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 news items that caught our attention last month.

Pre-Employment Criminal Background Checks: Learning from Pepsi’s $3.13 Million Mistake

Pepsi has agreed to pay $3.13 million and provide job offers and training to resolve a charge of race discrimination filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).  Based on the investigation, the EEOC found reasonable cause to believe that the criminal background check policy formerly used by Pepsi discriminated against African Americans in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

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Screening Your Background Screener

The employee screening environment is rapidly evolving, making it hard for businesses to keep up. That’s just one reason why businesses are either outsourcing background checks to a partner or are not conducting screenings at all.

For those not conducting pre-employment screening, the case for reconsidering is air tight. If you’re working with an expert partner, it’s important to stay on top of the changing nature of background checks to be sure you’re working with the best partner for your business.

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5 Reasons Why Criminal Background Checks Are a Perfect Storm for a Lawsuit

Criminal background checks of job applicants seems to have reached a tipping point as a topic in employment-law circles. So, what are the key components leading to this perfect storm of EEO laws and how can an employer avoid the perfect storm?

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Former Domino’s Pizza Employees Allowed to Proceed with Class Action Against Company for Background Check Violations

On January 25, 2012, United States District Court Judge Deborah K. Chasanow denied Defendant Domino’s Pizza’s Motion to Dismiss in Singleton, et al., v. Domino’s Pizza, LLC, 8:11-cv-01823-DKC (D. Md.).

In a lengthy opinion, the Court ruled that the plaintiffs properly alleged that Domino’s violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act by (1) running background checks on employees without proper authorization; and (2) “systematically” failing to provide employees with copies of their background checks prior to taking adverse employment action against them.

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Following Deadly Stabbing, Restaurant Could Face Penalty For Hiring A Felon

The killing of a south Charlotte store manager – allegedly by a felon hired to work there – highlights the risks companies take when they hire an employee with a criminal record, or don’t do a full background check on applicants.

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No Background Check Done: Bookkeeper Accused of Stealing $1 Million From Archdiocese

When a church worker was hired by the archdiocese in June 2003, it did not perform criminal background checks on prospective employees, as it does now. Church officials were unaware until recently that the bookkeeper had been previously convicted of grand larceny in one case and had pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor in another.

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Social Media Background Checks : Off-duty Conduct Laws :: Oil : Water

One report suggests that as many as 91% of employers use social networking sites to screen potential employees, with as many as 69% of employers rejecting a candidate because of information discovered on a social site.

Jon Hyman, from Ohio Employer’s Law Blog, has written about some of the risks employers face when conducting background checks on employees via Facebook or other social media sites.

He gives us one more risk to consider: off-duty conduct laws.

29 states have laws that prohibit employers from taking an adverse action against an employee based on their lawful off-duty activities.

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Photo credit: JelleS

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The use of credit and criminal history records in employment screening were the most widely-read posts from our blog in 2011. Stay tuned and we’ll keep you informed of the latest trends, best practices and legal compliance issues for employee background screening in 2012.

Our most widely-read posts of the year:

1. Lying On Your Resume Is Not Good For Your Career
2. How To Use Credit Reports For Employment Background Checks
3. Is It Legal For An Employer To Charge A Potential Employee For A Background Check?
4. Six Myths About Using Credit Reports For Employment Screening
5. 3 Myths About Employing People With Criminal Histories
6. People With Criminal Records “Need Not Apply”
7. EEOC Examines Arrest and Conviction Records as a Hiring Barrier
8. Do You Do Social Media Background Checks?
9. How To Check Your Own Employment Eligibility In The United States
10. The Importance of Quality Background Checks - What’s Hot in Background Screening News

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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 news items that caught our attention last month.

Unauthorized employee recommendations, references on social media may put employers at risk

Employers are beginning to realize that their employees are sending or receiving recommendations on social media sites, such as LinkedIn, about co-workers’, vendors’, and customers’ work performance or services that are inconsistent with the employer’s policies.  Worse yet, they may even be providing false or fraudulent information.  Employers need to take a hard look at their employees’ recommendations on social media.

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Woman on a crusade for change after her sister was murdered by an air duct cleaner in Florida

When you have work done at your home, do you know who’s coming to your door?

Two local women thought they were safe calling Sears to have their air ducts cleaned.But it turned into a nightmare after a convicted felon with a history of harassing women showed up to do the work.

This could happen to you too, even if the company you hire does background checks.

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Background check law could get some Pennsylvania teachers fired

A new Pennsylvania law requiring all school workers to disclose their criminal history could see some employees who have been convicted of various crimes lose their jobs.

The law, signed by Governor Tom Corbett in June, went into effect in September and mandates background checks for all employees of public, private and vocational schools. Administrators must notify employees of the law and have them return a form reporting any criminal history by December 27.

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Employer held responsible for negligent hiring: Kansas City-area lawyers win $7M verdict over truck crash

A group of Kansas City-area lawyers won a $7 million verdict Thursday for the family of an Arkansas truck driver killed in a 2008 accident.

The truck driver who caused the accident — a driver whose license had been twice revoked — was hired negligently, said lead attorney Kent Emison.

In a statement, Emison said the company could have learned of Quisenberry’s driving history in 15 minutes through a simple background search. He said the verdict is part of a growing trend of employers being held responsible for negligent hiring.

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How effective are background checks in protecting children from abusers?

Experts point a various problems that make it difficult to truly protect children.

Many molesters fly under the radar and don’t have contact with law enforcement for years. Many organizations only do a criminal background check when someone is employed and don’t re-check periodically. Offenders at times plead to lesser charges that might not raise flags. And even Megan’s Law, designed to create as sex-offender registry, has loopholes.

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Cracks in background check system give drug abusers, mentally ill access to guns

Gaps in the Federal Background Check system may be putting guns in the hands of killers, according to a new report by Mayors Against Illegal Guns.

The report finds two huge gaps in the National Instant Criminal Check System (NICS). The biggest one, and hardest to fix, boils down to a communication problem. Many states and state agencies do not cooperate with the system. The blame doesn’t fall on solely on state agencies, federal agencies don’t comply with the background check system either.

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Texas state criminal database is flawed

According to a recent report by the Texas State Auditor’s Office, nearly one out of every four criminal records is incomplete, while some are completely missing for the state’s database.

Thousands of Texas businesses, day cares, schools use the state’s database for criminal background checks.

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Photo credit: Johan AP

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We are very thankful for your support and extend to you our best wishes for a happy and healthy Thanksgiving Day!

Welcome to our monthly edition of what’s hot in employee background screening news. If you want to stay up-to-date with background screening, you’ve come to the right place. Here are some of the news items that caught our attention last month.

Connecticut Limits Use of Credit Checks in Employment

A new Connecticut law that took effect on October 1, 2011 (Public Act 11-223) makes it unlawful for most Connecticut employers to require employees or prospective employees to consent to requests for credit reports that contain information about their credit scores, credit account balances, payment history, savings or checking account balances, or account numbers. Connecticut is one of only a few states that have enacted such a law.

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National Retail Federation Releases Research on Retailer Use of Background Screenings

Today NRF released its first piece of research on the topic of background screening. We polled retail executives from 96 of the nation’s leading department stores, mass merchants, discounters, drug stores, grocery stores and restaurants to examine their use of background screenings before and during the application and employment process.

The findings? Nearly all retailers – a whopping 97% – utilize background screenings in some form during the application, hiring and employment process, according to the survey. Additionally, a majority of retailers surveyed report that human resources (56%) and loss prevention departments (39.4%) are most often charged with criminal background screenings and similarly are the same departments that can override employment decisions to ensure a fair and open process for all applicants and employees.

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Criminal Records May Not Appear on Background Checks in Texas

Background checks used to screen people in crucial occupations may not turn up criminal records because of gaps in the Texas records database, a new state audit shows.

Prosecutors and courts have failed to submit to the state disposition records on about 1 in 4 arrests in 2009, the audit found. While that is a slight improvement from a 2006 audit, it still means agencies doing the checks can’t rely on the Department of Public Safety Computerized Criminal History System for complete information, the audit found.

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California Joins Other States in Placing Restrictions on Employers’ Use of Credit Checks

On October 10, 2011, Governor Brown signed into legislation Assembly Bill No. 22, which generally prohibits employers from using an applicant’s or employee’s credit history in making employment decisions.  Prior to this legislation, employers could request a credit report for employment purposes if they provided prior written notice of the request to the person for whom the report was sought.  Assembly Bill 22 significantly changes this landscape by prohibiting employers from using credit reports for employment purposes unless the report is used for one of the limited purposes enumerated by the statute.

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Using Arrest and Conviction Records for Hiring. What Does the EEOC Say?

The Peace Corps asked the EEOC for an opinion on the legality of its use of conviction and arrest records to screen potential volunteers. In response, the EEOC published an informal opinion letter, which offers guidance for employers who are considering using conviction or arrest as part of their screening processes.

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Hot Topics in Pre-employment Screening (two-part series on pre-employment screening)

An increasing number of employers are conducting some form of pre-employment screening on job applicants. Employers are researching not only a candidate’s educational qualifications and prior job history, but also a candidate’s criminal history, credit history and online presence. At the same time, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and various states have begun scrutinizing the legality of some of these practices.

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Legal Issues Surrounding Social Media Background Checks

The legal risks of making employment decisions using the Internet have become a real concern for businesses, especially when you consider that 54% of employers surveyed in 2011 acknowledged using the Internet to research job candidates. The actual number of employers using the Internet is probably higher, and sometimes companies may not even be aware that their employees are researching job candidates and factoring that information into their evaluations. This is yet another reason to establish an internal procedure for researching job candidates, and communicating your procedure to employees who are participating in the employment process.

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On July 26, 2011 the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) held a public meeting to discuss the employment barriers faced by individuals with arrest and conviction records.

A recap of the meeting can be found here.

Photo credits: Cosima’s Digital Designs

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.