| EMPLOYMENT
SCREENING NEWS |
Workforce's
Special Report: More 'Background' Noise and 2014 Hot List
The trend
is upward for background checks. According to an April 2014
report published by IBISWorld, the expected annual growth is
3.5 percent for the industry from 2014 to 2019.
Advancements in technology have made it easier for small- to
midsize companies to conduct background investigations on job
applicants, while at the same time allowing large employers
the ability to expand the scope of their background checking
process.
Globalization is also a growth factor for checks as more companies
expand their international operations and are looking for ways
to ensure their hiring practices are consistent worldwide.
One leading expert in background screening indicated that "Employers
are choosing to cast a wider net in an effort to be more diligent
in protecting their organization and to avoid negligent hiring
suits."
Read
more
Bills Seek To Blunt EEOC Activities
Rep. Tim
Walberg (R-MI), Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Workforce
Protections, introduced two bills on September 10 aimed at curbing
the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's authority.
The first
measure, the Litigation Oversight Act of 2014 ( H.R.
5422), would require the EEOC to approve, by majority vote,
all lawsuits or interventions in lawsuits involving multiple
plaintiffs or an allegation of systemic discrimination or a
pattern or practice of discrimination. The new legislation would
make it more difficult for the EEOC to pursue this initiative,
although it is not expected to advance.
The second
measure, the Certainty in Enforcement Act of 2014 (
H.R.
5423), takes aim at the EEOC's updated 2012 enforcement guidance on criminal background
checks. Many in the business community have faulted the EEOC's
stance regarding an employer's consideration of an applicant's
criminal record in making hiring decisions.
Both bills
have been referred to committee.
Read
more
Why
Colleges Should Run Background Checks on Student Athletes
For college
athletes, especially football players, getting in trouble with
the law is nothing new, but many people may be surprised at
just how common this is. One out of every fourteen players from
the preseason Top 25 NCAA
football teams in 2010 were found to have been charged with
or cited for a crime according to the recently released results
of a
special investigation conducted by Sports Illustrated
and CBS News.
A large
number, nearly forty percent, of these charges were for serious
offenses including assault and battery, domestic violence, robbery
and sex offenses. In most cases the player had been found or
pled guilty or faced some penalty as a result.
Despite
this all being public information, in most cases the team coaches
or their schools hadn't seen it because criminal background
checks weren't done. In fact only two of the twenty-five schools
routinely performed any kind of criminal background check.
Read more
Survey Shines Light On Background Screening Priorities
In Higher Education
Given the
emphasis that's placed on security at colleges and universities
across the U.S., one of the simplest and most important aspects
of safeguarding a campus begins with performing background checks.
Employment
screening services firm HireRight recently released the results
of its "Employment Background Checks in Education" report, which
surveyed personnel with knowledge of HR policies and procedures
at 197 schools. The report, which is the company's first on
employment screening practices in the higher education market,
found that 96 percent of the schools surveyed conducted criminal
background checks, while 73 percent indicated that they performed
identity verifications. Other background checks performed by
schools in the study included education (54 percent), previous
employment/references (51 percent), motor vehicle records (47
percent), credit history (38 percent), professional license
verifications (30 percent), fingerprints (16 percent), and re-verifying
current employees (14 percent).
More than
three-quarters of respondents (77 percent) said that the screening
process had uncovered a person who lied on their resume or application.
Another 63 percent of schools said that background screening
uncovered issues that would not have otherwise been found about
an applicant.
Based on
the results of the survey, many schools are planning to beef
up their screening procedures.
Read
more
| EMPLOYMENT
SCREENING NEWS - continued |
Major
Background Check Contractor Furloughs Thousands of Employees
Background
checking firm USIS conducts the lion's share of federal background
checks is now losing work and furloughing employees because
of the two
stop-work orders issued after an Aug. 6 hacking incident.
The Office
of Personnel Management, which halted USIS' security clearance
work to protect federal employees, said in a statement Wednesday
that while the suspension remains in effect, the agency is "continuing
to process background investigations using other available assets."
OPM said
the investigations assigned USIS when the stop-work order was
issued are still pending completion. "We are shifting the fieldwork
previously done by USIS to other contractors and federal staff
as appropriate," OPM said. "While this may cause a delay for
some investigations as we make the adjustments, we are working
to minimize any delays and we remain committed, first and foremost,
to the security and quality of our background investigations."
Read more
Probe
Finds Fakery at Nine New York City Child Care Centers
Six child care centers of nine investigate have already been
closed and the others are on track to be shuttered after investigators
found one served no children yet got almost $60,000 in city
money, another had rat droppings on the floor and spoiled milk
in the fridge, and others had filed phony background checks,
teachers' credentials and other important documents.
At one
center, a staffer even bolted out the door when confronted about
using fake credentials, city Department of Investigations Commissioner
Mark Peters, Brooklyn District Attorney Kenneth Thompson and
Staten Island District Attorney Daniel Donovan said while announcing
the probe Friday. The centers' owners have pleaded not guilty
to various charges involving false documents.
Read
more
FTC Action Halts Online High School Diploma Mill That Made $11
Million Selling Worthless Diplomas to Students
At the
Federal Trade Commission's request, a U.S. district court in
Florida has temporarily halted a diploma mill that allegedly
grossed more than $11 million from marketing and selling fake
high school diplomas online to consumers nationwide. The FTC's
lawsuit seeks a permanent injunction to stop the deceptive practices
and to return ill-gotten gains to consumers.
The complaint
alleges that the defendants violated the FTC Act by misrepresenting
that the diplomas were valid high school equivalency credentials
and that the online schools were accredited. The FTC says the
defendants actually fabricated an accrediting body to give legitimacy
to the diploma mill operation.
Read more
Recent
Legislation Affecting the Screening of Tenants
The consumer
reporting industry, despite what critics, media and the general
population may believe, is a highly regulated business.
Although this article should not be perceived
as legal advice and is intended to only highlight bills, ordinances
and mandates across the U.S. that have recently come to our
attention.
The United
States of America has 50 states; 3,077 counties (including "parishes"
& "boroughs"); and roughly 19,355 incorporated cities. If
we temporarily set aside the notions of hamlets, villages, towns
and other "unincorporated" municipalities, that is a lot of
politicians helping us to know what is best for our safety,
our ethical fortitude and our businesses.
When a
"business" offers a single product from one location, keeping
up with the rules and regulations is not a daunting task. However,
when your business deals with information garnered from a multitude
of sources across any of these thousands of lines, in addition
to a customer base that is potentially global, keeping up with
the ever evolving legislation enacted to protect us, can seem
like an insurmountable obstacle.
Read
more
| THE
HEALTHCARE MARKETPLACE |
Estimates
of Largest State Healthcare Staffing Markets ($ million)
|
CA
$926 |
NY
$652 |
TX
$753 |
FL
$525 |
ILL
$476 |
PA
$468 |
OH
$418 |
MI
$378 |
NC
$330 |
GA
$285 |
Source:
Staffing Industry Review, September 2014
| 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:
A
Third of All CV Inaccuracies are Considered to be 'Major' Discrepancies
A new report
from pre-employment screening company, First Advantage reveals
over a quarter (27.2%) of all verification checks on CVs between
January 2011 and June 2014 uncovered inaccuracies. Just under
a third of these inaccuracies (32%) are considered "major" discrepancies;
meaning they raise significant cause for concern for an employer.
Traci Canning,
senior Vice President and Managing Director of First Advantage
in EMEA, comments: "Many of the discrepancies we've found relate
to dates of employment, education and professional achievements,
and raise concerns about candidates stretching periods of employment
and training to cover periods of inactivity or unsuccessful employment.
Honesty really is the best policy - candidates would be better
served by accurately stating their skills and experience because
any accuracies will be uncovered during the screening process."
She added:
"There is a growing appreciation for the value of screening, the
potential risk to their business of not screening and the need
to tackle the "culture of overstatement" head on to ensure their
employees are qualified and safe for the job and that they truly
have the experience stated on their CVs".
Read more
Public
Record Update
Sponsored by:
Public
Record Update
By Mike Sankey, PRRN
| LOS
ANGELES SUPERIOR COURT |
Over the next
several months, the Los Angeles Superior Court is installing a
new telephone system. As a result, the telephone numbers will
change for 35 courthouses (except numbers for Juror Services and
traffic inquiry). The first change is scheduled September 16th
for the Inglewood Courthouse and Inglewood Juvenile
Courthouse. To track the changes as they occur, refer to this
web page:
www.lasuperiorcourt.org/locations/ui/listbyname.aspx
| MAINE
IS MAKING CRITICAL CHANGES TO COURT RECORD ACCESS
|
The Maine
Judicial Branch is in the process of implementing a new procedure
for Civil and Criminal record requests. Walk-in requests for these
searches at the individual courts eventually will no longer be
available. The process for record searches at all courts/counties
is being moved to the Judicial Branch Service Center in Lewiston,
Maine . At this time, the York County Superior Court
and the Springvale District Court are participating in a Pilot
Program. All courts will be incrementally brought into the program
by the end of this year.
Here is a
link to a detailed explanation and the new request form which
must be used:
www.courts.maine.gov/fees_forms/forms/pdf_forms/misc/records.shtml
Some
Questions and Answers
The data
on the link above refers anyone with questions to Ms. Kimberly
Mitchell (Senior Service Center Associate at the Maine Judicial
Branch). The page includes her phone number and email address.
PRRN
Member Nils Nelson (Maine Public Record Services) was able to
obtain some detailed information from Ms. Mitchell. Mr. Nelson
is graciously sharing this information - below.
Read
more
Public Record
Retriever Network - www.PRRN.us
The CRA Help Desk - www.CRAHelpDesk.com
BRB's Free Public Record Center - www.brbpublications.com/PubRecSites.aspx
Motor Vehicle Record Decoder - www.MVRDecoder.com
BRB's Public Record Blog - www.publicrecordsblog.net
BRB's Bookstore - www.brbpublications.com/books/
| OCCUPATIONAL
FRAUD - continued |
State
of Texas Shuts Down Houston-area Diploma Mill
Texas Attorney
General Greg Abbott resolved the State's enforcement action against
a purported "academy" that falsely claimed to be an accredited
educational institution. The agreement requires the operators
of Houston-based Lincoln Academy to permanently shut down the
so-called academy and pay all costs associated with the shutdown.
The defendants' court-restricted assets will provide more than
$1.4 million in compensation to deceived customers. The Texas
Attorney General's Office urges all educational institutions -
especially community colleges and universities - to be diligent
in reviewing purported high school transcripts issued by entities
that may be more interested in amassing profits than preparing
students for higher education.
Read
more
5 Big-Shots Who Lied On Their Resumes 56 180
Wal-Mart's
top spokesman has resigned over a two-decade-old resume lie. David
Tovar claimed he had a bachelor's degree from the University of
Delaware, when in fact he never finished the required coursework
to get a diploma, Bloomberg reported this week.
Tovar's case
is just the latest in a string of high-profile cases in which
prominent figures in business and education got caught in an embarrassing
resume lie -- often years later. The background check company
HireRight says it finds discrepancies in 35% of screenings that
include college education."
It's not
just the big-shots who lie, of course: 88% of employers who use
the company's screening services said they discovered job candidates
who had lied on their applications and resumes. But here are five
particularly memorable examples of lying leaders:
Read
more
"Ban
the Box:" A Discussion of State and Local Laws Restricting Inquiries
into an Applicant's Criminal History
According to the National Employment Law Project, 67 cities and
counties and 13 states have adopted such provisions.
[1] More cities and states are expected
to follow suit. This Commentary discusses the current
state of the ban the box laws, the risks that these laws pose
to employers, and strategies for compliance. It also contains
a chart with highlights of key provisions from the jurisdictions
that have enacted such laws as of the time this Commentary
is published.
Thirteen states have passed ban the box statutes: California,
Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts,
Minnesota, Nebraska, New Mexico, New Jersey, and Rhode Island.
[3] Of these states, only six-Hawaii,
Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, and Rhode Island-regulate
private employers' use of criminal records.
[4] In addition to these statewide
regulations, 67 cities and counties throughout the country have
adopted ban the box ordinances, including New York, San Francisco,
Austin, Seattle, the District of Columbia, Boston, Chicago, Atlanta,
Tampa, and New Orleans. [5] While not every city and county
ordinance applies to private employers, a growing number do:
San Francisco, Seattle, Boston, New Haven, Indianapolis,
Detroit, and Baltimore. [6]
Read more
Arizona Lawmakers Want Background Checks For Hotel Workers
Two Arizona
lawmakers have pledged to push for legislation that would prohibit
registered sex offenders from having unfettered access to hotel
guest rooms, an effort hospitality officials say they would welcome
for discussion. The announcement comes in the wake of allegations
that two hotel chains with Mesa franchisees failed to properly
screen an employee who was a high-level sex offender, enabling
him to sexually assault at least two women in their locked hotel
rooms.
An official
of the Arizona Lodging & Tourism Association said the association
would definitely be amenable to discussions about the idea, and
guest safety is a critical issue for the industry - "So anything
that we can do to assist in that process is definitely a goal."
Read more
Udall Co-Sponsors Bill To Provide Background Checks To
Organizations That Serve Children
U.S. Senator
Tom Udall announced that he is cosponsoring the
Child Protection Improvements and Electronic Life and Safety
Security Systems Act , that would enable children's
groups, summer camps, and other youth-serving non-profit associations
to gain access to federal criminal background checks on new employees
and volunteers.
"We need
to do everything we can to keep our sons and daughters safe from
violent predators, and organizations like the Girls Scouts should
be able to access this federal background check data to fully
screen applicants for jobs that serve our children," said Udall.
"
Read
more
District
of Columbia Enacts Ban-the-Box Legislation Limiting Employers'
Criminal Background Inquiries on Applicants
A new District
of Columbia law, Fair Criminal Record Screening Amendment
Act of 2014 (Act Number A20-0422), prohibits employers from
inquiring into a prospective employee's criminal conviction background
on its application and before making a conditional offer of employment.
Under the new law an employer may withdraw a conditional offer
of employment to an applicant based on criminal conviction information
only for a "legitimate business reason."
The reason
must be reasonable in light of the six factors listed in the Act,
including: 1) the specific duties and responsibilities related
to the job sought, 2) the bearing the crime will have on the applicant's
ability to perform his or her job duties, 3) the time elapsed
since the occurrence of the criminal offense, 4) the age of the
applicant at the time of the crime, 5) the frequency and seriousness
of the crime, and 6) information produced by the applicant establishing
rehabilitation or good conduct.
The new law
likely will become effective in early October, after a 30-day
period of Congressional review and publication in the District
of Columbia Register.
Read
more
Madison
Joins Chorus To Ban The Box
The City
Council of Madison, Wisconsin has the joined numerous municipalities
across the country by passing a legislation to ban the box - except
for police and firefighter applicants - officials are now considering
whether to force city vendors and contractors to do the same.
Past practice
was to include the question on city applications, then do criminal
background checks on finalists for a job. If a check returned
something serious, human resources would tell the candidate thanks,
but no thanks, according to city human resources director Brad
Wirtz. The new law will remove that box from applications for
city employment that asks job-seekers whether they've been convicted
of a crime.
Read more
A
Three Pronged Strategy To Stay Ahead Of Drug Test Cheaters
(Second of two parts)
The first
part of this article examined the creative ways in which some
individuals try to beat a drug test. In order to beat cheaters
at their own game, it is important to know what you're looking
for in terms of a urine sample that is not right. Labs primarily
look at two things when confirming the validity of a urine specimen:
creatinine, which is present in all urine; and specific gravity,
the urine's density.
There are
three main categories of actions designed to defeat the cheater:
precautions, validity testing, and consequences.
Precautions
can take place before, during and even after the donor voids a
sample. The test administrator plays a key role in this process.
This person's job is to ensure the dignity of the donor during
the testing process, but also to guarantee the integrity of the
sample that will be tested. This includes making it as difficult
as possible for would-be cheaters to get away with cheating.
Read
more
Worker Drug Test Positives Rise for First Time Since 2003
A new study published by Quest Diagnostics reported an increase
in the workforce drug test positivity rate for the first time
in ten years, fueled primarily by marijuana and amphetamines.
The Quest Drug Testing Index (DTI) released on September 11, 2014
also showed a large increase in positive marijuana test results
in Colorado and Washington, where "recreational" marijuana now
is permitted.
The DTI involved the analysis of de-identified results from urine,
oral fluid and hair drug tests performed by Quest Diagnostics
workplace drug testing laboratories across the country. The results
were analyzed by three categories of workers: (1) employees with
private companies (U.S. general workforce), (2) employees subject
to federal drug testing rules (safety-sensitive workforce) and
(3) a combination of both groups (combined U.S. workforce).
The DTI found
a positivity rate of 3.7 percent for the 7.6 million urine drug
tests in the combined U.S. workforce, an increase from 3.5 percent
in 2012. According to Quest, the relative increase of 5.7 percent
is the first time the positivity rate for combined national workplace
urine drug tests has increased since 2003.
Quest's study
also showed that amphetamine use (and methamphetamine use in particular)
is on the rise with amphetamine positivity results reaching their
highest levels on record and methamphetamine positive rates at
their highest levels since 2007 (across all specimen types).
Putting the
Quest data into perspective, positive drug tests are at historic
lows and well of the 13.6 percent of 1988. And the actual number
of positive results is 281,200 out of the 7.6 million urine tests
Quest conducted last year.
Read
more
| ALCOHOL
& DRUG SCREENING - continued |
Federal
Court of Appeals Addresses Testing Employees for Lawful Prescription
Drug Use
The Americans
with Disabilities Act ("ADA") makes it unlawful for an employer
to either require its employees to undergo medical examinations
or make disability-related inquiries that cannot be justified
as "job related and consistent with business necessity." The statute,
however, expressly provides that testing an employee for illegal
drug use is not a "medical examination" that must be justified
under this standard. But what about an employer, who, because
of safety concerns, requires employees to be tested for substances
for which the employee has a valid prescription? Does such a test
constitute a medical examination or a disability-related inquiry?
In
Bates v. Dura Automotive Systems, Inc. , the United
States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit the Court concluded
that whether testing for prescription drugs constitutes a medical
examination or a disability-related inquiry for ADA purposes depends
on the specific facts of the case at hand and, ultimately, may
be an issue for a jury to resolve. It is clear that this is an
area where employers must tread carefully.
Read
more
Changing
Trends in Criminal Verifications - India
As global
firms continue to expand their operation and background checks
worldwide, the need to be highly tuned to nuances of local laws,
practices, and availability (or lack of it) of databases is critical.
This is particularly true in India where there is no overarching
law governing background checks similar to the Fair Credit Report
Act in the USA.
At the same
time, the need for conducting criminal checks is growing exponentially
in India. A recent incident of child abuse in one of the most
sought-after private schools in the city of Bangalore (the largest
IT hub in India) hardened regulatory stances regarding background
checks of employees. The State government is now working on making
criminal checks mandatory for all employees of schools. The same
will probably soon be made applicable to various other industries
with potential incidents of criminal activities.
One area
of on-going challenge for background screening in India has been
the Police verification process which has always been a grey area
in India and a recent incident involving one of India's leading
background screening firms illustrated a clear issue with this
process. This incident has served as a wake up call to the background
screening industry in India and a renewed focused on the need
to build standards and best practices.
Read
more
Congratulations
to our Platinum Members for making the 2014 Workforce Hot List:
1. Accurate
Background
2. EBI
3. Employee
Screening IQ
4. First
Advantage
5. HireRight
6. InforMart
7. Orange
Tree
 Edge Appoints Jo Bowen as National Account
Executive
Edge Information
Management, Inc., announced the appointment of Jo Bowen as National
Account Executive to help oversee its expanding presence in the
Southeastern United States. Jo began in the pre-employment screening
industry in 1994, and her experience has encompassed roles in
operations, management and sales - with a focus on client service.
Jo is FCRA certified and committed to providing resources and
educating her clients about compliance and best practices.
Jo is excited
to be joining the Edge family and to be representing an NAPBS
accredited company that continues to expand, thanks to an ongoing
commitment to innovation in technology and large scale ATS integrations.
Read
More
 Finance Veteran Michael S. Duffey
Appointed First Advantage Chief Financial Officer
First
Advantage, a Symphony Technology Group (STG) company announced
that 30-year finance veteran Michael S. Duffey has joined as Chief
Financial Officer (CFO). In addition to having financial oversight
for the company and its 26 global offices, Duffey will partner
closely with First Advantage's executive team to drive the company's
worldwide strategic growth plan.
Previously, Duffey spent 10 years as CFO at market information
firm Symphony IRI, another STG business, where he helped navigate
the business through its successful transformation and subsequent
equity sale in 2011. Duffey has also held executive finance positions
at a broad range of public and private banking, manufacturing
and professional service companies, including Covansys Corporation,
APW and M.A. Hanna Company.
Read
more
PreCheck, Inc. Makes Inc. 5000 For Second Consecutive
Year
PreCheck,
Inc., a background screening and credentialing firm specializing
in the healthcare industry, earns the
position
of 4390 on the 2014 Inc. 5000, a prestigious list of the fastest-growing
private companies in America. The list represents the most comprehensive
look at the most important segment of the economy, America's independent
entrepreneurs. This represents PreCheck's second consecutive entry
on the exclusive list, which ranks companies based on their percentage
of revenue growth over the past three years.
PreCheck has exclusively served the healthcare industry's background
screening and employment qualification needs since 1993. The company's
full suite of screening solutions is tailored to support healthcare
human resources, medical staff services, and healthcare compliance
job functions.
Read
more
 Innovative Enterprises Announces
the Availability of Bulk Criminal Record Data for All 50 States
Innovative
Enterprises, Inc., a strategic partner to the background screening
industry and expert provider of court research information
products, smart data solutions and ancillary services, today announced
the official launch of DataDirect™ Enterprise Solutions,
a unique blend of data aggregation, cleansing, intelligence and
delivery solutions designed to provide bulk criminal, sex offender,
government watch list, sanctions and exclusions records to select
entities that maintain their own national criminal records database.
Designed
and developed exclusively by Innovative, DataDirect™ Enterprise
Solutions represents the fastest growing compilation of its kind,
delivering hundreds of millions of unique records obtained directly
from local, state and federal government agencies, including a
number of sources not currently available from legacy providers
of similar data. Industry professionals who offer products and
services built from their own national criminal records databases
can now choose DataDirect™ Enterprise Solutions as their
one-stop provider of superior aggregated source data and gain
a significant competitive advantage over their peers.
"Innovative has built an industry-leading data acquisition and
aggregation division around its flagship product, the National
Criminal Information Scan®," stated Timothy Z. Brothers,
Innovative's Vice President of Sales and Technology. "DataDirect™
Enterprise Solutions is the logical extension of that expertise,
enabling us to provide our enterprise level partners with a robust
and vastly superior bulk criminal data solution which exceeds
the capabilities of existing market-based alternatives."
Read more
 Wholesale Screening Solutions Ranks
No. 1116 on the 2014 Inc. 5000
Inc. magazine
ranked Wholesale Screening Solutions No. 1116 on its 33rd annual
Inc. 500|5000, an exclusive ranking of the nation's fastest-growing
private companies. "We are extremely honored to join the elite
group of companies represented in the Inc. 5000," remarks company
founder and President, Matthew Lowers. "I am pleased to attribute
our growth to the relentless efforts of our management team and
staff to provide a high level of service to our customers."
Wholesale
Screening Solutions provides criminal records to employment screening,
tenant screening, and risk mitigation providers nationwide. The
company manages an extensive and tightly-controlled network of
nationwide researchers who obtain criminal records directly from
the authoritative source. CRAs working with Wholesale Screening
benefit from quality, timeliness, and accuracy - all delivered
with a human touch, at affordable wholesale prices.
Read
more
BackChecked
Integrates with Adobe EchoSign's Electronic Signatures
BackChecked, a leading platform provider to background screening
agencies, announced an integration with the Adobe EchoSign electronic
signature solution. The BackChecked integration with Adobe EchoSign
allows a background screening agency to create any number of unique,
actionable, online forms, then assign them to specific employers.
Depending on the need, job applicants can authorize forms when
notified by email or sign the documents as they enter their own
background data. Adobe EchoSign manages the secure signature process,
stores the document and forwards a signed copy to all parties.
A comprehensive audit trail, listing all events and actions taken
by the participants is stored together with the document.
As part of
the process, documents are immediately and permanently attached
to the order in the BackChecked system, allowing the background
screening agency to monitor compliance and present the document
when required. Both participants in the production test reported
excellent acceptance of the documents by previous employers, schools
and professional licensing agencies, all of which require proof
of authorization.
According
to Kloos, "It didn't take long for us to realize how much value
Adobe EchoSign brings to the table, in terms of both name recognition
and the actual solution. Of course, the real gem is an API that
allows us to incorporate so many of their standard options. It's
exactly what our customers need right now and we're confident
it will remain so in the future."
Read
more
A recent
infographic that appeared in Fast Company, reveals disturbing
statistics about how big a problem employee turnover is.
· 25
percent of Fortune 500 managers change jobs each year.
· 22
percent of turnover occurs in the first 45 days of employment.
· 46
percent of new employees washout in the first 18 month.
· The
cost of losing an employee in the first year is estimated to be
at least three times the salary.
Read
more
 Grab a latte and pull up a chair and join
us for a great interview with Xiaoning Cao, Chairman of the Board,
Huaxia Credit and Chairman of Huaxia D&B China.'
Before joining the background screening industry, Xiaoning
was a member of the "China Think Tank" during the time period
in the early 80's when Mr. Deng Xiaoping was directing China through
structural reform. Xiaoning successively served at the Rural Policy
Research Office of the Secretariat of CPC, State Committee for
Economic Structure Reform and Ministry of Commerce. His positions
included serving as the Vice Division Head, Division Head and
Deputy Bureau Director from 1982 to 1993. In 1988 and 1989 he
had the privilege of becoming a visiting scholar with the University
of Chicago.
In 1993,
after resigning form the government, during the time when China's
economic regime was gradually transforming from centrally planned
to free market economy. He recognized that there was an urgent
market need for a credit reporting agency and then established
Huaxia Credit.
In conversations
with the former president of CDIA, Mr. Barry Connelly, Xiaoning
was
convinced
of the need for a background screening firm in China. On the infamous
day of Sep.11 of 2001, he was on route to the U.S. to learn more
about the background screening business and the terrorist attack
occurred. This horrific event strengthened his determination to
start the background check business. Huaxia Credit became the
first background check company in China. ChoicePoint was their
first partner.
Speaking
about something he really enjoys about working in the background
screening industry he note that he particularly enjoys providing
advice to the Chinese government regarding setting up a fair and
legally binding business environment, which is essential for the
CRA industry to operate and develop.
Huaxia Credit
is currently the largest credit information provider in China,
owning five business lines: business and consumer Credit Reporting,
Collection, Direct Marketing and Education. In 2006,Huaxia Credit
and Dun & Bradstreet jointly established Huaxia D&B China,
and the following year, Huaxia Credit formed a joint venture,
HUAXIACRIF with CRIF.
Xiaoning
stated a primary focus of firm is to continue to provide leadership
in China's Information Industry. Future plans include inserting
Huaxia D&B information into their background check report.
He explained that adding this information to the report will aid
U.S. firms that may have little knowledge of Chinese companies.
For example, If a Chinese applicant applies for job in the US
and indicates that he was the CEO of a Chinese company, the American
employer may not be familiar with the company, thus the ability
to provide information such as the company size, location, year
established will be important.
He also added
that as China's premier background checking provider, Huaxia Credit
will continue to provide superb products and service to their
domestic and global clients.
Xiaoning
shared that Huaxia Credit is a Chinese company that has joint
venture companies with both American and Italy companies. He emphasized
that the company not only respects Chinese regulations, but also
the American and the Italian Law as it serves its multinational
and global clients. He referenced the new
Regulation on the Administration of Credit Reporting Industry
(Abbr. Regulation) which includes new rules governing consumer
credit reporting agencies and strictly protects privacy.
He pondered
when asked about the future he sees for the background screening
industry and said, "I don't need to look into a crystal ball to
see it, since I open my eyes every morning and finding the world
rapidly transforming." He added that he believes the background
screening industry will need to use more business credit information.
Xiaoning
added that he is an avid reader and reads at least two books per
month. A recent book he read is Liar's Poker. He has a keen interest
in economic, management and history. Speaking of history, the
person he would most like to meet is President George Washington.
Xiaoning noted that he admired that after serving as the nation's
first President and creating the United State, Washington returned
to the country side to work as a peasant. He really respects his
view of life.
Closing a
very successful interview Xiaoning share his favor quote, "If
you can do today, please do not put it into tomorrow."
Thank you
Xiaoning for a very insightful and informative interview. To find
out more about Huaxia Credit, Xiaoning can be reached at xiaoning_cao@huaxiacredit.com.
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2013-2014
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INDUSTRY BUYERS GUIDE NOW AVAILABLE!
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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
September
2014
Since the
last edition of The Washington Report, the Congress reconvened
and then left again shortly thereafter so that members could return
home to campaign for the upcoming elections. In the brief time
Congress was in session, however, there were several developments
of interest to consumer reporting agencies, including employment
and tenant screeners.
On
Capitol Hill
On September
10th, the House Financial Services Committee's Subcommittee
on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit held a hearing entitled,
"An Overview of the Credit Reporting System," to "provide…a
better understanding of the roles and responsibilities of the
consumer reporting agencies, as well as the users and furnishers
of consumer credit data."
The bulk
of the hearing focused on issues relating to credit scores, report
accuracy and reinvestigations, and alternative data as well as
discussion of shortening the period for reporting adverse information.
Chi Chi Wu,
Staff Attorney at the National Consumer Law Center expressed concern
about the use of credit reports for employment purposes.
Congresswoman
Maxine Waters announced a draft bill entitled the "Fair Credit
Reporting Improvement Act of 2014," which is intended to
"enhance requirements on the consumer reporting agencies (CRAs),
and furnishers that provide information to these CRAs, to guarantee
consumers have the capacity to ensure that the information on
their credit reports is accurate and complete."
On September
16th, Rep. Mike Kelly (R-PA) introduced H.R. 5482,
the "Enhanced Security Clearance Act," which would expand
government background checks to include an applicant's "publicly
available electronic information," including but not limited to
that from social media accounts.
The EEOC
also received additional attention on the Hill in September. On
September 9th, Rep. Tim Walberg (R-MI) introduced H.R.
5422, the "Litigation Oversight Act of 2014."
At
the FTC
On September
15th, the FTC held its long-planned workshop entitled,
" Big Data: A Tool for Inclusion or Exclusion?", the
latest in the FTC's ongoing series of privacy workshops.
The FCRA
was frequently cited as a model that has tended to work well with
respect to credit, insurance, employment, and other FCRA permissible
purposes. Arnall Golden Gregory Partner Montserrat Miller spoke
as part of a panel "Surveying the Legal Landscape," which discussed,
among other things, the protections afforded by the FCRA in the
employment context and how the FCRA affects the reporting of non-traditional
information, such as social media data.
At
OPM
The Office
of Personnel Management (OPM) announced in early September that
the agency will not renew any contracts with USIS, the background
screening company that currently conducts the majority of background
checks for federal security clearances, when the current contracts
expire on September 30th.
Read
the full report
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| EVERIFY
& IMMIGRATION ISSUES |
Colorado
Affirmation Form Must be Used on October 1, 2014
Do you have
clients that hire employees in Colorado (either now or in the
foreseeable future)? The Colorado Department of Labor and Employment
(CDLE) has released a new mandatory Affirmation of Legal Work
Status form that must be used by employers for new hires (within
the state) who are hired on or after October 1, 2014. The form
(which has a revision date of 09/01/14) can be downloaded here.
For those
HR and hiring managers who may be new to the wonderful world of
employment eligibility verification, let's take a quick trip down
memory lane and revisit Colorado's rather unique employment verification
law. We'll also explore some recent FAQs and audit statistics.
Read
more
New York Restaurant begins 2014 with a Large
Form I-9 Penalty
(OCAHO) issued its first decision in 2014 - U.S. v. Two for
Seven LLC d/b/a Black & Blue Restaurant, which tells the
story of a small New York restaurant that was assessed an I-9
penalty of $88,700 by OCAHO. The good news is the restaurant was
successful in reducing the penalties from $264,605 which Immigrations
and Customs Enforcement (ICE) sought. In reaching its decision,
OCAHO analyzed several interesting legal issues:
- is
there a need to prepare I-9 forms for certain employees working
three days or less
- is
an employee actually a partner? why does it matter?
- IRCA
prevails over ICE auditor memorandum
- penalties
were excessive in light of relevant facts
Read
more
DOJ
Issues Guidance on Citizenship/Immigration Status And National
Origin Discrimination in Employment
The Department
of Justice's Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related
Unfair Employment Practices (OSC) is responsible for enforcing
the anti-discrimination provision of the Immigration and Nationality
Act. Under this law, employers discriminate when they treat workers
differently in the hiring and firing process because a worker
is or is not a U.S. citizen, because of a worker's particular
immigration status, or because of where a worker is from or appears
to be from. Additionally, employers may not treat workers differently
for these reasons when completing the Form I-9 and E-Verify process.
In an effort
to aid employers in complying with the Immigration and Nationality
Act's anti-discrimination provision, OSC recently released an
update to its "Fact Patterns Flyer" and provided guidance to employers
concerning various forms of discrimination. The Flyer is based
on examples from OSC's recent enforcement of the Immigration and
Nationality Act's anti-discrimination provision.
Read
more
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STRUGGLING WITH WRITING AND PUBLISHING YOUR NEWSLETTER: |
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you have a high quality e-newsletter to help nurture your relationship
with your clients and attract new clients. Our customized newsletter
service will take over your newsletter task or create a new one
for you. We can manage the creation of your newsletter for you.
We are constantly
researching information to use for The Background Buzz and
you can put our research to use for you. Using the information
rich content from The Background Buzz (minus the ads
and competitors information) we will create a custom newsletter
for you.
Use your staff’s
time to do more valuable work and save all the hassle of researching
or writing articles, formatting and managing all the other ezine
tasks with our customized ezine process.
Contact Barry
Nixon at 949-770-5264 or at wbnixon@aol.com
for more information.
DID
YOU KNOW?
Over the past
20 years, authorities have made more than a quarter of a billion
arrests, the Federal Bureau of Investigation estimates. As a result,
the FBI currently has 77.7 million individuals on file in its
master criminal database-or nearly one out of every three American
adults.
Robert Poëti Vows To Enforce Taxi Driver Background Checks
Montreal Taxi Bureau Admits Passengers Could Be Getting Into A
Cab With A Convicted Felon
Quebec law
prohibits the issuing of taxi permits to anyone who has been convicted
of an indictable offence in the last five years, but the law is
not being routinely enforced because of a dispute over who is
responsible for background checks.
The Quebec
transportation ministry says enforcing criminal background checks
for taxi drivers is at the top of its priority list, after several
women told CBC News they've been sexually assaulted or harassed
by taxi drivers. In most major cities across Canada, taxi drivers
are required to pass a criminal background checks. But in Montreal
and across Quebec, there are no safeguards in effect to stop passengers
from hopping into a cab with a convicted felon.
Benoit Jugand,
the general director of the Montreal taxi bureau said they have
been waiting on a solution for years. He added that the City of
Montreal had agreed several years ago to wait for Quebec to create
a province-wide standard for background checks.
Read more
Police
Too Prying In Volunteer Background Checks, B.C. Privacy Group
Says
A privacy watchdog is calling on B.C.'s privacy commissioner to
investigate whether police departments are being too intrusive
in the questions posed to potential volunteers and employees.
The B.C. Freedom of Information and Privacy Association said several
police departments are collecting "unnecessary, inappropriate
and excessive personal information" from people applying for paid
and unpaid positions.
The non-profit
association was approached by someone applying for a volunteer
position with the Delta Police Department's community police section.
They had been given a 25-page "integrity and lifestyle questionnaire"
asking about sexual activity, drug use, finances and whether the
applicant has ever been unemployed or on welfare.
Applicants
also have to undergo a polygraph test and a background investigation
and are told "deceit, dishonest or non-disclosure concerning questions
in this document may result in your disqualification from current
or future civilian employment opportunities."
The Victoria
Police Department has stopped doing criminal record checks until
the province comes up with new legislation regarding what information
should be released.
Read more
Germany Bans Uber For All The
Wrong Reasons
With a single
court decision, Uber's low-cost car service has been banned throughout
Germany. It's a familiar story: Uber faced a lawsuit by a consortium
of taxi companies that sought to drive a competitor from Germany.
The taxi firms say that drivers who use Uber's platform to find
riders and accept payments don't have the appropriate operating
licenses, background checks or insurance. One spokesperson for
the taxis said the rules "also apply to neo-liberal firms like
Uber."
In this case,
Reuters
reports that the court made the decision not out of concern
for the safety of passengers, but because German law says that
people without commercial drivers licenses can only charge for
the operating costs of giving other people rides, not attempt
to make a profit.
Read
more
UBS Says Widens Background Checks for Specialist Employees
Switzerland's
biggest bank UBS said it had expanded the number of employees
that are subject to internal background checks to around 15% of
its workforce in a move than came in the wake of numerous scandals.
Under the new policy, roughly 9,000 bank employees will be subject
to internal vetting, said a UBS spokesman. UBS is also beefing
up policing of its employees as it grapples with a probe into
potential rigging of the global foreign exchange market. The spokesman
said UBS had already been vetting some current employees and that
the expansion was part of the bank's operational risk strategy.
Read more
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Screening Jobs |
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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
|
Yahaho yiza! (welcome greeting) 
