. Legal Challenge Question! |
Sponsored
By:
As the background
screening industry continues to get more competitive the firms
that will ultimately succeed will be those that create competitive
advantage through their people by offering continuous learning
opportunities to heightened their knowledge and capabilities.
We believe that having employees that are very knowledgeable about
the legal landscape of background screening is essential to continued
success.
We are grateful
to Larry D. Henry who began his law career with the Army JAGC
where he tried over 2,000 cases. After the Army he relocated to
Tulsa. In 1981, the founder of DAC Services contacted Mr. Henry's
firm for assistance in creating a background screening company.
Since Mr. Henry's practice was employment law, the firm believed
this fell within his area and as they say: "the rest is history".
His practice has kept him in continual contact with the background
screening industry, and he is a nationally recognized expert in
the area of background screening.
Mr. Henry's
practice is concentrated on employment law and in specific, background
screening of employees. He represents consumer reporting agencies
throughout the United States and two national trade associations.
He is the author of the Criminal Records Manual and the on line
reference site:CRAHelpDesk.com, and he is a frequent presenter
across the country on various topics dealing with background screening.
Please choose
your answer by clicking on it:
New
Orleans Tour Guide Licensing Law Upheld
New Orleans
tour guides will continue to undergo criminal background checks
and drug testing in order to ply their trade after a federal appeals
court upheld the city's licensing system. Four tour guides sought
to strike the licensing law on First Amendment grounds, arguing
they were unconstitutionally prevented from talking to visitors
about New Orleans history without a permit. The 5th U.S. Circuit
Court of Appeals rejected those arguments. The court said the
licensing requirements serve a compelling interest: to protect
the city's thriving tourism industry by ensuring its tour guides
are not criminals or drug addicts and that they are "knowledgeable
about the city and trustworthy."
Read more
New Florida Statute Requires Schools to Provide Information About
Sex Offenders
The Florida
Legislature has enacted a requirement for nonpublic colleges,
universities and schools. All such institutions are required to
inform employees and students at orientation and on the school's
website of the existence of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement
sexual-predator-registry website and the toll-free telephone number
that gives access to sexual predator and sexual offender public
information. There is an increased presence of sexual offenders
or sexual predators who are often under the radar for most institutions:
parents, grandparents, or individuals on the authorized pickup
lists. Many schools do not perform criminal-background checks
on these individuals.
Read more
Oklahoma and Louisiana Become the Latest States
to Enact Social Media Password Protection Laws
Oklahoma
and Louisiana have enacted their own legislation aimed at restricting
access by employers to applicants' and
employees'
personal online content, further complicating the patchwork of
state password protection laws already in place. To ensure compliance,
employers with operations in Oklahoma or Louisiana should understand
the requirements of each law. Oklahoma's new law becomes effective
on November 1, 2014. Louisiana's new law becomes effective on
August 1, 2014. In general, the best practice is not to seek access
to personal online content except where there is a strong business
interest for doing so that is recognized in the applicable password
protection law.
Read more
Some Employers Likely to See Increased Litigation Costs
in EEOC Cases
Employers in Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin are likely to see
their legal fees increase as a result of a Seventh Circuit decision
that allows the EEOC to file suit immediately instead of first
trying to negotiate a settlement with the employer. The court
held that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 does not contain
an affirmative defense for employers to use against the EEOC during
litigation. As a result, the EEOC does not have to concern itself
with good-faith conciliation. It can go to the negotiation table
with take-it-or-leave-it settlement offers, and employers have
no recourse.
Read more
More States Restrict Employers' Access To Employees' Social Media
Accounts
State legislatures
are enacting laws limiting employers' ability to access the social
media accounts of their employees. Thus far in 2014, four more
states -
Louisiana ,
Oklahoma ,
Tennessee and
Wisconsin - have enacted social media legislation, bringing
the total number of states with such legislation to 16.
Generally,
state social media laws bar employers from requiring or requesting
that an employee or applicant provide log-in credentials for his/her
personal social media account. Some of these state social media
laws also prohibit an employer from requiring an employee to add
another employee or supervisor to a social media account "friends"
or contacts list or to access personal social media accounts in
the employer's presence. Many of the state social media laws also
prohibit employers from basing adverse employment action on an
employee's refusal to comply with an employer's request for social
media account access.
Notably,
all four of the recently-enacted laws allow employers to monitor
the social media activity of employees when employees access their
social media accounts through employer-provided IT systems.
Read more
Five
Things Every Arizona Employer Should Know About Medical Marijuana
1. Employers are prohibited from disciplining an employee or refusing
to hire a job applicant as a result of authorized medical marijuana
use. 2. Employers cannot discipline or refuse to hire an authorized
medical marijuana user because the individual tests positive for
marijuana use. 3. An employer can discipline an employee who tests
positive for marijuana use, even if the employee is authorized
to use medical marijuana. 4. Employers are not required to permit
their employees to use or possess marijuana for any purpose during
working hours. 5. The impairing effects of marijuana have been
shown to last for up to 48 hours after ingestion.
Read more
Drug Tests Beyond Urinalysis
Did you know that drug tests aren't one size fits all? Well, you
probably did, but we are just now coming to this realization.
The eCup is a fantastic solution for on-location collection and
testing, but we owe you an apology for thinking that the eCup
and a selection of expanded lab-based panels would fulfill the
needs of all of our clients at all times. They always say that
the best way to address a problem is to apologize and to offer
a solution. Our solution is simple: improve our offerings and
make sure that we can offer a full drug testing and wellness services
solution to each of our clients.
Read more
Legalized Marijuana and Workplace Testing
With increasingly relaxed attitudes toward marijuana legalization
in the United States, some employers are evaluating their drug
screening protocols and wondering if it is time for a change.
While most employers in the state agree they do not want to create
work environments full of perceived "stoners," many are questioning
whether to allow some reasonable amounts of THC to be present
in an employee's system. The costs of allowing THC in employees'
systems must be measured against the benefits. But it really comes
down to this question: What is safe? The answer is that no one
really knows. There exists no standard by which to measure.
Read more
New Minnesota Medical Cannabis Law Protects Employees
From Discrimination for Medical Marijuana Use
Minnesota's new Medical Cannabis Act differs from many other state
medical marijuana laws in that it narrows the kind of medical
cannabis permitted. It also offers considerable protections to
applicants and employees in the workplace. The law does not cover
marijuana that can be smoked. Therefore, a person using a marijuana
cigarette is not protected by this law. Employers who drug test
in Minnesota should take the opportunity to review and revise
their policies to ensure compliance. It will take time for a system
to be created to allow the use of medical cannabis.
Read
more
Public
Record Update
Sponsored by:
Public
Record Update
By Mike Sankey, PRRN
| Changes
to Online Access To Oklahoma Court Records |
For years
there have been two primary online access systems covering all
but one of the OK counties; OSCN (Oklahoma State
Courts Network) with 13 counties and ODCR(On
Demand Court Records, from KellPro) with 63 counties. Cimarron
County is not online. Then Noble County became part of a Pilot
Program for a new Unified case management System and was segregated
on its own.
Recently, the ODCR system implemented a combined search which
now includes their 63 counties plus the 13 OSCN counties. In addition
Noble County will also be included as of July 1, 2014. So record
searching for 76 of the 77 counties will be available at one site.
See the details and full explanation below:
About the ODCR Search
As mentioned, as of July 1, 2014, ODCR will provides online access
for all county trial courts except Cimarron. The 13 counties (see
next section) previously accessible only from OSCN are now accessible,
plus Noble County will also be available on July 1st. Note the
ODCR site has a disclaimer stating that data for the ODCR
counties was aggregated from ODCR and may not be complete or reliable.
One of the benefits of using ODCR is a choice of three different
levels of service. Below is the description of these three levels:
1) Free: This search shows docket information.
Search by partial name or case number of filed date range. The
web page also gives the throughput date for each county. Most
counties update within 24 hours or less.
2) Advanced Subscription: For $5.00 per month,
enhanced searching procedures and results are porvided. Advanced
search options include using the DOB, address, offense, and closed
date range among others. There is also a case and party monitoring
system.
3) Image Access Subscription for Attorneys: For
$50.00 per month, attorneys have unlimited access to court images
with the ability to download and print full case filings,
Sign-up for
either subscription at
https://www1.odcr.com/register . Note that access to Nolan
and Shelby Texas courts are also provided on this system.
The
Counties on the OSCN
Web access to dockets is available for District Courts for Adair,
Canadian, Cleveland, Comanche, Ellis, Garfield, Logan, Oklahoma,
Payne, Pushmataha, Roger Mills, Rogers, and Tulsa at
http://www.oscn.net/applications/oscn/start.asp?viewType=DOCKETS
. Currently, Noble County is searchable as a separate link
on this page. Also one may search the Oklahoma Supreme Court data
from this website.
SterlingBackcheck
Partners with the National Association of Mortgage Field Services
(NAMFS) and Aspen Grove Solutions to Offer Industry-Wide Background
Screening Solution Through Aspen iRecord™
Aspen Grove
Solutions and the National Association of Mortgage Field Services
(NAMFS) are pleased to announce the addition of SterlingBackcheck
to the industrywide background screening solution Aspen iRecord™.
NAMFS is
the industry trade association that promotes education, industry
standards, political awareness, and professional development within
the Mortgage Field Service Industry. NAMFS members and other contractors
are increasingly required by major lending institutions, national
property preservation companies, law firms and regulatory agencies
to provide a background check as part of their professional profile.
In addition, a new background check is required each time they
engage with a new organization, creating a burden of multiple
background checks on contractors who work with many organizations.
The partnership
between Aspen Grove Solutions, NAMFS and SterlingBackcheck allows
Mortgage Field Servicers to use and re-use a single annual background
check, eliminating the needless cost and wasted time of repeated
background checks for multiple clients while still meeting the
highest consumer protection standards.
To learn
more about SterlingBackcheck, please visit:
www.sterlingbackcheck.com .
Read
more
InfoMart President Honored with Eclipse Award for Corporate Culture
Tammy Cohen,
founder and president of InfoMart, one of the nation's largest
background screening company, has received a gold-level Eclipse
Award for Corporate Culture from The National Women Business Owners
Corporation (NWBOC).
Cohen was honored at a ceremony held May 8 at the PGA National
Resort & Spa in Palm Beach, FL. According to the organization,
the award "Recognizes a woman business owner that has established
a culture at her company that provides an ideal work environment,
values employees, encourages open communication and participates
in the community in which it is based."
"I am especially grateful to be honored for InfoMart's corporate
culture," said Cohen. "I founded the company with the mission
to create a unique work environment that promotes life-work balance
and affords employees the opportunity to contribute in ways beyond
their daily jobs. We seek to embrace not just our employees, but
their families as well. When we grow as a family, we grow as a
company."
Read more
Precheck Gets Top Honors From The American Marketing Association.
PreCheck, an employment and background screening firm specializing
in the healthcare industry, received a Crystal Award by the American
Marketing Association (AMA) during the 28th annual ceremony held
at Houston's Hyatt Regency Hotel on Thursday, May 29, 2014. For
the category of Online Blog, the PreCheck
Blog was recognized as this year's winning entry based on
its increased traffic and engagement during 2013.
Each year, the Houston Chapter of the AMA sponsors the Crystal
Awards in recognition of the most notable marketing initiatives.
A select panel of national marketing professionals traveled to
Houston to judge over 300 entries in the competition from companies,
organizations and institutions. Unlike other awards programs,
the Crystal Awards are based on results and winners are selected
based on the effectiveness of their marketing campaigns.
Read more
TazWorks Announces Oracle Validated Integration with
Oracle Taleo Enterprise Cloud Service
TazWorks,
LLC, Gold level member of Oracle PartnerNetwork (OPN), today announced
it has achieved Oracle Validated Integration of InstaScreen™
with Oracle Taleo Enterprise Cloud Service, a component of Oracle
Talent Management Cloud. To achieve Oracle Validated Integration,
Oracle partners are required to meet a stringent set of requirements
that are based on the needs and priorities of the customers. In
addition, TazWorks' screening agency clients can leverage the
integration for timelier ordering and processing due to real-time
data transitions.
Peopletrail,
a TazWorks technology partner, has taken the lead to incorporate
this integration into its expanding service offerings.
"Peopletrail has been on a significant journey over the last year
to expand our product offerings and increase the value we provide
to each of our clients," said President and CEO of Peopletrail
Wallace T. Davis. "This integration marks a milestone in our efforts
of being a leading provider in the background check and screening
services industry. We had a client with urgent demands for full
integration with the Oracle Taleo Enterprise Cloud Service. TazWorks,
pulled through and helped us meet those demands. We are thrilled
to have met the needs of our valued client and happy that we are
equipped to provide valued services to our clients with similar
integration needs."
For more information
AnythingIT/WeedHire Helps Avoid a Bad Hire with InterQuest Information
Services
Weed Out
Bad Candidates with Pre-Screening to Allow Your Growing Businesses
to Flourish
AnythingIT
announced it has finalized a partnership with InterQuest Information
Services, a rapidly growing pre-employment screening reporting
platform. Through its new partnership, WeedHire will integrate
InterQuest Information Services's pre-employment background checking
application into the Weedhire.com job site, providing customers
with an essential solution for all their hiring needs. InterQuest's
self-service, web-based model allows companies to quickly and
easily conduct legally-compliant employment screening.
"For customers
in the legal cannabis industry, doing employment screening can
be extremely important in Colorado," stated Vlad Stelmak, COO
of AnythingIT. "Further, to work in Colorado's legal marijuana
industry, employees must get fingerprinted and clear criminal
and financial background checks." With the addition of InterQuest
Information Services' employment screening tools, WeedHire customers
are going to be able to order screening reports that verify numerous
aspects of a candidate's application, including criminal history,
educational background and past employment.
Read more
Field Services Move One Step Closer to Industry-wide
Background Checks
For field
servicers, being able to provide a clean background check is becoming
significantly more important to maintain a successful business.
According to the National Association of Mortgage Field Services,
its members and other contractors are "increasingly required by
major lending institutions, national property preservation companies,
law firms and regulatory agencies to provide a background check
as part of their professional profile." To that end, the NAMFS
has partnered with Aspen Grove Solutions and SterlingBackcheck
to offer SterlingBackcheck's background check services as part
of Aspen's industry wide background screening solution iRecord.
Read more
New From RCXpress
RapidCourt
is excited to announce a new source for RCXpress county searches:
Waller County, Texas. The Waller County search is a full data
extraction retrieving the complete record detail with Match/No
Match result configuration available.
Should you
have any questions, please contact us at info@rapidcourt.com
The
Conference Board Employment Trends Index Increased in May
The
Conference Board Employment Trends Index™
(ETI) increased in May. The index now stands at 118.58, up from
117.32 (a downward revision) in April. This represents a 5.4 percent
gain in the ETI compared to a year ago.
"The Employment
Trends Index continues to signal solid job growth with an improvement
in each of its eight components in the first five months of 2014,"
said Gad Levanon, Director of Macroeconomic Research at The Conference
Board. "The need for employers to rapidly expand their payroll
in light of strengthening economic activity is a major factor
in the rapid decline in the unemployment rate."
Read
more
One
Site! Many Suppliers! |
2013-2014
SUPPLIERS TO THE BACKGROUND SCREENING
INDUSTRY BUYERS GUIDE NOW AVAILABLE!
Looking for the Top Suppliers in the Industry? Need to find a
new Supplier?
Visit our VENDOR SHOWCASE
which features suppliers to the Background Screening Industry.
Click
here or on image to get a copy
Kevin Coy is a Partner in the Washington DC office of Arnall
Golden Gregory LLP. Kevin
advises background screening companies and other clients on a
wide range of privacy and consumer regulatory issues, including
Fair Credit Reporting Act, Gramm Leach Bliley Act,
Drivers' Privacy Protection Act, and Dodd Frank Act compliance
issues, as well as data breach matters. Kevin also represents
clients with matters before the Federal Trade Commission, the
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and other consumer protection
agencies.
Kevin can
be contacted at Kevin.Coy@agg.com
or 202-677-4034.
THE
WASHINGTON REPORT
June
2014
On
the Hill
On June 10th,
the House Education and Workforce Committee's Subcommittee on
Workforce Protections held a hearing about the conduct of the
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) entitled "The Regulatory
Enforcement Priorities of the EEOC: Examining the Concerns of
Stakeholders." Subcommittee Chairman Tim Walberg (R-MI) delivered
an opening statement critical of the EEOC and its 2012 criminal
background check guidance.
At
the FTC
Safe Harbor
. On June 25th, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
announced that it had given final approval to 14 previously announced
proposed settlements with companies for alleged violations of
the EU/US Safe Harbor Framework arising from allegations that
the companies represented that they participated in Safe Harbor
without having renewed their required Safe Harbor certifications
with the Department of Commerce in a timely manner.
The FTC's
enforcement actions come as the EU and the US continue to work
on revisions to Safe Harbor to meet concerns raised by EU officials.
Reports are that the two sides have made significant progress
in their discussions.
Wyndham
and LabMD. The past month has produced further developments
in the Wyndham and LabMD information security cases. In the Wyndham
case, Wyndham's challenge to the FTC's authority in information
security matters appears on its way to the Third Circuit Court
of Appeals for review.
At
OPM
On June 4th,
the Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) Office of the Inspector
General Office of Audits issued a final audit report on OPM's
Federal Investigative Services review process for background investigations.
The audit report found that OPM needed to "strengthen its control
over its Contractors and the background investigation review process."
Read
the full report
| EVERIFY
& IMMIGRATION ISSUES |
EVERIFY
& IMMIGRATION ISSUES
Department
of Justice Settlements a Good Reminder of Employer Obligations
under Employment Verification Laws
Employers work hard to make sure they comply with federal immigration
law, but they must remember not to take their efforts too far.
Employers should remember that while they must verify the ability
of their potential hires to work, they cannot ask for specific
documents, or have separate requirements for those individuals
based on their national origin or citizenship status. Federal
law prohibits: 1) citizenship status discrimination in hiring,
firing, or recruitment or referral for a fee, 2) national origin
discrimination in hiring, firing, or recruitment or referral for
a fee, 3) document abuse (unfair documentary practices), and 4)
retaliation or intimidation.
Read more
A Reminder that E-Verify Participation Does Not Offer
Blanket Protection to Employers
E-Verify offers a tool to assist employers in verifying
employment/immigration status for prospective employees, but it
should not be mistaken for protection during an I-9 audit. On
March 26, 2014, the Office of the Chief Administrative Hearing
Officer (OCAHO) granted partial summary judgment finding the employer
liable for numerous I-9 preparation and retention violations in
U.S. v. Golf Int'l d/b/a Desert Canyon Golf. Despite
the employer's contentions that its participation in E-Verify
entitled it to a presumption that it had not violated the law,
OCAHO cited the clear language in the E-Verify Memorandum of Understanding
signed by all participating employers: "The Employer understands
that participation in E-Verify does not exempt the Employer from
the responsibility to complete, retain, and make available for
inspection Forms I-9 that relate to its employees." The E-Verify
Program for Employment Verification Memorandum of Understanding
, USCIS (last revised Sept. 1, 2009).
The full
decision U.S. v. Golf International, 8 U.S.C. 1324a Proceeding;
OCAHO Case No. 13A00074, March 26, 2014 is available
here .
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Grab a latte
and pull up a chair and join us for a great interview with Derek
Hinton.
 In
1984 I graduated college, went to Tulsa to visit my Grandparents
before getting a "real job." I saw an ad in the Tulsa paper for
a "DAC Services" (later USIS and HireRight) responded using a
manual typewriter and was the 10th person to work there.
The background
screening industry was my first full time job. Prior to that,
my longest employment was delivering oxygen to home patients for
two years in high school and college. The two main benefits of
this job was that it kept me from taking up smoking and made me
a better driver. There can be a foot of snow or ice on the ground,
but people still breathe. And sliding down a hill while hauling
bottles of highly compressed oxygen around will wipe the smile
off even a high school senior's face. Interesting enough I stayed
with the background screening company 20 years, but it was not
a result of careful planning.
Regarding
something he particularly likes about the industry, Derek shared
several point, "For one, we're the good guys. Our goal is to help
businesses protect their employees, clients and hard work they've
done to build their business. And while doing that, we also offer
the consumer more protections than the consumer would get absent
the CRA." He added that he also likes working with entrepreneurs
and there are a lot of them in our business.
Changing
the conversation to his business Derek indicated that the mission
of CRAzoom is to allow companies of all sizes to obtain NAPBS
accreditation by providing them with the entire package to quickly,
efficiently and confidently achieve the accreditation.
Derek further
explained that CRAzoom was a result of several NAPBS members at
a show I did not attend discussing NAPBS Accreditation and why
more companies were not getting accredited. The upshot was they
came home and called me to suggest I travel to CRAs offices and
get them accredited. That was a non-starter, and I put them off
for months, but after awhile, another way occurred to me and I
spent four months creating the NAPBS Accreditation package. Within
a few months, my first client got accredited in 6 weeks, so my
friends at the show who called me occasionally rib me for being
a little slow on the uptake.
His other
business, CrimApollo was started last year because employers needed
help with the EEOC guidance on criminal records. They can read
the 52 pages of examples, caveats, footnotes and warnings, but
they still need help. CrimApollo gives them this help and CRAs
that white label the program to their clients are able to provide
another service to their clients.
The mission
of CrimApollo is to allow CRAs to provide employers a criminal
record assessment and EEOC compliance program that helps the CRA,
the employer and consumer.
Regarding
the future, Derek believe that "accreditation will become more
important and CRAs should put accreditation on their strategic
priority list." He added, "If you are going to get accredited,
it makes sense to reap as much benefit from as possible from being
one of the first rather than playing catch-up with others. And
regardless of your size, from the big ship that's hard to turn,
to the small agency with 4 employees, accreditation is achievable."
Continuing the discussion about what he sees happening in the
future Derek said, he sees more regulation and scrutiny of business
practices. This will take the form of state and local initiatives
(ban the box is an example), FTC enforcement of FCRA regulations
and the EEOC guidance enforcement and he sees fewer potential
"home run" data sources being developed with the possible exception
of more vertical products versus those with mass application.
Picking up
on his point about more regulation coming Derek note that "If
regulation and compliance become more important, and competition
gets crowded when comparing pricing, turnaround and product availability,
CRAs may expand into new areas such as recruiting services or
employee management and review services. It is also his belief
that "NAPBS Accreditation will also start to look more like a
floor than a ceiling for CRAs."
His final
comment on what he sees coming in the future was that he believe
with the recent wave of FCRA lawsuits that HR managers at employers
will become more aware of their responsibilities and look for
employment screening partners rather than employment screening
data dumps.
Turning the conversation back to him personally he share that
his hobby is certain aspects of World War II, and he enjoys first
person accounts from the US Submarine campaign and the British
and American POW camps. He noted a book he recently read, "Stolen
Journey" by one of three British POWs who escaped from the famous
"Great Escape" camp before the more famous escape, and made it
home by train and ship. They tunneled from beneath a wooden gymnastic
vaulting horse over the course of months. It's one of these occurrences
that you would disbelieve if you didn't know it to be true.
Finally he shared that one of the people he would really like
to meet would be Chuck Yeager. He commented that Yeager has lived
a full life: from becoming an ace in one day in World War II to
getting shot down and escaping with help from the French Resistance
to breaking the sound barrier after the war.
His favorite
quote is "The only thing for sure in life is change," and with
his quick with added "But that could change."
For more
information on CRAZoom or CrimApollo Derek can be reached at DerekH@crazoom.com
Forecasts
are Broadly Improved in Year-over-Year Comparisons; Indian Employers
Again Report the Most Optimistic Hiring Intentions Across the
Globe
Opportunities
for job seekers across global labor markets are expected to remain
mostly positive with few overall signs that hiring intentions
are decisively trending in one direction or another. Staffing
levels are expected to increase in 37 of the 42 countries and
territories, compared with 38 of 42 in the second quarter. The
strongest hiring plans across the globe are reported by employers
in India, Taiwan, Turkey, New Zealand and Singapore. The weakest--and
only negative--third-quarter forecasts are reported by employers
in Italy, Belgium, France and the Netherlands.
Overall,
the forecasts are generally softer across the globe when compared
to Q2 2014, but mostly stronger in year-over-year comparisons.
Outlooks strengthen in only 11 of 42 countries and territories
when compared quarter-over-quarter and weaken in 24. When compared
to Q3 2013, hiring intentions strengthen in 32 countries and territories
and decline in only six.
To view full
results for each of the 42 countries and territories included
in the research, plus regional and global comparisons
Read
more
Myer Liar Found Out: Why Background Checks Matter
Embellished
CVs are nothing new to HR professionals, but one executive appears
to have taken it to another level. Retail giant Myer sacked Andrew
Flanagan on his first day, after having supposedly poached him
from global fashion brand Zara, when it was revealed that he'd
never worked for the company.
Hiring company Quest Personnel told the Sydney Morning Herald
that it had been duped by Flanagan and he had provided "incorrect
and misleading information" before being hired by Myer as the
organisation's group general manager of strategy and business
development. Myer discovered the truth when Zara contacted the
company to say that Flanagan had never worked there.
Read more
EU Privacy Laws Will Apply to U.S. Companies
Who Do Business in Europe
EU justice
ministers have reached a partial agreement on planned new data
privacy laws, but they still disagree about how to implement them.
Ministers agreed on the rules that govern international data transfers
and on the territorial scope of the data protection regulation.
In short, EU data protection laws will apply to non-European companies
if they do business in the EU. The proposal for a Data Protection
Regulation to update the old 1995 privacy directive was first
put forward by EU Justice Commissioner, Viviane Reding. She said
she was pleased the council of justice ministers had managed to
make some headway.
Read more
International
Data Transfers - The Challenge Continues
The discussion
at the Council of the EU in the context of the European data protection
legislative reform is by no means the end of a process which is
likely to carry on for at least a year, but it provided a helpful
pointer as to where the policy making thinking is. One of the
biggest challenges that organisations operating in the EU have
faced since the 1990s is the prohibition on transfers of data
to jurisdictions outside the EU without equivalent standards of
data protection. The ongoing legislative reform is an opportunity
to review the existing regime and bring it into line with today's
data globalisation.
Read more
Free Police Background Checks to be Scrapped
Police will soon make a step towards "user pays" by
charging for criminal checks for the first time. Police Minister
Anne Tolley has introduced a bill which would allow police to
begin recovering costs for their services. The fee for getting
security clearance was expected to be low - $5 to $7. At present,
police are not able to charge for their services, except for firearm
licensing, and the costs of vetting came out of the department's
baseline funding. New Zealand was one of the few countries in
which police did not charge for security screening.
Read more
PDPC
clarifies data transfers under upcoming July 2014 law
The Singapore
Personal Data Protection Commission (PDPC) updated - on 16 May
2014 - its Advisory Guidelines on Key Concepts in the Personal
Data Protection Act (PDPA) ('the Guidelines'), ahead of the entry
into force of the Act on 2 July 2014. The Guidelines add three
new chapters - Applicability to Inbound Data Transfers, The Access
and Correction Obligation, and The Transfer Limitation Obligation.
The Personal Data Protection Regulations 2014 ('the Regulations')
were also gazetted on 19 May 2014.
Read more
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ADVERTISERS IN THIS EDITION |
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Background
Screening Jobs |
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Visit
the Job Board for the Employment and Tenant Screening Industry.
Here you will find resumes of people with industry experience
and employers seeking applicants with experience in Employment
and Tenant Screening and related businesses.
www.backgroundscreeningjobs.com
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UPCOMING CONFERENCES, COURSES & EVENTS |
Feature
Education:
 |
FCRA
Basic Certification Webinar Series Update
The
FCRA Basic Certification program series is now available
for purchase.
For
more information |
2014 Events ( Click
Here to View full list of Events ) - Updated
Monthly
SHRM
State Conferences, visit
http://www.shrm.org/Conferences/StateAffilliateConferences/Pages/default.aspx
Drug
and Alcohol Testing Industry Association (DATIA), 2013 Training
Course Schedule, visit
http://datia.org
SAPAA
Training Institute Learning Events, http://www.sapaa.com/
CUPA-HR
Conferences: http://www.cupahr.org/
World
Federation of People Management Associations, Events,
http://www.wfpma.com/events/by-region#quicktabs-tab-view__events__page_3-4
|
kii-te-daas!
Hello in Haida
We launched our 2014-15 Annual Background
Screening Buyers Guide at the SHRM Annual Conference in Orlando
and now will be distributing the Guide to more than 20, 000
HR Managers. To get your copy of the 2014-15 Annual Background
Screening Industry Buyers Guide 
