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Sex Offenders

Using Background Checks Wisely- What’s Hot in Background Screening News

May 30, 2012 By Chris Miller

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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A 12-Word Social Media Policy

  • Don’t Lie, Don’t Pry
  • Don’t Cheat, Can’t Delete
  • Don’t Steal, Don’t Reveal

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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.

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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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Filed Under: 2010 Best Employee Screening Posts, Background Checks, Sex Offenders, Uncategorized Tagged With: Employee Background Checks

3 Myths About Employing People With Criminal Histories

June 1, 2011 By Chris Miller

myth_buster_icon

Stephanie R. Thomas, hosts “The Proactive Employer Podcast“, which is a weekly broadcast dedicated to EEO compliance and employment litigation risk management.

Last week she reported on the myths about employing people with criminal histories.

Here’s a recap of the podcast:

Each year, more than 700,000 people are released from federal and state prisons, and another 9 million cycle through local jails. Federal agencies are funding reentry efforts in communities all around the country, and the Obama administration is working across agencies to coordinate and advance efforts through the Federal Reentry Council.

Part of the reentry process is finding employment.

In this installment of The Proactive Employer Podcast, Stephanie talks about what the Federal Reentry Council is doing to assist with employment efforts. She talks about three common myths regarding employment of individuals with criminal backgrounds and she also covers common questions regarding employee background screening.

THE MYTHS

MYTH #1 : People with criminal records are automatically barred from employment.

  • FACT: An arrest or conviction record will NOT automatically bar individuals from employment.
  • Get the Myth Buster fact sheet (PDF).

MYTH #2: Businesses and employers have no way to protect themselves from potential property and monetary losses should an individual they hire prove to be dishonest.

  • FACT: Through the Federal Bonding Program (FBP), funded and administered by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), fidelity insurance bonds are available to indemnify employers for loss of money or property sustained through the dishonest acts of their employees (i.e., theft, forgery, larceny, and embezzlement).
  • Get the Myth Buster fact sheet (PDF).

MYTH #3: The Federal Government’s hiring policies prohibit employment of people with criminal records.

  • FACT: The Federal Government does not have a policy that precludes employment of people with criminal records from all positions.
  • Get the Myth Buster fact sheet (PDF).

Need help in sorting out the facts from myths about employee background checks? Give us a call at 1-800-809-2419. We’d love to hear from you.

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Filed Under: Best Practices For Employee Screening, employment background checks, Legal Compliance, Sex Offenders Tagged With: employment background checks, Legal Compliance

Is It Legal For An Employer To Charge A Potential Employee For A Background Check?

March 16, 2011 By Chris Miller

question_valerie_everett

I recently checked out Quora which is getting a lot of buzz lately (with mixed reviews). What is Quora you ask? The best way to describe it is it’s a Q&A social networking site. I’m not sure if Quora is going to be social media’s newest “it” platform, but I did find some questions on employee background screening that you might find helpful.

Here’s one question that I recently answered:

Q – Is it legal for an employer to charge a potential employee for a background check? If a business requires employees to be screened for past criminal behavior, is it acceptable to charge potential employees for the cost of the screening?

A- There is no federal law that prohibits employers charging a potential employee for a background check but the following states (and Washington, DC) have laws that limit this practice:

  • California, Minnesota, Washington,DC – the employee cannot be required to pay for a background check as a condition of employment.
  • Vermont – limits an employer charging a potential employee for a background check if they are using specific sources.
  • Kansas – employers can’t require potential employees to obtain their own records and give them to the employer.

What questions do you have about background checks?

Photo credit: Valerie Everett

Filed Under: 2009 Best Employee Screening Posts, 2010 Best Employee Screening Posts, 2011 Best Employee Screening Posts, Background Checks, employment background checks, Legal Compliance, Negligent Hiring, Sex Offenders, Social Networks Tagged With: Background Checks, Legal Compliance

Q&A On Using Social Networks For Background Screening

January 26, 2010 By Chris Miller

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I found an excellent Q&A regarding employee background screening on Human Resource Executive Online.

Question:

Can you provide the parameters for HR in the use of information discovered on the Web, such as Facebook, as it applies to job applicants?

Answer:

Social networks and blogging sites can provide an inexpensive and easy way for employers to gather a plethora of information about potential job applicants. However, employers should think twice about using information found on social-networking sites to make employment decisions because the use of such information could lead to the potential risk of employer liability.

This is because these sites contain information about job applicants that employers would not be permitted to ask about during any job interview. Therefore, using, and in some cases, simply accessing these pages for employment purposes can result in violations of various anti-discrimination statutes, privacy laws, state “off-duty” conduct statutes, and federal and state Fair Credit Reporting Acts.

For the complete article click here.

Related Posts From FYI Screening:

  • 4 Tips On How To Use Social Networks For Employee Screening
  • Employee Screening Through Social Networks
  • 5 Legal Reasons Why Your Company Should Have a Social Networking Policy
  • Twitter and Employment Law Issues
  • The Pros & Cons of Googling Candidates

Photo Credit: webtreats

Filed Under: 2008 Best Employee Screening Posts, 2009 Best Employee Screening Posts, 2010 Best Employee Screening Posts, 2011 Best Employee Screening Posts, Background Checks, employment background checks, Job Search, Legal Compliance, Sex Offenders, Social Networks Tagged With: FCRA, Legal Compliance, Social Networks

Best Employee Screening Articles For October & November 2009

December 2, 2009 By Chris Miller

In case you missed any of our employee screening articles for October and November, here’s a quick recap of our most popular:

  • Florida Lawmakers Pledge Changes To Their Background Screening Program
  • Sex Offender Safety Tips
  • No Background Check? No Problem – Cracking Down On The Gun Show Loophole
  • How A Woman Falsified Her Nursing Credentials For 18 Years
  • University Removes New-Hire DNA Testing From It’s Background Check Policy
  • Genes and Jobs: Can Employers Use Your DNA For A Background Check?
  • 100% Of Companies Will Be Using Social Networks As Part Of Their Employee Screening Program By 2012
  • How To Protect Your Company When Googling Job Applicants

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FYI Screening offers a wide array of customized background screening solutions to meet any need. Human Resources and Loss Prevention Professionals in numerous industries worldwide trust FYI’s screening solutions every day to make smarter, safer and more cost effective hiring decisions.

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Filed Under: 2010 Best Employee Screening Posts, 2011 Best Employee Screening Posts, Background Checks, Best Practices For Employee Screening, Employee Screening, Employee Screening Tips, Job Search, Legal Compliance, Negligent Hiring, Negligent Retention, Privacy, Sex Offenders, Social Networks Tagged With: Background Check, Best Practices For Employee Screening, Education Background Checks, Legal Compliance, Negligent Hiring, Negligent Hiring Lawsuits, Negligent Retention, Privacy, Sex Offenders, Social Networks

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