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A new Pennsylvania state law will be going into effect on Dec. 31, 2014. This law enforces a strict background policy on any school volunteer, and forces employees and contractors who will have any contact with children to update their clearances every 36 months. In addition, dentists, funeral directors, and other private sector workers will … Read more

One of the most often overlooked aspects of a background check is the adverse action component. Legally, employers must send a pre-adverse action letter which allows the applicant to explain any information on the report. At that point the potential hire has 60 days to dispute the records. Many employers forget to send these letters, … Read more

As the title references, ‘banning the box’ is the act of taking away an employer’s ability to ask about criminal background information on the initial application or interview.  This type of legislation has swept the nation and poses a multitude of problems to both pre-employment background screening providers as well as employers who wish to … Read more

For many employers in Michigan, both large and small, pre-employment screening has become an integral part of the hiring process.  If you have been looking for work in the last few years, you are likely familiar and may have even consented to a number of them.  As the Michigan job market continues to strengthen, and … Read more

  As holiday hiring season approaches, make sure to pay extra attention to pre-employment screening. Seasonal hires are often neglected, or subjected to a lesser quality search in order avoid what can be viewed as excessive cost for a temporary employee.  Not only could this practice be viewed as discriminatory to your current employees, it … Read more

In a horrible report, news sources uncovered an arrest in Michigan of a volunteer basketball coach who is alleged to have video taped a young girl undressing inside her home. (See WNEM’s coverage of the story) This volunteer underwent a “background check” by the local school system, but their check, which comes directly from the … Read more

Recently many companies have been reevaluating their current employees and decided to conduct wider background checks on these individuals. In one case the California Board of Registered Nursing decided to conduct a more strict background check on employees hired over ten years ago to coincide with current background regulations. What they found as a result … Read more

Recently, State Health Director James Haveman indicated that a new pre-employment background screening process will be implemented for home health aides.  Before this policy was put in place, a state audit revealed nearly 3,800 convicted felons working as state funded aides. Of the 3,800, some were convicted of murder, Medicaid fraud and rape among other … Read more

With an estimate of 90% of large employers now using some form of criminal record background checks in the hiring process, the EEOC has issued some guidance under the Civil Rights Act of 1954. The guide emphasizes the need to avoid disparate treatment of applicants and on some of the ways employers should consider arrest … Read more

Although most HR professionals and managers now realize the importance of conducting background checks on all potential hires, more Americans are considering conducting background checks for other purposes. Landlords interested in protecting their properties and reducing the risks of nonpayment of rent have turned to professional background screening agencies for help. Some companies are also … Read more