Remember the last blog about Credit Checks and the government looking towards restricting them for pre-employment screening? Well,  Oregon and 15 other states have proposed bills to ban credit checks on most job applicants, unless the check is “substantially related”  to job duties, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Hawaii and Washington already have such bans in place.
In fact, the Oregon bill has passed, but has not yet been signed into law by the Governor, although it likely will be. The bill would exempt banks, credit unions and law employment agencies. It would also exempt employers if the credit information is relevant to … Continue Reading

 In the January 20th PC World, and iPhone app was announced that provides background screening for individuals and employers. Employers doing background checks by iPhone?

The iPhone background check app is provided by a CRA (consumer reporting agency) which means that the process is regulated by the Fair Credit Reporting Agency.

According to the FCRA:

If information from a CRA is used for employment purposes, the user has specific duties, which are set forth in Section 604(b) of the FCRA. The user must:

… Continue Reading

You may have heard that Congress is considering blocking employer access to credit report data. Many feel that denying employment due to credit problems, when the candidate is otherwise qualified, is unfair, particularly on the heels of a recession.

On the other hand, hiring without due diligence can place you in danger of a negligent hiring lawsuit. Plus, employers often need help in making a decision when they are on the fence about someone, or when they have a number of qualified candidates.  And in some cases, this particular information might be very helpful.

However, there remains  a lot of  ambivalence nationwide regarding credit reports for … Continue Reading

Here is some information from Quest Diagnostics on the downward trend of positive methamphetamine and cocaine positive results for employers, from 2005 to the first half of 2009.  Keep screening, Employers… It appears to be working!

“MADISON, NJ, November 20, 2009  New data released today by Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE: DGX), the nation’s leading provider of employment-related drug testing services, reveal that drug testing of hair specimens from employees and job applicants in the general U.S. workforce has tracked sharp downward trends in cocaine and methamphetamine use from 2005 to the first half of 2009 that mirror similar drops shown by … Continue Reading

Acording to the Subtance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration:

 77% of illegal drug users are employed. Are you employing them? If so, what does this mean for you?

• Employees who use illegal drugs cost their employers about twice as much in medical claims as non-users.
• Employees who use illegal drugs are 3.6 times more likelty to be involved in a workplace accident, and 5 time more likely to file a worker’s comp claim.
• Employees who use illegal drugs are 2.2 times more likely to request early dismissal or time off, 2.5 times more likely to have absences of eight days or more, and … Continue Reading
  

Testing for alcohol when screening employees has some characteristics that make it unique, as compared to other drugs. Let’s take a look at those differences.

1) Testing Methods- While urine testing is usually a great method to find illegal drugs in the system, it is not necessarily the best system for alcohol testing. Why? The urine test will show the amount of drugs or alcohol in the body since the last void. Not the actual current amount. If you are testing for illegal drugs, this is not an issue. There shouldn’t be any in the system at all! But if you are … Continue Reading

This news from the Social Security Administration:

Social Security will no longer accept manual telephone SSN verifications in less than 10 days from today!

Currently, our telephone agents can verify up to five employee SSNs for employers. Beginning fall 2009, Social Security will no longer provide this service. You must use TNEV or SSNVS to verify SSNs. Employees who verify SSNs for their employers must be registered SSNVS users in order to access TNEV and/or SSNVS. If you are not a registered SSNVS user, don`t delay register today for SSNVS. TNEV is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Your Applicant’s Drug Screen Results are in… Now What Do You Do?

If you are an employer and have a drug screening program, you will eventually get a non-negative drug screen result. What will you do?

Let’s look at some possible non-negative results, so that you can plan ahead on how to handle them.

Positive – Illegal Drug or Prescription Drug – Many employers will initially handle an illegal or legal positive result in exactly the same way. Often the result is sent through the Medical Review process. If this is the case, a Medical Review Officer (MRO) will contact the applicant, … Continue Reading

Is random drug testing of employees effective? Our drug screening partner, Quest Diagnostics can confirm that it is.

In a recent case study, Quest Diagnostics found that random drug testing programs do appear to deter drug use.  

Here is a quote from the Quest website: “In the federally mandated safety-sensitive workforce, where employees expect random drug testing, the drug positivity rate is far lower than the rate of positivity among job applicants in that same workforce. However, in the general workforce, where employees are far less likely to expect random drug testing, … Continue Reading

It is surprising how often I hear people claim they are doing background checks by going online. They are not talking about databases, just googling someone’s name, and seeing what comes up.

The things is… criminal background records are kept in county courthouses.  They are not posted on websites. They might be reported to databases. They might be held by a state Department of Corrections. They are definitely held in the county courthouse where the felony or misdemeanor occured. The open cases and open warrants are also held in the courthouse. This is not information you can find online.

In the employment screening … Continue Reading