Pinkerton Employment Screening Updates | 03.02.15 top

Form I9 Compliance

USCIS Updated Notices of Decisions and Documents Evidencing Lawful Status

The final rule, Notices of Decisions and Documents Evidencing Lawful Status, published on Oct. 29, 2014, is effective today, Jan. 27, 2015. This rule amends regulations governing when USCIS will:

  • correspond with,
  • issue a notice of decision to, or
  • provide documents to

an applicant, petitioner, or requester, and/or an attorney of record or accredited representative.

 

To learn more, visit our site at: http://www.uscis.gov/news/alerts/final-rule-notices-decisions-and-documents-evidencing-lawful-status-effective-jan-27-2015

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BACKGROUND CHECKS

FTC Issues Follow-Up Study on Credit Report Accuracy

Excerpted from FTC website. For the full article click here.


The Federal Trade Commission has issued a follow-up study of credit report accuracy that found most consumers who previously reported an unresolved error on one of their three major credit reports believe that at least one piece of disputed information on their report is still inaccurate. The congressionally mandated study is the sixth and final study on national credit report accuracy by the FTC. It follows up on a study issued by the FTC in 2012, which examined how many consumers had errors on one of their three major credit reports.  The 2012 study found, among other things, that one in five consumers had an error that was corrected by a credit reporting agency (CRA) after it was disputed on at least one of their three credit reports. The study also found that about 20 percent of consumers who identified errors on one of their three major credit reports experienced an increase in their credit score that resulted in a decrease in their credit risk tier, making them more likely to be offered a lower auto loan interest rate.

Ohio - City of Warren Supports Ban the Box Initiative

Excerpted from wfmj.com, by Jennifer Baligush For the full article click here.

    

Applause from many citizens attending Wednesday night's city council meeting in Warren after a unanimous vote in favor of a resolution that supports "Ban the Box" initiatives. It's a campaign that has been asking public and private employers to remove the box on applications that asks if the job applicant has committed a felony. Akim Lattermore, who has four degrees, was one of many that spoke before council's vote. "It's not fair. I'm just as good as anybody else with a degree and the paper says i can do the job, but you won't let me do a job because of a mistake I made 20 years ago." Councilwoman Cheryl Saffold authored the resolution. "I am inundated with calls quite frequently from ex-offenders who have not been able to find employment because of their past and I think this is a forward step in the City of Warren to let these people know we are willing to give them a fair chance."

VA - Background Check Bill for Nurses Unanimously Approved by Committee 

Excerpted from newsleader.com, by Patricia Borns. For the full article click here.

    

A criminal background check bill for nurses won unanimous approval in committee during a General Assembly session. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Rosalyn Dance (D-Petersburg), was combined with an identical bill offered by Sen. Steve Martin (R-Chesterfield). It goes next to the Senate for a full vote. Speaking on behalf of the legislation, Dance said right now, nurses only have to answer no to the criminal record question on their license applications, with no verification other than their say-so. "I'm a nurse," said Dance, "and you want us to care for you with the certainty that we have been fully reviewed." Fingerprinting and a criminal background check will apply to licensed and registered nurses at the initial time of licensure, at a cost of $50 to the applicant. No state criminal background check will be required for license renewals. The legislation comes after The News Leader reported in December on the state's poor track record regulating and monitoring addicted nurses.

Pizza Hut Hit with Class Action for FCRA Violations

A class action lawsuit filed against Pizza Hut alleges that the company violated the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) requirement that a "clear and conspicuous disclosure" about a background check for employment purposes be made in writing "in a document that consists solely of the disclosure," according to a report from the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) .


SHRM reports that in a complaint filed January 15, 2015 in the Southern District of New York the Plaintiff - Alberto Rivera, a job applicant at a Bronx, NY location - claims Pizza Hut inserted a release of liability into the disclosure form in violation of the sole document requirement. The class action lawsuit alleges other problems including the disclosure appearing in a one-inch text block at the bottom of a page.

 

SHRM reports that the class action lawsuit seeks statutory damages of $100 to $1,000 per violation. The Class is identified as people who applied for employment at Pizza Hut's 6,000 restaurants in the United States on or after January 13, 2013. The class action lawsuit is Rivera Alberto v. Pizza Hut of America, Case No. 15CV00308, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

 

Source.

VA - Bill Would Get Rid of Criminal History Checkbox on Job Applications  

Excerpted from rvanews.com 

    

A Senate committee on Monday narrowly approved a bill that would prohibit state agencies from asking job applicants if they have a criminal history on employment applications.

The Senate General Laws and Technology Committee voted 8-7 in favor of Senate Bill 1017, sponsored by Sen. Rosalyn Dance, D-Petersburg. It would remove the box from applications that prospective employees must check if they've been convicted of a crime.

"They get an opportunity to sell themselves on that job, to demonstrate their skills and abilities for that job," Dance said. "And if it's an appropriate job, they get to get a job and become an invested citizen paying taxes in the commonwealth." She said Richmond and Petersburg - two cities she represents - have already "banned the box" in filling local government jobs. 

Are You Compliant With Canadian Privacy Laws? 

Excerpted from techvibes.com. Read the full article here.

    

This Techvibes article, while not the entire rule book for doing business in Canada, offers great information for NAPBS members.

The article is predicated on a study of online advertisers done in 2014 by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada and provides four great tips all NAPBS members can apply to their own businesses if you deal with Canadian clients and applicants:

  1. Pay attention to what information your company collects.
  2. Be open about the information you collect.
  3. Develop internal policies and practices to deal with privacy issues.
  4. Appoint a designated privacy officer. 

District Of Columbia Employers: Limitations 

on Inquiries into Criminal History Information

Under the Act, covered employers are not prohibited altogether from obtaining criminal background checks or requiring applicants to disclose information about criminal history. Employers are, however, limited as to when and what type of information they can request.

 

Most significantly, the Act prohibits employers from inquiring about or requiring applicants to disclose a conviction until after extending the applicant a conditional offer of employment. For purposes of the Act:

  • A "conditional offer" is an offer that is conditioned solely on the results of a criminal background check or some other employment-related contingency expressly communicated to the applicant at the time of the offer.
  • A "conviction" includes a sentence arising from a guilty verdict, guilty plea or plea of nolo contendere, including incarceration, a suspended sentence, probation or an unconditional discharge.
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E-VERIFY

Nebraska Joins RIDE Program

Effective February 1, Nebraska became the latest state to join the Records and Information from DMVs for E-Verify, or RIDE.  Nebraska joins Mississippi, Florida, Idaho and Iowa in this program which links E-Verify with state departments of motor vehicles and state public safety offices.  RIDE allows E-Verify to validate the authenticity of driver's licenses and state identification cards that employees present as identity documents for Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification. RIDE helps to reduce document fraud and boost the accuracy of employment eligibility verification by E-Verify. 

  
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DRUG TESTING

Washington DC - Pre�-employment Marijuana Emergency Act of 2014

Several bills have been in the works in Washington D.C. to ban pre-employment drug testing for marijuana. One in particular made more progress than the others and was actually approved by the end of 2014. The Prohibition of Pre�-employment Marijuana Emergency Act of 2014 became law and it indeed adds hurdles to pre-employment testing.

Section 2 of the bill states: "An employer may only test a prospective employee for marijuana use after a conditional offer of employment has been extended, unless otherwise required by law" (emphasis added).The bill further states that it does not prohibit an employer's ability to establish and enforce a workplace drug policy, nor does it require an employer to accommodate marijuana use in the workplace. It goes as far as to explicitly say that it does not prevent an employer from denying a position based on a positive test for marijuana. The only condition is that the pre�- employment test for marijuana comes after a conditional offer of employment has been extended.

Does this law make pre-�employment marijuana testing more difficult? Certainly it could, but waiting to conduct a pre-�employment test until after a conditional offer of employment has been extended is good policy regardless. Employers in many states throughout the country have already adopted this practice, sometimes as the result of an existing state law requirement. The more protections an employer puts in place before testing an individual, the safer they are from challenge after the fact. However, lawmakers in D.C. have already introduced a new bill in 2015 that would tighten up this ban and truly make it restrictive (see CB 210025).

Updated State Drug Testing Laws

Alaska HB 32 - Adds prescription drug testing to workers' compensation law. 

 

Connecticut SB 193 - Requires clinical lab to conduct hair test if ordered by a physician.

 

District of Columbia CB 210025 - Bans pre�-employment marijuana testing in all circumstances.

 

Hawaii HB 795 - Prohibits employers from disciplining or discriminating against medical marijuana users.

 

Hawaii SB 682 - Prohibits employers from disciplining or discriminating against medical marijuana users.

 

Hawaii SB 1291 - Prohibits employers from disciplining or discriminating against medical marijuana users.

 

Iowa SB 58 - Amends private sector drug testing law. 

 

Oklahoma HB 1987 - Creates workplace drug testing act.

 

South Carolina SB 266 - Adds drug testing requirements to unemployment compensation law.

 

Texas HB 589 - Adds failing or refusing to take a drug test to unemployment compensation law.

 

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NEW SYSTEM FEATURES | WEBCCF

New WebCCF Feature #1 for Providing Alternate Collection Sites Setting

Maintaining an expedient hiring process requires careful planning. Let us help. Now, we can offer you the option to view alternate collection sites, once an In-Network collection site is selected. Having a Plan B increases the chance that applicants will complete their tests in a timely manner. For help with these settings, email [email protected].

 


 

New WebCCF Feature # 2 for Enhancing WebCCF with Lab Hours of Operation Display

A missed appointment can easily cause a hiring delay that affects your business. We hate it when that happens and we're always looking for ways to prevent it. Now, lab hours display as a hover-over message in WebCCF as well as on the CCF (email and PDF), so your applicants have the information they need to complete their tests on time. For help with these settings, email [email protected].


 


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NEW SYSTEM FEATURES | SCREENMENOW

New Feature for ScreenMeNow # 1 for Customize Application Invitation and Receipt Emails Settings

Unique needs require flexible solutions. We offer more flexibility by utilizing three Application Invitation Formats including, System Standard Format, a Default Format, or a Custom Format when sending application invitation and receipt emails within ScreenMeNow Applicant Portal. For help with these settings, email [email protected]. 


 

New Feature # 2 for ScreenMeNow - Minimum Required Orders By Service

Possibly the most important step in an expedient hiring process is effective data capture. Even the smallest piece of missing information about an applicant can cause delays. With this new feature, you can set a minimum number of orders; ensuring applicants provide all necessary data the first time. For help with this feature, email [email protected] 


 

New Feature #3 for ScreenMeNow - Enhancement to Applicant Portal - Page Progress Indicator

Losing an entire application is not only an applicant's worst nightmare, but also your hiring managers. That is why applicants will now see a loading image in Applicant Portal designed to deter them from attempting additional actions that may cause these kinds of errors. Data loss delays the hiring process, and we like to keep your business on track.  


 

New Feature # 4 for ScreenMeNow - Enhancement to Applicant Portal - Session Timeout Warning and Extension Option

Not all applicants were created equal, which mean that, sometimes, time limits on application sessions can cause data loss and delays in the hiring process. We developed this enhancement, which warns applicants 10 minutes prior to session timeout and provides an option to extend the session, for those specific situations.  


 

New Feature # 5 for ScreenMeNow - Enhancement to Applicant Portal - Position and Accounting Code Labels, Requirement, and Preselected Services Settings

Now, if you make changes to the Position or Accounting Code labels or configure them as required, the changes will translate automatically to the Applicant Portal Send Request feature and widget.  


 

New ScreenMeNow Feature # 6 - Enhancement to Applicant Portal - Legal Notice Read Required

Having a way to verify compliance is an essential part of the screening process. We developed this enhancement, which requires applicants to scroll through an entire legal notice or download it to be read before they can accept the terms and conditions, so your customers will feel confident they are meeting the standards and requirements expected of them under the FCRA. 

 


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IN THIS ISSUE
About the Pinkerton Employment Screening Updates.

Pinkerton's Compliance Newsletter's contains a comprehensive range of relevant Employment Screening topics.  We track, monitor and report compliance information for federal, state, and municipal laws, regulations and other requirements. Content is produced by our team of in-house screening experts and through partnerships with legal firms and HR editors.  The Pinkerton Compliance Newsletter keeps you informed and helps you stay on top of legal changes that might affect your organization.

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Check the Pinkerton Employment Screening Archives for updates you may have missed in past issues.