New FTC Rules on Employment Verifications Do Not Affect Users of Consumer Reports
By Lester Rosen, President of ESR Some employers may have read about new rules that went into effect July 1, 2010, that potentially affect the accuracy of employment verifications. For employers concerned about the new rules, the short answer is that it does not affect how and when an employer receives a background report. It also does not [...]
Categories: Employment Verification, FACTA, Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), Federal laws, Federal Trade Commission, Recent Posts Tags:
More Colleges and Universities Considering Student Background Checks
By Thomas Ahearn, ESR news Staff Writer In an effort to help ensure campus safety, higher educational institutions across the country are starting to consider conducting criminal background checks on both applicants and admitted students, according to a recent article on USAToday.com. As an example, USAToday.com reports that following the murder of a student at the University [...]
Categories: Background Checks, education, Recent Posts, Student background check, Trends Tags:
Can Recruiters or Employers Rely on Business Connecting Sites Instead of Background Checks?
By Lester Rosen, President of ESR (Originally posted on HR.Toolbox.com) From the mailbag: I have heard the argument made that using business connections sites is more accurate than resumes and can even replace a past employment check, since a candidate is not as likely to lie on an online service where many friends and colleagues may see [...]
Categories: Background Checks, employers, Recent Posts, Recruiters, Recruiting, Social networking sites, Trends Tags:
ICE Levies Record $3 Million in Civil Fines on Employers Hiring Unauthorized Workers So Far in 2010
By Thomas Ahearn, ESR news Staff Writer According to a report in the New York Times, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has levied a record $3 million in civil fines so far in 2010 on employers that hired unauthorized workers not legally eligible to work in the country. Unlike the immigration raids and work-site roundups [...]
Categories: E-verify, form I-9, ICE, illegal workers, Recent Posts Tags:
Oregon Issues New Rules on Use of Credit History for Employment Decisions
By Lester Rosen, President of ESR, & Thomas Ahearn, ESR News Staff Writer As noted previously on ESR, the state of Oregon recently passed a law preventing most employers from using the credit histories of job applicants or employees for employment-related decisions by prohibiting an employer from using credit history for employment purposes unless that credit [...]
Categories: Background Checks, credit reports, Recent Posts, State laws Tags:
New Case from New York Gives Potential Guidance on Issue of Which State Law Applies for Reporting Criminal Records
By Lester Rosen, President of ESR An ongoing issue for employers and background screening firms is the question of what law applies when a criminal record is found in one state impacts an employment decision in another state. Since state reporting laws can vary widely, employers and screening firms are sometimes left without clear guidance if [...]
Categories: Best Practices, Lester Rosen, Recent Posts, State laws, The Safe Hiring Manual Tags:
Utah and Virginia to Require E-Verify Use
By Thomas Ahearn, ESR News Staff Writer Utah and Virginia have recently passed bills mandating E-Verify participation and requiring certain employers to use the E-Verify Electronic Employment Eligibility Verification to check the work eligibility of new hires in the United States. In Utah, as of July 1, 2010, the Private Employer Verification Act requires all private employers with [...]
Categories: E-verify, employment eligibility, Recent Posts, State laws Tags:
All GSA/FSS Contracts Mass Modified to Include E-Verify
By Thomas Ahearn, ESR News Staff Writer On June 24, 2010, a mandatory mass modification – or “Mass Mod” – was issued requiring all U.S. General Services Administration/Federal Supply Services (GSA/FSS) contracts to include the most recent standard contract clauses, capture exceptions, and incorporate E-Verify into all contracts, according to the GSA.gov website. E-Verify – a free, [...]
Categories: E-verify, employment eligibility, Federal laws, form I-9, government contracts, Recent Posts Tags:
The Dangers of Do-It-Yourself Background Checks
By Lester Rosen, President of ESR (Originally Posted on Toolbox for HR) From the mailbox: Why shouldn’t employers simply do their own background checks in-house? They can hire people from the screening industry and can certainly figure it out. Answer: First, the fact that a firm may be able to set up an internal screening program does not [...]
Categories: Background Checks, Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), Federal Trade Commission, Negligent hiring, Outsourcing, Recent Posts Tags:
June Jobs Report Shows Unemployment Rate Dropped to Lowest Level since Last July
By Thomas Ahearn, ESR News Staff Writer The U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has reported that the nation’s unemployment rate dropped to its lowest level in roughly a year in June. According to the BLS Employment Situation Summary for June 2010, the unemployment rate edged down to 9.5 percent, the lowest level [...]
Categories: Department of Labor, jobs report, Recent Posts Tags: