Data Facts Background Screening Blog

The wild ride of 2020 may have left you dreading the upcoming holiday season. On the other hand, employers may be looking at this time of year to entice customers into doing business with them so they can end the year out of the red.

This article was written by Dawn Lurie and originally published on the Seyfarth "Big Immigration Law Blog". The entire original article can be viewed here. 

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced that employers have an additional 60-day extension to the flexibilities in rules related to Form I-9 completion. This extension relates to the relaxation of the requirement to defer the in-person, physical inspection of new hires’ identity and employment eligibility documentation.

This article was written by Ryan P. Lessmann and first appeared on the National Law Review website.

In an effort to prevent persons with criminal records from being automatically ruled out for job vacancies, Colorado Governor Jared Polis has signed “ban the box” legislation. The new law will go into effect in September 2019 for employers with at least 11 employees, and employers with fewer than 11 employees have until September 2021 to comply.

This makes Colorado the 13th state to enact “ban the box” legislation for private employers.

Here are the ABCs of avoiding hiring lawsuits with background screening.

A: Adhere to adverse action procedures.

HR professionals must understand and execute adverse hiring procedures if they decide in whole or part to deny employment based on information obtained in a background report. Pre-adverse action letters must be sent, and then a few days (usually five or more) and a final adverse action letter is sent. Follow this every single time to avoid litigation. 

Remember when you just placed a want ad in the newspaper when you needed to hire someone?

Seasoned HR professionals have experienced a myriad of changes in hiring over the last decade, and new HR pros probably wouldn’t even recognize how we did it “back in the day.”

The changes keep coming!

Scary scenarios are blasted over the news quite often these days. 

“Company 123 has broken "Ban the Box" rules"

"Company 456 has been sued for millions because of negligent hiring practices"

"Company 789 is liable for big bucks because their hiring practices are discriminatory"

These examples are proof that it's time to take your background check process seriously. While it may seem overwhelming to try to create and execute compliant hiring practices, all it takes is a bit of organization and education. 

Savvy HR professionals understand that, in business, every road eventually leads back to the all-important bottom line. While there are other tasks and initiatives that require attention, each and every employee should ultimately focus on holding and increasing company revenue and profit.

Operating with any other goal will take you off course quickly, wasting company time and money.

When the weather turns colder, thoughts veer toward warm sweaters, boots, and the upcoming holidays. While many think of shopping, eating out, and parties, employers start gearing up for holiday hiring. According to a recent survey by Snagajob, 80% of employers plan on hiring extra help for the 2015 holiday season. 

A background check is not automatically thorough and accurate, and the third party screening company you choose plays an integral role. Choosing a professional vendor for your background check reports is a key aspect of executing a safe hiring process that brings you the most qualified new employees.

Background screening potential new hires is key in order to choose the most qualified candidate who is the least risk to the workplace. However, companies must take precautions with their background check process to ensure they are screening in a fair, consistent manner. Otherwise, you can end up being sued for negligent hiring!

Here are the ABCs of avoiding hiring lawsuits with background screening.

A: Adhere to adverse action procedures.

HR professionals must understand and execute adverse hiring procedures if they decide in whole or part to deny employment based on information obtained in a background report. Pre-adverse action letters must be sent, and then a few days (usually five or more) and a final adverse action letter is sent. Follow this every single time to avoid litigation.