Welcome to our monthly edition of “What’s hot in employee background screening news”. If you want to become smarter about background screening, you’ve come to the right place. Here are some of the interesting items that caught our attention last month.
How Should Employers Use Criminal History in Employment Now That The EEOC Has Issued Enforcement Guidance?
Criminal history information can be a crucial tool in the employment decision process. During the past few years, federal agencies and state governments have been limiting, employers’ use of criminal history information in the employment process through regulation, litigation, and legislation. On April 25, 2012, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) issued new guidance in an effort to limit employers’ options with respect to their use of this tool.
Using Background Checks Wisely
Businesses can be legally liable if they don’t check out workers who go on to commit crimes while on the job. And no company wants the embarrassment of finding out later that high-profile employees fibbed on their resumes, as happened recently with Yahoo CEO Scott Thompson.
Would You Fire Someone Over a Past Crime?
A Wisconsin bank employee lost her job after her employer discovered she’d shoplifted—40 years ago.
Bills Would Prohibit Employers From Requesting Access to Employees’ Email and Social Networking Sites
Members of the House and Senate introduced legislation on May 9, 2012 that would ban employers from requesting individuals’ usernames, passwords, or any other means of accessing their social networking sites and from taking adverse action against job applicants and employees who refuse to provide such information.
Terminated CFO Illustrates the Confidentiality Risks Social Media Pose
According to a recent survey by Intel, 85% of American adults share information about themselves online, while 90% think others are sharing too much. Maybe the former CFO of Francesca’s Holdings Corp., Gene Morphis, should have heeded the latter and shared less about his company’s inner workings.
A 12-Word Social Media Policy
- Don’t Lie, Don’t Pry
- Don’t Cheat, Can’t Delete
- Don’t Steal, Don’t Reveal
Background Checks, Screening and Your Nonprofit
The term “background check” means different things to different people. Some nonprofit leaders use the term loosely to refer to a variety of screening tools, such as criminal history background checks, credit checks, reference checks, or the verification of prior employment and higher education.
Ban the Box Update: Ex-convicts in Massachusetts still face tough sell in job market
The fortunes of former convicts seeking employment have changed little since the passage of a 2010 law that overhauled the state’s criminal records system, according to a report released by two Boston nonprofits.
The report, written by the Boston Foundation and the Crime and Justice Institute at Community Resources for Justice, compiled the experiences of 28 employers, advocates, criminal records officials, landlords, and legislators. It gives a first look at the real-world effects of changes to the Criminal Offender Record Information system, widely known by the acronym CORI, which had been lauded by activists as a game-changer for people with criminal records looking to reintegrate into society.
The law’s “Ban the Box’’ provision prevents employers from asking about criminal records on initial job applications. That has allowed more former convicts to get interviews, but has seldom translated into jobs, the report said.
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