| EMPLOYMENT
SCREENING NEWS |
Talk
About Bad Company: The True Cost of a Bad Hire
Hiring
the wrong person for a position is an expensive mistake for
a company to make. In a recent Career Builder survey, 42% of
companies reported that a bad hire cost them at least $25,000
in the past year, and 25% reported a loss of at least $50,000.
But for small companies, where every employee often juggles
many important responsibilities, the cost of a bad hire can
be even more devastating - up to $190,000 according to a report
by Association of Certified Fraud Examiners. To avoid hiring
the wrong person: Keep your references close; Be proactive;
and Kick those tires.
Read more
OPM's Crackdown on Background Check Fraud Leads to
Jail Time -- For Some
A USIS
background investigator has pleaded guilty to charges stemming
from falsifying a report. The charge could carry a penalty of
five years in prison. In addition, The Justice Department has
accused USIS, the government's largest contractor for providing
background investigations, of shortcutting more than 665,000
background checks for more than four years beginning in 2008.
But it's far from the first time a lone security-clearance investigator
has faced tough penalties for falsifying background investigations.
Since 2008, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has been
on a crusade to root out falsification in background investigations
using the courts.
Read more
On
the Importance of Transatlantic Bridge Building
Jacob Kohnstamm,
chairman of the Dutch Data Protection Authority and former chairman
of the Article 29 Working Party, has announced a promising new
transatlantic privacy initiative called the Privacy Bridge Project.
The initiative seeks to develop practical solutions to bridge
the gap between European and U.S. privacy regimes. The Privacy
Bridge Project is an especially welcome development in the wake
of last summer's transatlantic fallout from the Snowden controversy.
The rewards for the EU and U.S. are immense and they have a
chance to arrive at a common privacy framework that can set
the standard the rest of the world can follow.
Read more
Botched
Background Check Cost Manhattan Dad His Job
Offer
Kevin Jones, a Manhattan man says he was offered a job by Halstead
Management as a doorman, only to have the offer rescinded after
a background check reported incorrectly that he had felony and
misdemeanor convictions. Jones told Halstead there'd been a
mistake, and Halstead referred him to Sterling, which stood
by the report, the suit says.
Mr. Jones
has filed a lawsuit alleging that Sterling Infosystems, the
background screening firm, reported the record of another Kevin
Jones, whom had a different middle name, and belonged to a different
race and did not verify the information with a court record
check.
Read more
GW
To Require Background Checks For Faculty Candidates
GW will
perform background checks on top faculty candidates next year
to screen for sexual offenses and major criminal charges. The
proposal for increased oversight came from a faculty-led task
force's study released last fall. Officials gave nearly three
dozen
recommendations for adding protections for minors and increasing
transparency,
modeled on the report of the sex abuse scandal at Pennsylvania
State University.
The University
is specifically concerned about anything that will raise a safety
or security risk with their students, many of whom are minors.
That is the overall focus and intent in what we're doing in
pursuing a background check expansion.
Read more
Big Ten Background Check Trend To Be Implemented At University
of Illinois
The University
will now require all new hires to undergo a background check.
"This is something that we have been thinking about for a while,"
said Maureen Parks, associate vice president for human resources.
"Sometime after the first of the year, President (Robert) Easter
and Chancellor (Phyllis) Wise asked us to take a serious look
at this and to implement changes to our background check policy."
Previously,
the University only performed background checks on hires that
were in "sensitive" situations: working with children, firearms,
University funds or medical patients.
Read more
U.S.-EU Data Privacy Rules Won't Cause Regulatory Headache:
Official
U.S. companies
will not face a much heavier compliance burden when new rules
governing the protection of personal data between the United
States and European Union come into effect, a senior Commerce
Department official has stated.
After revelations about U.S. National Security Agency surveillance
caused an uproar in Europe, negotiations are underway about
changes to the "Safe Harbor" agreement that allows companies
that gather customer information in Europe to send to the United
States.
Some Commission recommendations were easy to adopt, like asking
companies to include a link to the alternative dispute resolution
provider in their privacy policy or the way the Commerce Department
website presents the list of participating companies, he said.
Read more
The Bruce Berg Report on the 2014 NAPBS Legislative and Regulatory
Conference
At this
conference there were no breakout sessions, no FCRA 101 training
or similar education sessions. Everyone was in the same presentations
at the same time. Based on input from others and an explanation
of the main purpose of the conference, I think the board was
'right-on' to structure the conference in this manner and there
were some fantastic speakers.
Big issue
is all the laws being passed that require a background check
and this is defined as a fingerprint check via the FBI. There
are 128 current bills that related to background checks.
Business
is up very nicely for most during Q1 and especially in Feb and
March. While the unemployment rate is no longer falling, there
is still turnover and we are needed. CRAs are continually looking
for new products/services to add to their product line.
Read more
Undocumented
Immigrant Housing Ban Allowed by High Court
The U.S.
Supreme Court refused to say whether states and cities can bar
landlords from renting to undocumented aliens. The justices
turned away a challenge to a Nebraska law that civil rights
advocates said conflicts with federal immigration measures.
A St. Louis-based federal appeals court upheld the law, putting
it at odds with appellate courts that have considered similar
measures elsewhere. The Supreme Court previously put limits
on what states and local governments can do to crack down on
illegal immigration. Since then, the Supreme Court has repeatedly
sidestepped the issue of anti-harboring laws.
Read more
Housing Court Continues to Sell Tenant Blacklist
Tenants
who have been sued in Housing Court can be added to a "blacklist,"
which the court sells to tenant screening companies. The blacklist
is then used by landlords and management companies to screen
tenants. Companies pay the court a $20,000 fee and $350 weekly
to get daily updates. Landlords and brokers argue that the list
helps them avoid renting to deadbeats. Since 2012, Housing Court
has stopped selling names to screening companies but they continue
to sell index numbers for court cases. However, it is still
possible to match index numbers to the tenants' names.
Read more
Senate
Bill Targets Credit Furnisher Responsibilities Under FCRA
The Stop Errors in Credit Use and Reporting (SECURE)
Act of 2014 ( S.2224,) was
introduced in the U.S. Senate. The bill would amend the Fair
Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) to place new requirements on both
credit reporting agencies and companies that furnish information
to those agencies.
The SECURE
Act would direct the CFPB to establish minimum procedures that
a CRA must follow to ensure maximum possible accuracy of consumer
reports. When errors are caught, the bill would require CRAs
to gather and report information on consumer disputes and resolutions.
The legislation would provide injunctive relief as a remedy
for consumers who sue CRAs under the FCRA and hold CRAs accountable
to the FTC for negligent violations of the FCRA.
Read more
Tennessee Joins the Growing List of States Limiting Employers'
Access to Personal Online Content
Legislation
to restrict employers' access to applicants' and employees'
personal online content continues its rapid expansion in 2014.Tennessee
Governor Bill Haslam has signed his own state's password protection
law. This new law goes into effect on January 1, 2015. The Tennessee
law, known as the Employee Online Privacy Act of 2014, has many
of the same prohibitions and exceptions found in similar state
laws. There are, however, some key differences that render the
law broader in certain aspects, while narrower in others. Employers
with operations in Tennessee should understand the new law's
basic requirements as well as its differences from similar laws.
Read more
Swift Makes $4.4 Million Settlement With 160,000 Driver
Applicants Over Background Checks
Swift Transportation
has agreed to a $4.4 million class-action settlement in the
case involving claims that the carrier violated stipulations
of the FCRA by not disclosing to driver applicants that it could
access background checks and not allowing applicants to contest
the carrier's findings. The settlement applies to any driver
applicant for Swift between July 2008, and September 2012, for
whom Swift obtained a background check, motor vehicle history
report or consumer report and did not first have an in-person
interaction with. Class members have 60 days from the settlement's
final court approval to opt out and pursue separate legal action.
Read more
Colorado
High Court to Rule on Rocky Mountain High
The issue
of medical marijuana continues to make news in Colorado. Earlier
this year, the Colorado Supreme Court agreed to hear an appeal
of the 2013 Colorado Court of Appeals ruling in Coats v. Dish
Network, which analyzed the relationship between Colorado's
medical marijuana law and Colorado's Lawful Activities Statute.
The Lawful Activities Statute prohibits employers from taking
adverse employment actions against employees who engage in lawful
activities outside of work. The Court of Appeals concluded that
since marijuana use remains unlawful under federal law (for
medical purposes or otherwise), off-duty medical marijuana use
is not protected as "lawful activity" under Colorado's Lawful
Activities Statute. Thus, the employer lawfully discharged the
former employee for off-duty use of medical marijuana even though
the use was pursuant to Colorado's medical marijuana law.
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:
L.A.
County Considering Background Checks iOn Ice Cream Truck Vendors
The Board of Supervisors unanimously instructed its
staff to explore regulations that would mandate fingerprinting
and a criminal history report for those seeking a license for
a business that serves children.
The board
asked for a report back in 60 days listing businesses whose primary
clientele is unsupervised children, along with an analysis of
the additional cost and time needed to conduct background checks
on vending applicants.
"By adding
another level of scrutiny to the way we issue business licenses
in Los Angeles County, we can do a better job of protecting our
communities and keeping our children out of harm's way," Knabe
said.
Read more
Missouri
Looks To Run Background Checks on Health Care Advisors
The Missouri
Legislature passed a bill that requires background checks for
individuals who will assist others selecting health insurance
through the federally run website, healthcare.gov.
Senate Bill 508 requires anyone applying to be a navigator
(the term used to define these health care advisers) to supply
two sets of fingerprints to the Missouri State Highway Patrol
to be used for criminal background checks.
Gov.
Jay Nixon has until mid-July to decide whether to sign or
veto the legislation.
Read more
'Ban
the Box' Fair Hiring Policies Take Hold Around the Nation
San Francisco is again in the vanguard of the ban-the-box
movement. This time it's called the Fair Chance Ordinance, and
instead of city jobs, the law requires private employers, city
contractors, and some housing providers to consider applicants
on their merits first, not on their past mistakes. If 2013 is
any indication of what's to come, we can expect ban-the-box to
soon reach a tipping point. Inspired by the successes in the United
States, the campaign has even taken hold in the U.K., where an
organization launched an effort encouraging businesses to give
people a second chance by removing the "tick box."
Read more
Baltimore Becomes the 10th Jurisdiction to
"Ban the Box"
On May 15, 2014, the City of Baltimore, Maryland, became the tenth
U.S. jurisdiction to "ban the box". Although Baltimore city council
members tout the new ordinance as the most progressive law banning
the box in the U.S., the ordinance is closer to the middle of
the pack. This may be a relief to employers because each ban-the-box
law has tended to be tougher than the last. To comply with the
ordinance, which will go into effect on August 13, 2014, covered
employers should: Determine whether the ordinance applies; Review
their employment application; and Revise their hiring procedures.
Read
more
Ban The Box: Nebraska Removes Criminal History Questions From
Job Application
The State
of Nebraska became the 11th state in the country last week to
remove questions about an applicant's criminal record from employment
applications; a big victory for previously incarcerated persons
seeking a second.
Now that the law known as Ban The Box is going into effect in
July, Riley is hopeful it will make a difference in the lives
of others.
Read more
'Ban
The Box' on Its Way To Delaware Governors Desk
'Ban the
Box,' the name of a measure that would prohibit most public agencies
in Delaware from requiring job applicants to disclose their criminal
history during the early steps of the hiring process passed the
Delaware Senate. Gov. Jack Markell mentioned the effort, which
passed 15-5, during his State of the State speech earlier this
year.
Under the
legislation, employers could only ask a job candidate about their
criminal background once the first interview was completed. Sen.
Bryan Townsend, D-Newark, said the legislation is a step in the
right direction to assist those with a criminal charge who are
trying to get back on their feet.
Read more
| BAN
THE BOX LEGISLATION - continued |
Madison
Taking Steps To 'Ban The Box' About Criminal History On Job Applications
Madison Mayor
Paul Soglin and Ald. Maurice Cheeks introduce a resolution that
would direct the city human resources director and the city attorney
to come up with recommendations for eliminating questions regarding
prior criminal convictions from city applications. Those issues
would come up later in the hiring process, most likely after a
candidate's qualifications have been established and an interview
has been scheduled. At that time, prior convictions would only
be an issue if the circumstances are relevant to job duties.
Soglin said
that while the focus is currently on changing the city's application
process, in the future, it is hope to influence the private sector
to follow their lead.
Read more
Rochester
Considers Whether To 'Ban The Box'
"Check 'yes'
if ever been convicted of a felony." That one box on job applications
was the center of some heated conversations at City Hall. Called
"Ban the Box," the legislation would take away an employer's right
to ask if a person is a convicted felon on job applications. Submitted
by Councilman Adam McFadden, the ban would apply to city employers
or vendors with four or more employees.
Representing
Rochester's South District, McFadden said he wants to give ex-felons
a foot in the door, so they aren't excluded from a job interview
solely because of a box checked yes.
Read more
Survey:
HR Execs Split on if Social Media Impacts Hiring
In a poll
of 100 human resources executives, 60 percent confirmed that they
either always or sometimes check candidates' social media activity,
but only 6 percent said that activity has a significant impact
on their hiring decision.
The survey,
conducted in April by global outplacement firm Challenger, Gray
& Christmas Inc., found that 40 percent of respondents never
even check candidate's social media activity.
While 40
percent of respondents indicated that social media activity has
little to no impact on hiring decisions, another 40 percent said
it has some impact.
Read more
Seyfarth Shaw's Social Media Privacy Legislation Desktop Reference
Seyfarth's Social Media Practice Group has prepared
an easy-to-use "Social Media Privacy Legislation Desktop Reference,"
as a starting point to formulating guidance when these issues
arise. The Desktop Reference: Describes the content
and purpose of the laws; Delivers a detailed state-by-state description
of each law; Provides an easy-to-use chart listing on one axis
the states that have enacted social media privacy legislation,
and on the other, whether each state's law contains one or more
key features; Offers thoughts on the implications of this legislation
in other areas; and Concludes with some best practices to assist
companies in navigating this challenging area.
Read more
http://www.laborandemploymentlawcounsel.com/2014/05/seyfarth-shaws-social-media-privacy-legislation-desktop-reference/
When U.S. Companies Drug Test, They Wind Up Hiring More Black
People
Abigail Wozniak,
a labor economist, has developed a model to show how the rise
of employee drug testing in the U.S. has affected different populations.
Where testing is prevalent, black employment increased between
7% and 30%, and wages for black workers increased by between 1.4%
and 13%. That's surprising because in America's often-misguided
war on drugs, black people tend to suffer disproportionately.
There's plenty of evidence that black and white Americans use
illicit drugs at roughly the same rate. But despite that, there's
wide overestimation of black people's drug use by everyone from
police to hiring managers to young black people themselves.
Read more
Public
Record Update
Sponsored by:
Public
Record Update
By Mike Sankey, PRRN
| FL
Supreme Court Lifts Ban on Access to Electronic Court
Case Information |
Many county
level Circuit Courts offer online access to to public to view
the docket index, but since 2006 there has been a ban against
access to case file document and images. Also in 2006, the Florida
Supreme Court selected the Manatee County Clerk of the Circuit
Court's Office to be the sole test site for phasing in different
levels of access to non-confidential court records over a subscriber-based
web site. This program proved to be a success.
In March 2014, the Florida Supreme Court lifted the ban and outlined
their guidelines on how clerks of court can make records more
readily available online, if they so choose. Administrative
Order No. AOSC14-19, signed March 19, 2014, states that
any Florida Clerk of Court who wants to provide online access
to court records must follow the standards set forth in the Manatee
Model. Clerks may choose to be more restrictive than the Manatee
Model, but they may not be less so.
The new FL standards isolated 10 different user groups with specific
levels tied to certain types of accessible data and security requirements.
See the Access Security Matrix at:
www.floridasupremecourt.org/clerk/adminorders/2014/AOSC14-19.pdf
Note that
these court documents available to the general public have had
elements redacted per the Florida Supreme Court. This redaction
includes sensitive information such as Social Security Numbers,
various types of account numbers, etc. from being viewed or obtained
from court records.
| Significant
Court Case Involving NC Court Records
|
In recent
decision by the North Carolina Court of Appeals (NCCOA) regarding
Lexis Nexis Risk Data Management Inc. v. North Carolina Administrative
Office of the Courts , the court ruled that the court records
database maintained by the Administrative Office of the Courts
(AOC) is public record as defined in G.S. 132. Thus, the AOC,
as the custodian of this public record database, is required to
provide it upon request as a public record.
The lawsuit
was initiated because the AOC decided that it would no longer
provide the full electronic file to subscribers of the court record
data and would provide only demographic data. This forced the
subscribers, who were at the time purchasing the full file, to
access a secondary source - known as the Green Screen - in order
to find the case details. The Green Screen is a cumbersome system
using technology from the 1970's and is much more expensive since
it is based on a page-by-page search.
Since the
AOC lost 0-3 in the Court of Appeals, there is no automatic right
of appeal. However, the AOC did file a petition to appeal to the
NC Supreme Court. It is now up to the NC Supreme Court to decide
whether or not to hear that appeal.
Below are
links to several well-written articles posted on the web about
this decision, as well as a link to the text of the Court of Appeals'
decision.
Articles:
http://canons.sog.unc.edu/?p=7549&utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=databases-under-the-public-records-law
https://www.elon.edu/e-net/Article/87920
http://ncrecords.wordpress.com/2014/02/28/thoughts-on-the-lexis-nexis-decision/
Copy
of Decision:
http://appellate.nccourts.org/opinions/?c=2&pdf=30750
| New
Restrictions on Use of SSA Death Index |
Effective
March 26, 2014, the Social Security Administration Death Index,
also known as the Death Master File (DMF), has significant restrictions
to access on newer records. In a nutshell, unless the requester
is certified, they cannot be provided death record information
within 3 years of a subject's data of death. However, this ban
does not affect death records distributed/sold/in use prior to
March 26, 2014. Below are details.
The U.S. National Technical Information Service issued an interim
final rule to establish a certification program under which persons
may obtain immediate access to the publicly available Death Master
File (DMF), pursuant to Section 203 of the Bipartisan Budget Act
of 2013 (Act).
Read the details in the Federal Register at:
www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2014-03-26/pdf/2014-06701.pdf
| ALCOHOL
& DRUG SCREENING - continued |
Reefer
Madness Redux? What to Do Now That Illinois Has Legalized Medical
Marijuana?
Effective
January 1, 2014, Illinois became the 20th state to
legalize medical marijuana. But the passage of this law has created
concerns for employers. The Illinois Compassionate use of Medical
Cannabis Pilot Program Act enacted a pilot program that is scheduled
to be repealed on January 1, 2018. The act permits individuals
who are suffering from certain identified "debilitating medical
conditions" to alleviate their symptoms and to exempt qualifying
patients from criminal prosecution under Illinois law. Using medical
marijuana may create a safety hazard under federal or state law
because the employee is under the influence or in fact impaired.
Read more
Little Reduction in Longer-Term Opioid Use in Most States
A new study
from the Workers Compensation Research Institute (WCRI) found
that there was little reduction in the prevalence of longer-term
opioid use in most states studied. In most states, the percentage
of claims with opioids that received opioids on a longer-term
basis changed little, within 2 percentage points, between 2008/2010
and 2010/2012. The study examined the prevalence of longer-term
use of opioids and how often the services recommended by medical
treatment guidelines were used for monitoring and managing chronic
opioid therapy. Recommended services include drug testing and
psychological evaluations and treatment, which may help prevent
opioid misuse resulting in addiction and even overdose deaths.
Read
more
|
 |
|
What's
so important about Applicant Tracking System integrations?
Background
screening companies should continually be paying attention
to technology changes and investing in the future. The
most significant investment they can currently make is
in developing more applicant tracking system integrations.
A
screener's function is to help create the most efficient
end-user HR departments possible. To be effective they
must not only meet today's needs, but also preempt tomorrow's.
The
ATS market is well established for large enterprises,
but cloud deployments have expanded services to most small
businesses. This has created a crowded provider market.
Simply asking your end users which ATS integrations they
would like to see can help ensure you're ahead of the
curve.
ATS
providers run services that integrate with many job recruitment
sites. Looking at partner lists and integration options
can provide the background screener with an estimate of
the workload for the integration.
Specializations,
such as an enterprise focus, can help the screener determine
which ATS best matches the end user's customer base. Another
strong guide is the data structure and workflow of the
ATS, especially when systems are built on HR-XML and other
common standards.
Adding
ATS support must be a proactive step for background screeners.
Integration with these tools can't be rushed, so realizing
the need through customer complaint may risk losing the
customer.
Establishing
new ATS partnerships is a process to building future customers
and improving current relationships. The only question
is: are you already behind?
Click
here to read the full article
|
|
Shane Long
CEO, deverus
Contact
Information:
Shane@deverus.com
512-485-3110 x312
|
Healthcare
Background Screening Firm PreCheck Wins 2014 Internet Advertising
Competition (IAC) Award
PreCheck,
a healthcare exclusive employment and background screening firm,
recently received "Best Blog Website" award in Web Marketing Association's
2014 IAC Award Competition.
PreCheck, an employment and background screening firm specializing
in the healthcare industry, recently won an award for outstanding
achievement in Internet advertising in the Web Marketing Association's
12th annual Internet Advertising Competition (IAC). The
PreCheck Blog earned the IAC Award for "Best Blog Website",
capturing the top award in its category. Each year the winner
is selected based on seven criteria: design, ease of use, copywriting,
interactivity, use of technology, innovation and content.
Learn more about PreCheck
Background
Screening Company Sees Record Growth
 TazWorks
LLC, a leading web-based background screening software company,
is seeing its largest growth rate in company history. With an
increasing number of companies performing background screenings
in the U.S., TazWorks is expected to continue this growth.
"The amount
of clients' orders continues to grow by more than 32 percent per
year," said Barton Taylor, founder and CEO of TazWorks, LLC. "This
growth in clients has allowed for TazWorks to develop the top
software in the market."
Read more
Diversitybusiness.Com, Named Infomart as One of The Nation's
"Top Businesses" For 2014
DiversityBusiness.com,
the nation's leading multicultural social media site, has recently
acknowledged InfoMart as one of the nation's "Top Businesses"
for 2014. This exclusive ranking is a reflection of InfoMart's
overall vision, leadership and economic accomplishments in moving
our economy forward. The award, known as the Div500, represents
the most unique class of companies who have earned the distinction
of fostering a culture of sustainable growth among the communities
they serve. In addition to being named to the national list, InfoMart
was listed as one of the Top 100 Women Owned Businesses in Georgia
and one of the Top 100 Diversity Owned Businesses in Georgia.
Over 1.3 million businesses participated in this year's program..
For more information about
InfoMart
Introducing MedEx - SJV's New Alternative for Medical
Exclusion and Licensing Data Solutions
 SJV
& Associates, trusted research provider to the Pre-Employment
and Tenant Screening Industries, announced the release of MedEx,
a powerful new product suite for searching, verifying, and monitoring
the exclusions and licenses of healthcare professionals.
"Our mission
is to be the clear alternative by providing the most accurate,
timely, and cost effective exclusion searches possible. -Scott
Vanek, President, SJV & Associates."
The initial
focus of the product suite will be for federal and state exclusions/sanctions
searches to improve compliance results, while also offering license
verifications and continuous monitoring.
Read
more
U.S.
Economy On Its Own Now: Fitch Ratings Report
The U.S.
economy is on its own now, a new report from Fitch Ratings declared.
Monetary stimulus in the form of low interest rates and fiscal
stimulus via government spending will not be the primary drivers
of economic growth going forward, says the report titled Mapping
a Subpar Economic Recovery: What Can History Tell Us? Instead,
the growth will likely come from what the report describes as
"the wealth effect," or improved consumer confidence as a result
of a strengthening housing market and rising equity markets.
"Unlike during
past recoveries, U.S. interest rates, while at supportive levels,
have already been at, or near, historic lows for several years,
and are potentially headed higher. Fiscal stimulus, which initially
rose sharply to stimulate recovery, has declined significantly
due to budgetary realities, neutralizing its role as a growth
accelerant," Fitch said in a statement that accompanied the report.
Read more
U.S. Economy To See Faster Growth After Winter Freeze: OECD
U.S. economic
growth is set to rebound strongly in the second quarter as the
scars of a brutally cold winter fade, but inflation pressures
will remain tame through 2015, according to the Organization for
Economic Cooperation and Development. In its latest economic outlook
recently published, the OECD forecast U.S. gross domestic product
expanding at a 3.9 percent annual pace this quarter, and it said
it expects growth to maintain a brisk pace for the remainder of
the year as well.
"Forward-looking
indicators, such as investment intentions and business expectations,
and rises in measures of consumer and business confidence suggest
activity is bouncing back," the Paris-based OECD said.
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
May
2014
At
the White House
On May 1st,
the Executive Office of the President issued a report on "Big
Data," entitled: "Big Data: Seizing Opportunities, Preserving
Values." The Report discusses a wide range of data issues and
initiatives and makes a number of recommendations on how issues
presented by "Big Data" should be addressed in areas ranging from
national security to education privacy.
The Report
references the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and notes that
the FCRA has limitations to its scope, it does not otherwise take
a detailed look at the FCRA or tenant or employment screening.
At
the FTC
"Data
Brokers." On May 27th, the FTC issued its
long awaited report on "data brokers," entitled: "Data Brokers:
A call for Transparency and Accountability." While the FTC considers
consumer reporting agencies to be "data brokers," the FTC Report
focuses on non FCRA regulated areas including marketing, risk
mitigation and people search products. While FCRA-regulated products
were not the focus of the FTC Report, it nevertheless refers to
the FCRA some 53 times.
Data
Security . Last month's Washington Report, reported
on developments in the FTC's ongoing data security litigation
against Wyndham hotels. This month, the FTC continued to move
forward in a separate data security case against LabMD, a medical
testing laboratory. The LabMD case, unlike Wyndham, is proceeding
before an FTC administrative law judge.
Read
the full report
| 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
STOP
STRUGGLING WITH WRITING AND PUBLISHING YOUR NEWSLETTER: |
We can help
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.
Grab a latte,
pull up a chair and join us for a great interview with Vivek Khanna,Chief
Client Partner, Neeyamo Enterprise Solutions P Ltd.
 Vivek shared that he has over two
decades of experience in the outsourcing field. He started with
IT outsourcing, migrated to general purpose BPO and then to focused
HRO. As a co-founder of Neeyamo, a focused HRO Provider, he noticed
that their clients were not getting the best service value from
the providers they were using and he sensed a business opportunity.
Neeyamo added Background Verifications to their service offerings
as it is an integral HR function which ensures that right person
is hired for the job and ensures workplace safety.
Vivek noted that the background screening industry
is a small community of motivated professionals and he enjoys
the camaraderie and the ability to help his clients.
He has also discovered that with their network
increasing to cover 200 countries he has been provided a unique
opportunity to interact with partners from different cultures
which he finds extremely enjoyable.
Turning our discussion to Neeyamo he shared the
company’s Vision: To be a trend setter in the HR Outsourcing
space by providing best in class services through integration
of Technology, Consulting & Operations
A new offering by Neeyamo is an alternative to
written criminal verification in India, which was in limelight
due to the wrong reasons. Our solution is faster, better and extremely
cost effective.
He also noted that the company will be launching
a Social Media Investigation for all English speaking countries
and will add in Non English speaking countries based on client
needs.
A key point Vivek emphasized is that Neeyamo helps
companies build strong integrated solutions not only in terms
of technology, but also the processes as well. For instance, they
have helped fix the coordination problems that the recruitment,
on-boarding and Background verification teams face. They have
integrated solutions to cover talent acquisition, onboarding and
background verification. Their solutions have best practices with
optimally designed processes integration with client ERP’s
with our discreet applications to drive better efficiencies, clarity
and cost saving.
Vivek leaned forward and emphatically stated that
“We are more than Background Verifications. We are a complete
HR solutions company with an industry leading HRO powered by SaaS
offering.”
He smiled as he responded to my favorite question,
asking him to look into a crystal ball to foretell the future
of the background screening industry: He pondered for a moment
and then shared that he thinks “the Background screening
industry is going through the same cycle that any other matured
industry has gone through e.g. manufacturing, IT etc. A lot of
players will emerge in the market, but very few will sustain themselves.
These will be the companies that adapt to new processes, technology
and changing customer needs. There will be more consolidation
and a few big players will set the norms of the industry, however
the nimbler newer startups will create offerings which will innovation.
Back on a personal note, Vivek shared he had recently
read, ‘Think Like a Freak,’ by Stephen D Levitt and
Steven J Dubner.
He indicated the person he would most like to
meet is the economist, Paul Krugman.
Thanks to Vivek for a very informative and interesting
interview.
For more information
about Neeyamo please contact Vivek at vivek.khanna@neeyamo.com
or +1.408.431.6441.
Universal
Principles of Administering Multi-Country Background Screening
For Your employees
Rapid globalization
is driving organizations to expand their operations into multiple
geographies. This involves engaging diverse multinational talent
pool. One of the primary targets is to get access to the best
talent and deliver better-faster results to lead the game.
However,
the importance of ensuring that the global workforce engaged adheres
to the requisite organizational standards and complies with the
local requirements cannot be underestimated. Organizations need
to ensure that risks associated with global hiring are well managed
and mitigated. The downside to this may be the fact that carrying
out International background screening can often times be an overwhelming
task. The focus of this article is to help identify some of the
key components to consider as you develop your multi-country employee
background screening program.
Read
more
KENYA:
Data Protection Bill to be Tabled by End of May
The Kenyan
Cabinet Secretary for Information Communication and Technology
(ICT), Dr. Fred Matiang'i, announced that the Data Protection
Bill 2013 is expected to be tabled in Parliament by the end of
May 2014. The Bill would appoint the Commission of Administrative
Justice to oversee compliance with its provisions. Failure to
comply could result in fines of up to KES 100,000 (approx. €820),
two years of imprisonment, or both. The Bill is being discussed
as part of wider strategy by the Government entitled 'Connected
Kenya Master Plan', which 'envisions the country as a globally
competitive and respected knowledge-based economy [with] strengthen[ed]
ICT business development.'
Read more
TANZANIA:
Data Protection Bill Announced as Part of Cybersecurity
Initiatives
The Ministry
for Communications, Science and Technology in Tanzania, announced,
on 31 March 2014, that the Personal Data Protection Bill is being
developed as part of its cybersecurity initiative, following the
rapid growth in the information communications and technology
sector (ICT) within the country. 'Although we have seen the benefits
[of ICT] in various fields including education, health, business,
communications infrastructure, there were also challenges [regarding]
misuse of the Internet for example, theft of money through the
Internet leaks of confidential information, [and] loss of intellectual
property [...]', read the Ministry's press release.
Read more
OAIC Disbanded as Privacy, FOI Oversight Redistributed
Procedural oversight of privacy, freedom of information (FOI)
and other administrative functions has been overhauled in the
Budget with the disbanding of the Office of the Australian Information
Commissioner (OAIC) and the reallocation of its constituent tasks
to other government agencies. From 1 January 2015, the OAIC will
no longer exist as a unified organisation. Instead, its functions
and full-time internal and external staff will be redistributed
amongst four other government agencies, with its budget ($10.6m
in 2013-14) returned to government coffers. Budget Papers show
the move will save the government $3.3m in direct funding this
financial year, then approximately $10.4m each year thereafter.
Read more
Tighter Rules For Criminal Background
Checks Urged
Lawmakers and police agencies are being urged
to tighten regulation of criminal background checks to prevent
the disclosure of irrelevant and potentially reputation-shattering
personal information.
Canadians are routinely denied jobs or volunteer positions over
unfounded allegations, suicide attempts, and charges that were
later withdrawn, the Canadian Civil Liberties Association says
in a report released over the weekend. A "patchwork"
of privacy and human rights legislation across Canada means protection
against employment discrimination isn't guaranteed, the report
said.
Read
more
Safe Harbor-Compliant Companies Seeking Contracts:
Facing an Uphill Battle in the EU
Despite the
bad rep Safe Harbor has been getting lately, the data transfer
framework isn't going anywhere-at least not for now. But its longevity
isn't because organizations and regulators in the EU are suddenly
satisfied with the controversial self-certification program-quite
the contrary; there's a lot of mistrust about Safe Harbor-certified
U.S. companies' data protection promises. And that reality, merited
or not, is making it pretty difficult for self-certified Safe
Harbor companies in the U.S. to win contracts with companies across
the pond. But the two governments say they're engaged in healthy
talks about U.S. efforts to make ongoing improvements to the framework.
Read more
Employee Fraudscape: Depicting the UK's Fraud
Landscape
Fraud committed inside an organisation must now be seen
in parallel and should be just as integral to an organisation's
risk strategy. For many, the most serious problems continue to
be around data theft and disclosure. While there is no 'magic
fix' to prevent internal fraud, organisations have become more
adept at identifying frauds taking place on the inside and have
recognised that the same data sharing and preventative steps taken
to combat consumer fraud must now be taken to stop other fraud
types. A good combination of measures needs to be implemented
by multiple areas of the company, which ensure the most comprehensive
protection.
Read more
|
ADVERTISERS IN THIS EDITION |
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Background
Screening Jobs |
|
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
|
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
|
Laran
kontenti tebes atu hasoru malu ho ita ! (pleased to meet you)
