To better understand how and why [...]]]> Background screening used to be a manual and time-consuming process conducted primarily by larger organizations. However, with the advent of affordable, user-friendly and compliance-driven on-demand screening solutions, more and more small businesses are able to effectively leverage background screening to mitigate hiring risks and improve quality of hire.

To better understand how and why small businesses are conducting background screening, HireRight surveyed more than 600 small businesses across all major industries. The resulting 2011 Small Business Spotlight reveals four essential best practices for small businesses to help mitigate risk and improve quality of hire:

1. Put it In Writing
A written background screening policy is the backbone of a successful screening program. According to the Small Business Spotlight, 29 percent of small business employers plan to create an employment screening policy in 2012 and another 19 percent plan to draft a policy that specifically addresses drug, alcohol and health screening.

Background checking policies can help protect your organization in the event of a discrimination claim or regulatory audits. The policy should also set clear background screening procedures for human resources personnel.

In the policy, your organization may describe the employee background checks that might be conducted for various positions and how the screening results will be evaluated to make hiring decisions. To help mitigate the risk of potential discrimination claims, a best practice is to specify which roles or job titles may need additional background checks.

For example, a position that involves financial responsibilities may warrant a credit check, while an administrative role may not require it. To help ensure compliance, always have an attorney review your background screening policy.

Source: 2011 HireRight Small Business Spotlight

2. Help Reduce Risk with Criminal Background Checks
According to the 2011 Small Business Spotlight Report, 88 percent of small businesses require criminal background checks as part of the background screening process. However, depending on the types of criminal background checks conducted, employers may still be exposed to risk.

While organizations that check a national criminal database will have access to a wide range of criminal record history, the data is not considered comprehensive and may not be up-to-date due to time lags between when offenses occur at the county or state level, and when they are reported to the national database.

To help ensure more comprehensive coverage of criminal records, organizations may consider conducting criminal background checks at the courthouses of the applicant’s counties of residence, work and education and surrounding areas, in addition to national background checks.

It is also recommended that organizations use both pre-employment background checks and ongoing criminal record checks for both regular workers and contingent workers.

3. Verify the Most Commonly Falsified Information
It’s not uncommon to find applications that contain an outright lie about experience, education and ability to perform essential work functions. Without verifying an applicant’s employment and education history, motor vehicle records and even credit history, organizations may be blind to crucial red flags or misinformation that could dramatically impact a hiring decision.

Checking employment and education history can help ensure that applicants really do meet your job requirements. For positions that involve driving or equipment operation, motor vehicle checks may help improve workplace safety and reduce liability risks.

4. Reassess Regularly
According to the Small Business Spotlight, in 2012, 44 percent of small business respondents plan to review their employee screening standards and another 15 percent plan to evaluate their non-employee screening standards. This means that more than half of small businesses are not regularly assessing their employee screening standards and that more than three quarters are not reviewing their contingent worker screening standards.

With ever-changing industry, state and federal regulations, organizations that do not re-evaluate their screening practices could face greater exposure to compliance and legal risks.

It is a best practice for small businesses to self-audit their background screening policy and program no less than annually. Organizations should also monitor changes in industry regulations and worker eligibility legislation that may affect their hiring process.

By reviewing these four best background checking practices, small businesses can help mitigate risks and improve the overall quality of hire.

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While it appears the guidance calls for a tighter screening process, employers retain their right to use criminal reports in [...]]]> This week, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) passed new guidance that affects how employers use arrest and conviction records in their employment decisions under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

While it appears the guidance calls for a tighter screening process, employers retain their right to use criminal reports in employment decisions. Employers should review the Enforcement Guidance with their legal counsel to determine how the Enforcement Guidance will impact their background screening programs.

Criminal background checks remain an important part of the pre-employment screening process, to protect the workplace and make better hiring decisions. Some employers are required by state laws to conduct background checks for certain roles (for example, some positions in the health care industry).

To learn more about the Enforcement Guidance, see these useful resources:

Enforcement Guidance on the Consideration of Arrest and Conviction Records in Employment Decisions Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (The Enforcement Guidance)

EEOC Press release on Enforcement Guidance

EEOC Q&A on the Enforcement Guidance

Recorded Webinar: Understanding the Nuances of the Updated EEOC Enforcement Guidance

Littler Mendelson, the premier U.S. employment law firm, shares insights on the updated Enforcement Guidance.

Insights that will help you evaluate potential changes to your background screening policies and procedures.

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Additionally, employers that have workers in multiple [...]]]> When an organization addresses medical marijuana in its drug-free workplace policy, it must carefully consider both state and federal regulations. However, regulations vary widely from state to state and often state regulations directly contradict federal law which makes addressing medical marijuana in a drug-free workplace policy complex.

Additionally, employers that have workers in multiple states or operate in a federally regulated industry, face further challenges in including medical marijuana in their drug-free workplace policy.

Today, 16 states allow medical marijuana usage and about a dozen more states have pending legislation regarding its usage. Each state law contains varying restrictions around when marijuana may be used, how it can be obtained, and how much a person can purchase and possess. Some states even have regulations that protect medical marijuana users from employment discrimination.

In order to help mitigate safety, legal and regulatory risks, it is vital for employers to carefully consider how it will address medical marijuana in its drug-free workplace policy. Below are some of the differences between state and federal regulations that may impact an employer’s drug screening program.

1. Illegal Federal Status
Under the Controlled Substances Act, marijuana remains a Schedule I classified drug. This means that even if a state decriminalizes medical marijuana usage, the federal government still considers the possession, prescription or use of the drug as illegal.

In 2009, the Department of Justice (DOJ) issued guidelines to help federal prosecutors handle cases in states with medical marijuana legislation. The guidelines indicated that while marijuana is considered a dangerous drug, individuals with serious illnesses who use it as part of a recommended treatment regimen and comply with existing state law will not be a target for prosecution. There is very little additional recent federal guidance on this issue.

2. Varying State Laws
Medical marijuana laws vary widely from state to state. Some states only allow physicians to recommend the drug for critical illnesses, while other states allow more widespread application of the drug. For each state, there are different regulations regarding how much marijuana patients can purchase and possess at one time.

In some states that allow medical marijuana use, if an employee is visibly impaired at work, the employee may be terminated. In other states such as Arizona and Delaware, non-federally regulated workers who use medical marijuana are protected and cannot be discharged solely on the basis of a non-negative drug screening, unless the patient used, possessed, or was impaired by marijuana on the premises of the place of employment or during the hours of employment.

3. Zero Tolerance for Federally Regulated Workers
Federal agencies such as the Department of Transportation (DOT) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) trump state medical marijuana legislation in certain circumstances. Organizations with federal contracts under DOT or HHS, must prohibit medical marijuana usage in the workplace. An organization that fails to enforce federal agency mandates risks incurring costly fines and risks losing its lucrative federal contracts altogether.

Although the DOT and HHS regulations are clear, it is recommended that employers, especially those in states with medical marijuana laws, reiterate their zero-tolerance approach within a written company drug policy.

The variations between state and federal medical marijuana laws further indicate a need for employers to create an effective drug-free workplace policy. When developing a workplace drug policy, an organization should consider all existing and pending state and federal legislation that affects an organization.

Currently even more changes to medical marijuana laws are working their way through state legislators. Is your organization’s medical marijuana policy up-to-date with current and pending legislation?

Recorded Webinar: Medical Marijuana: What You Should Know from an MRO’s Perspective

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Medical Marijuana: What You Should Know from an MRO’s Perspective

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Employers must obtain authorization from applicants before obtaining a CORI report and employers [...]]]> In 2010, Massachusetts lawmakers passed the Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) reform bill to create more employment opportunities for individuals with prior criminal offenses. The Department of Criminal Justice Information Services (DCJIS) will be rolling out new CORI regulations.

Employers must obtain authorization from applicants before obtaining a CORI report and employers have certain notice obligations before making an adverse decision. An employer must also provide a process for an applicant to correct or respond to CORI findings.

Reports themselves will only include 10 years of past felony information and five years of misdemeanor history with the exception of certain crimes. There will also be a more stringent requirement for an employer to store report findings and account for which individuals have accessed a CORI report.

Several gray areas surrounding the new regulations have left many employers wondering how the new laws will affect their hiring procedures. We’ll review five unanswered questions about the CORI reform law and propose what an employer should consider when implementing changes.

1. How will CORI reform impact data storage?
The proposed regulations change how the actual CORI documents should be stored when a consumer reporting agency (CRA) requests CORI on behalf of an employer. If the proposed regulations are adopted, HireRight would not store a copy of the CORI report on its system. As legislators get closer to finalizing these details, HireRight will provide further information for employers on document storage.

2. What if I perform national, county court or federal criminal searches?
The CORI database only contains information about crimes investigated and prosecuted by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and does not include information related to federal crimes or crimes committed in other states. Employers conducting national criminal record searches, county court record searches, or both, will not be required to comply with parts of the new regulations.

However, if an employer is conducting 5 or more criminal history checks, regardless of the source of the search, they must have a criminal record information screening policy.

3. What is the difference between public and private CORI?
Public CORI (now referred to as standard access) is what most employers use to run statewide background checks. This database houses public records, which are capped after a number of years. Certain regulated organizations, such as schools and long-term care facilities, are required by law to use the private CORI system (required access), which extends beyond public record.

To use the private CORI system, organizations must be certified by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and given a secure access code. HireRight as a designated agency can perform searches on behalf of an employer for either standard or required CORI access.

4. Will I have to register to access the iCORI system?
Until recently, public CORI searches were conducted by paper using the US mail, while private CORI requests were made using an online database. Beginning on May 4, 2012, employers conducting public searches will have register to access the new iCORI web-based system.

The process for a non-regulated employer to grant iCORI access to its third party background screening vendor is not finalized. As legislators more clearly define implementation for the new iCORI system, HireRight will update its clients accordingly.

5. When can I expect to understand the final details of the legislation?
The DCJIS published draft regulations for implementing the legislation and accepting public comments on those regulations until April 19th. HireRight is closely monitoring developments around these draft regulations and will provide information when the final regulations are published.

HireRight Legislative Alert: Massachusetts CORI Reform Law

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Organizations that expand their operations overseas, or utilize workers who have lived, studied, or worked in a foreign country, must ensure that they adapt their background screening policies to address this [...]]]> As the workforce of many organizations becomes more globalized, new challenges are created in maintaining an effective and compliant employment background screening program.

Organizations that expand their operations overseas, or utilize workers who have lived, studied, or worked in a foreign country, must ensure that they adapt their background screening policies to address this global workforce, or they may be exposed to security and compliance risks.

As the 2011 HireRight Employment Screening Benchmarking Report illustrates, some of the risks and challenges of global background screening include varying international regulations on employment background screening as well as cultural and social differences in the hiring process.

These challenges can make it difficult for employers to verify identity, criminal record history, education and other background checks that are common practices for U.S-based workers.

To help mitigate the risks of making poor international hiring decisions and falling out of compliance, organizations should evaluate and update their background screening programs to include multi-national background checks. Here are five best practices for a successful global background screening policy.

1. Outline the Existing Background Screening Process
Whether you have one or one hundred workers with an international background, research how the human resources department currently handles background screening for these individuals. If your organization has any offices or uses contractors overseas, then make a list of where each office is located and all of the foreign nations where workers in those locations may have lived, studied or worked previously.

Check with the management team for any plans that might affect a global background screening policy – such as outsourcing or international expansion. This information will help your organization to map out a global background screening policy going forward.

2. Check Employment Screening Regulations in Each Country
For each country where workers have personal, work and education history, find out if there are existing regulations with respect to background screening. Failure to meet a country’s regulations could result in your organization being out of compliance in that country or open up your organization to claims that your background screening process is discriminatory or other claims by workers.

To better understand foreign regulations, many organizations will enlist the help of local experts in each country by retaining local legal counsel or reaching out to members of the foreign consulate.

3. Consider Culture
Navigating differences in cultural and social norms is another great reason to enlist a local expert in shaping your employment screening policy. Although your global background screening policy may be in compliance with a country’s regulations, that does not ensure that the policy will seem appropriate or within normal bounds to the workers themselves.

Processes like calling prior employers to verify a worker’s history may seem normal to U.S.-based workers, but can be disconcerting to workers from different cultural backgrounds. To help ensure a better applicant experience, educate the incoming workers about the employment screening policy, what background checks they can expect and why.

4. Create a Consistent Employment Background Screening Policy
According to the HireRight Employment Screening Benchmarking Report, 75 percent of employers conduct background checks on new employees globally, but only 16 percent of employers screen new non-employees or contingent workers.

This opens up a large gap for workers with a history of negligent or criminal behavior, or without the right education, licensing and certification to slip through the background screening process unnoticed. When you create a global background screening policy, it is recommended to keep the policy consistent across employee and non-employee workers.

5. Roll-out and Enforce the Employment Background Screening Policy
Employers may look to a background screening provider to better integrate new global checks into their existing screening program. This can help make the transition to a new global policy easier for human resources personnel. To help ensure that the global screening policy is properly enforced, hold sessions with members of the employment screening team to educate them about the risks of not screening international workers.

If your organization currently hires international workers, or plans to in the future, then you should consider a global screening policy to better mitigate hiring risks.

Free Report: HireRight 2011 Employment Screening Benchmarking Report

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CORI reform affects both regular [...]]]> Since the passage of the 2010 Massachusetts Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) reform bill, employers face ongoing changes in their use and access to criminal history information. By enhancing regulations around criminal history checks, the CORI bill aims to create greater employment opportunities for past criminal offenders.

CORI reform affects both regular employers and certain regulated employers, such as schools and long-term care facilities, which are required by law to obtain additional CORI information. Employers that do not abide by new CORI regulations may face steep fines as high as tens of thousands of dollars for each offense.

Below, we’ll review some of the main changes to CORI regulations that employers should be aware of:

Recent Changes
The changes in the CORI reform bill have been phased in over time. Effective November 2010, employers are prohibited from asking a Massachusetts applicant about their criminal history on a job application. Beginning May 4, 2012, access to CORI will change and information will be available through an iCORI website.

Limits on Report Information
The new regulations limit the information that will be available within a CORI report. Now a report will contain pending cases and convictions for 10 years for felony offenses and five years for misdemeanors. Some crimes such as murder, manslaughter and sex offenses will remain on file for longer.

Sealed charges, or charges that are dismissed, resulted in no findings or resulted in a not-guilty decision, will no longer be included in a CORI report. While an individual may request to seal felony charges after 10 years and misdemeanor charges after 5 years, certain sex offenses and other crimes are not eligible for sealing.

New Employer Requirements
As long as an employer follows the statutory requirements within 90 days of obtaining a CORI report, it will not be held liable for negligent/discriminatory hiring practices. However, an employer is now required to follow tighter documentation rules, including retaining an applicant’s signed acknowledgment form for one year following a CORI request.

An employer cannot keep a CORI report on file for longer than seven years after an employee’s last working day or after an adverse hiring decision. To prevent misuse of the data, employers must specify which workers require access to the information. The employer must also keep a log of which individuals have accessed a CORI report for one year following its release.

The Switch to iCORI Reporting
Previously, employers would request paper based CORI reports through the mail. On May 4, 2012, employers will be able to register for access to iCORI, a new website. The Department of Criminal Justice Information Services (DCJIS) manages the CORI database and will issue regulations to assist in the implementation of the CORI changes.

To comply with the new requirements an employer should review and update their background screening programs to accommodate changes in CORI regulations.

HireRight Legislative Alert: Massachusetts CORI Reform Law

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HireRight Legislative Alert: Massachusetts CORI Reform Law

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Recently, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) estimated that organizations spend approximately one [...]]]> Most human resources professionals are familiar with the complexities of managing the Form I-9. From ensuring proper completion of the form to verifying identity documents to proper document retention, the Form I-9 process remains a burdensome process for employers.

Recently, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) estimated that organizations spend approximately one million hours per year managing the Form I-9 process.

To help address the burden of completing the Form I-9 and making other needed updates, the USCIS recently requested public comments on proposed revisions to the Form I-9. Specifically, the USCIS is seeking comment on the following topics:

• Expanded Form I-9 instructions and a revised layout.
• New, optional data fields to collect the employee’s email address and telephone number.
• New data fields to collect the foreign passport number and country of issuance. Only aliens authorized to work in the U.S. who have also recorded their I-94 admission number on Form I-9 will need to provide the foreign passport number and country of issuance.

Public comment on the proposed revisions is open until May 29, 2012. The current version of the Form I-9 expires August 31, 2012. Employers are advised to stay current on changes to the Form I-9, and prepare to update their process when the new version is released.

Ways to Streamline Your I-9 Program
To help alleviate the burden of managing I-9 forms, many employers turn to electronic I-9 systems that are designed to help ensure compliance, eliminate error-prone paper based processes, improve efficiency and streamline manual processes. Learn the nine essential features of an electronic I-9 solution to help streamline your process and reduce the risk of penalties associated with failing to comply with the I-9 regulations.

Free White Paper: Effectively Managing I-9 Employment Eligibility in the Face of Changing Legislation

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Effectively Managing I-9 Employment Eligibility in the Face of Changing Legislation

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