The State of Oregon Has Banned the Box

House Bill 3025 was signed on June 25^th, making Oregon the 18^th state to ban the box. Ban the Box legislation originally referred to removing the check-box on an application that required applicants to indicate if they have a history of criminal convictions. Most of the new bills referred to as ban the box legislation have stipulations beyond the exclusion of a check-box on the application.

HB 3025, continuing the trend sweeping the United States, goes a step further by prohibiting employers from demanding the disclosure of criminal convictions prior to an initial interview. The bill applies to all employers in Oregon outside of a few exceptions and will take effect in January 2016. Exceptions include employers that are a part of the criminal justice system, law enforcement agencies, and employers seeking non-employee volunteers.

You can view the bill in its entirety here.

For an up-to-date look at ban the box legislation and how it will affect your business, go to NELP.org

Nevada Eliminates Restriction on Reporting Convictions Over Seven Years Old

On Tuesday, June 9^th, Governor Brian Sandoval signed Senate Bill 409. Prior to this bill, Nevada employers were barred from using convictions over 7 years old in the consideration of a job applicant. This bill, effective immediately, means background screening companies are no longer limited to reporting convictions less than seven years old in Nevada.

SB 409 also allows Nevada employers the use of more extensive background checks, stating “Existing federal law provides certain exceptions to the preceding federal prohibition, including an exception for a credit report prepared in connection with the employment of an individual whose salary will be greater than $75,000. A similar exception in state law exists for a credit report prepared for a gaming licensee in connection with a person who is seeking employment with the licensee or employment in a position connected directly with the licensee’s operations.”

While SB 409 allows you to conduct criminal background checks that include criminal history older than seven years, be mindful of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC) guidance on background screening. The EEOC suggests that employers consider the time that has passed since the offense.

S.B. 409 can be read in its entirety here.

Electronic I-9 Beta

Managing the completion and storage of Form I-9 can be one of the most labor intensive parts of the on-boarding process. We are happy to announce that we are offering a solution to turn your manual, paper-based procedure into a digital, user-friendly process. We are currently allowing clients to participate in our Electronic I-9 Beta while we fine-tune the solution to better suit your needs.

The Electronic I-9 management system fulfills all U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) obligations. The digital I-9 form helps to eliminate errors for accurate completion. The form is sent by email and filled out by the employee. The employer will fill out their portion of the form and it will be automatically be stored. An option to include E-Verify is available. Tracking/auditing the entire process will be much easier when you switch to our digital option. 

Advantages include:

·         Improved accuracy when filling out Form I-9

·         Easy to audit

·         Paperless storage all in one place

·         Integrated background screening and on-boarding

·         Notification of I-9 expiration

Contact your account manager today to get additional information about our Electronic I-9 Solution, pricing, and how to join the Beta!

Not an S2Verify client? Contact us at 1 855 671 1933 to get started today!

NYC Passes Bill Banning Credit Checks in Hiring Process

Pending Mayor DeBlasio signing the bill (Int.0261-2014) into law, New York City will join a growing a list of U.S. localities eliminating credit checks from the background screening process. The New York City Council passed the bill last Thursday April 16, 2015 by a vote of 47-3. Ten states (CA, MD, CT, HI, IL, WA, OR, VT, CO, NV) and two cities (Chicago, IL and Madison, WI) set precedent for NYC’s latest legislature.

One’s credit history, according to the bill, consists of:

• Prior bankruptcies, judgments, or liens

• Number or credit accounts

• Late or missed payments

• Charged-off debts

• Items in collection

• Credit limit

• Prior credit report inquiries

• Items in collections

This bill, an amendment to the NYC Human Rights Law, would make it an unlawful discriminatory practice for an employer to use an individual’s consumer credit history in making employment decisions. Due to the sensitive nature of various employment positions that require additional layers of security, the bill would provide exceptions to several positions.

Exemptions from the credit check ban include:

• An employer, or agent thereof, that is required by state or federal law or regulations or by a self-regulatory organization as defined in section 3(a)(26) of the securitiesexchange act of 1934

• Police officers or any position with a law enforcement or investigative function

• A position in which an employee is required to be bonded under City, state, or federal law

• A position that requires security clearance under federal or state law

• A non-clerical position having regular access to trade secrets, intelligence information, or national security information

• A position having signatory authority over third party funds or assets valued at $10,000 or more

• A position that involves fiduciary responsibility to the employer with the authority to enter financial agreements valued at $10,000 or more on behalf of the employer

• A position with regular duties that allow the employee to modify digital security systems established to prevent the unauthorized use of the employer’s or client’s networks or databases

New York City employers will need to pay close attention as this unfolds. Should this bill become law, modification of employers’ background screening policies will be necessary.

Re-screening Your Employees

You have just extended a conditional offer to a job candidate to fill that vacant position at your company. The conditional offer is contingent upon the results of his/her background check. You follow FCRA guidelines through the entire hiring/screening process. The background check is completed, and you see that the candidate has no criminal record. Your job is done now, right? The new hire has been deemed safe and his qualifications acceptable. So you won’t ever need to screen him/her again, right? WRONG.

There are many reasons to re-screen your employees:

•          Employees in safety-sensitive positions
•          Employee have contact with customers
•          Employees work with children/elderly
•          A change in employee responsibilities
•          A promotion gives an employee access to assets or sensitive employee info

Safety-Sensitive Positions

Re-screening is important in some of the high risk positions, such as transportation or any job requiring the operation of heavy machinery. In the transportation industry, keeping track of one’s driving record is essential. You don’t want a reckless or drunk driver operating a vehicle for your company. The operating of any heavy machinery can be dangerous. For the safety of themselves, fellow employees, and others, we recommend routine drug screening, another party of the screening process.

Contact with Customers

When your employees work directly with customers, you have an obligation to regularly screen your employees. This is especially important when they work inside customers’ homes. While a red flag may not have been spotted in the pre-employment background check, criminal activity may occur during the employment of an individual. A current look at an employee’s criminal history can help ensure the safety of your customers.

Work with Children/Elderly

Children and the elderly are particularly vulnerable. As an organization that deals with either demographic, it is your duty to make sure you are not putting them at risk. You have a duty to your customers to ensure that they are not exposed to someone who is a sex offender or has a history of violence. An up-to-date look at the criminal history of those who work with them is one way of protecting this defenseless group.

Change in Employee Responsibilities

Whether a lateral or vertical move is made by an employee, there will be changes in responsibilities. And since your background check should be based upon the responsibilities of the job, you may need to run a different or more thorough search on the employee.

Access to Assets or Sensitive Employee Info

A promotion typically means more access to capital, other assets, or sensitive employee information. Because of this, employers may want to initiate a more involved background check. For example, work with the company’s finances may warrant a credit check. When the employee was hired, his background check may have consisted of only a national criminal search. This search casts a wide net, but is not as reliable as screening at the local level. Therefore, it would be prudent to order a county criminal search for a more up-to-date look at the employee’s criminal history.

A recent survey determined that only about 30% of employers have an active program for re-screening their employees. That is an alarming number. If you want to protect your company, your employees, and your customer base, it is imperative that you consider re-screening your workforce.

If you are not sure where to begin with your company’s re-screening policy, start by identifying the jobs that require re-screening. You can do this by considering the following questions:

•          What are the responsibilities of the position?
•          How much access will the employee have to assets and/or customers?
•          Is the position high-risk?

Once you have identified the situations that require re-screening, craft a written policy to handle decisions, such as grounds for termination based on the background check, and any possible disagreements that may follow.

Improving Your Employment Screening Program in 2015 (Part 3)

Customer Service

We have all had experiences with bad customer service at one time or another. When dealing with customer service is a headache more often than not, it’s time to review your provider. Awful customer service is a deal breaker. Whether or not the product or service offered is great becomes irrelevant when communicating with the customer support staff is a hassle. If you’re on the fence about changing providers, here are a few questions to ask yourself:

How accessible is the Customer Service Team?

Navigating through the maze of an overly complicated automated phone system is unacceptable. When you’re constantly put on hold for an extended period of time, your provider is not holding up their end of the bargain. Employment screening is in many cases very time sensitive. When a position needs to be filled quickly, you do not have the luxury of dealing with an unresponsive vendor. Make sure you can quickly reach someone when you need help. Don’t settle for less.

How knowledgeable/helpful is the support staff?

The customer support team should be well-trained and fully equipped to handle any questions and/or concerns. Whether you have questions about FCRA compliance or need help navigating the system, the support staff should be able to help you. If they cannot answer a question, they should be able to quickly direct you to someone who can. Don’t stand for being bounced around and constantly put on hold.

How long does it take to resolve a problem?

Your issues should not take more than one phone call on average to resolve. If you have to keep calling to obtain a solution, your provider is letting you down. So this year, hold your provider to the service excellence that they promised.

Are you dealing with any of the problems mentioned above? If so, take action this year!

Improving Your Employment Screening Program in 2015 (Part 2)

Choosing the Right Screening Package

Employment screening can be a little overwhelming. A lot of people that are initiating a background screening program for the first time ask, “What kind of records should I look for?” The answer to that question depends on a number of factors:

1. Which industry is your company a part of?

Your industry plays an important part in what searches need to be run. For example, if you are in the transportation industry, there will obviously be an emphasis on driving records. For a job in the healthcare industry, on the other hand, a background check may include checking & monitoring health care sanctions, education verification, and license & certification verification.

2. Are there any particular searches that are required by law in your state or industry?

Most states require criminal background checks if the job involves working with children, elderly, or disabled. Certain positions, for example, may require a thorough background check for security clearance. While certain searches are required, we recommend protecting your company by doing more than the bare minimum required by the state.

3. What are the responsibilities of the position you are attempting to fill?

The EEOC recommends that criminal conduct exclusions be related to tasks required by the particular job the individual has applied for. If a job requires the employee to work with children, you would not hire someone who has recently been found guilty of indecent exposure. As this particular charge interferes with business necessity, denial of employment would be the only course of action.

4. How much access will the applicant have to assets and/or customers?

The more access the employee has to your company’s assets and customers, the more thorough your background check should be. Neglecting to run a complete background check is high risk and can have catastrophic results. For example, a position may require the managing, monitoring, and/or using assets for the company’s best interest. It would be prudent for the employer to conduct a comprehensive background check to look for red flags such as theft, embezzlement, fraud, forgery, etc.

Figuring out the screening criteria for each position can seem like a daunting task. Start by asking yourself these questions. Still overwhelmed? Reach out to your vendor. This is where their experience should come in handy.

Remember to use the same employment screening criteria for each individual applying for any given position. Facing a lawsuit for discrimination can be detrimental to your organization, but is also completely avoidable. For more information about legal compliance, refer back to Part 1 (Compliance) of our 3-part blog on "Improving Your Employment Screening Program in 2015".