INDUSTRY NEWS
Tragedy Highlights Importance of Employment Background Checks
Safety is one of the top reasons employers use pre-employment background checks, as it is essential to protecting employees, customers, and the public. A tragic situation, and the trials that followed, highlight the potential...
Lawsuit Alleges Violations of Disclosure and Authorization Requirements
Background check disclosure and authorization requirements can often be a source of confusion for employers, and violations may lead to potential lawsuits. Another lawsuit has been filed alleging violations of federal and state disclosure...
D.C. Works to Protect Employees Who Use Marijuana
The use of cannabis across the United States has become less controversial. Laws have been shifting from prohibition to medical purposes to recreational use. And it appears that widespread acceptance of cannabis use is...
Automatic Record Sealing Law Signed in Colorado
In March, we discussed Colorado SB22-099. As introduced, it was aimed to automatically seal certain conviction and civil judgment records in the state. Governor signed the bill on May 31, 2022, with some changes...
Court Affirms That Conditional Offer Doesn’t Mean Employed
Job candidates can spend a lot of time and resources in pursuing employment – everything from preparing resumes, completing job applications, and traveling to interviews. A recent Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision, Johnson...
Ban the Box Heads to New Sector: Higher Education
Ban the Box laws have become increasingly commonplace for employers to follow. The state of Delaware is expanding who can or cannot ask about criminal history to the classroom – the higher education classroom....
Colorado Bill Impacts Using Juvenile Court Records
Businesses and individuals continue to deal with the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Governments all over the country found quick fixes for immediate needs. But now, some work to deal with the long-term...
Pending California Legislation Could Remove Public Record Search Restrictions
Reliable background checks require a variety of information. Searches of court records within a court’s electronic index, like those used for some criminal history checks, rely on being able to search by and access...
EEOC & DOJ Cautions Against Using AI to Make Employment Decisions
Artificial intelligence or AI continues to be a hot topic in HR. Seamless, touch-free use of complex hiring technologies has been the mark of a faster way to source and onboard candidates. Automating parts...
FCRA Violation Case Dismissed for Lack of Standing
The Fair Credit Report Act (FCRA) is central to the use of background checks for employment. For better or worse, the FCRA is often made clearer through court interpretations of the law when ruling...
Questions Around “Willfulness” in FCRA Violations
Employer missteps during the background check process can result in legal action. As we’ve seen before, this often is the result of allegedly failing to meet the Fair Credit Reporting Act’s (FCRA) disclosure and...
I-9 Compliance Flexibility Continues Through Fall 2022
Employers have had the benefit of two years of I-9 compliance flexibility. And that’s not changing anytime soon. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has extended the updated flexibilities until October 31, 2022. In...
Temporary List B Expiration Flexibility Ends May 1, 2022
After over two years, the Department of Human Services (DHS) announced an end to the temporary ID document flexibility for Form I-9. The temporary policy has been in effect since May 1, 2020, when...
A Case of Potential Violations of City & State Requirements in NYC
New York City has some of the country’s most complex laws for employers to follow. A case filed in the Southern District of New York alleges potential violations of city and state requirements. The...
Higher Court Reviews Employment Discrimination Case
We previously covered the appellate court decision in Cree, Inc. v. LIRC. After our last post, the case continued to move through the legal process. The Supreme Court of Wisconsin has now weighed in...
Lowe’s Accused of FCRA Violations
Home improvement store Lowe’s is accused of violating the FCRA. The claims are part of a putative class action suit filed in the Western District of North Carolina. According to the complaint, Lowe’s offered...
California Case Offers Insight on Potential Cost of Violating State Reporting Law
It may be apparent to employers that any violation of employment law can result in consequences. Often, the law spells out potential penalties. That’s the case with the California Investigative Consumer Reporting Agencies Act...
Colorado Introduces Bill to Automatically Seal Some Records
You may be familiar with sealed criminal records. Generally, sealed records are not accessible with a public record search. Pending legislation in Colorado may create an express path to sealing records. On February 1,...
Lawsuit for Employment Discrimination Allegations Moves Forward
A proposed class-action lawsuit filed against Whole Foods Market Group, Inc., Amazon.com, Inc., and Cornucopia Logistics, LLC (“Defendants”) is one of the latest lawsuits alleging that employers violated applicable laws during the hiring process. We...
Get to Know Massachusetts’ CORI
CORI, or Criminal Offender Record Information, is a specific term defined by Massachusetts law. Those that conduct background checks in Massachusetts might already know about CORI. For those that don’t, CORI isn’t the name...
A Deeper Look at Investigative Consumer Reports
Employers hoping to learn detailed information about their candidates may want to read on. You may know the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) definition of a “Consumer Report.” But are you familiar with the...
Federal “Fair Chance Act” Now in Effect
“Ban the Box” style laws are a trend that has grown exponentially over the last decade. In fact, we have covered several laws in multiple jurisdictions, including laws in Louisiana, Philadelphia, Illinois, and more....
Clarity on FCRA Disclosure and Certification Requirements May Be Coming
Employers often struggle with the many disclosure and certification requirements of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). A recently introduced bill in the US House of Representatives aims to provide new clarity on these...
New York City Moves to Restrict Use of Certain Automated Hiring Technologies
Technology could help simplify the hiring process, including adopting new technologies to manage your candidate pool, run video interviews, and conduct background checks. Employers may use automation to process candidates and hire faster. A...
Background Check Bill Introduced to Protect Florida Renters
Certain industries require mandatory background checks of employees according to law. Florida is looking to add to that list apartment employees. A new bill, if passed, looks to improve safety and security for tenants....
U.S. Department of Human Services Seeking Comment on Form I-9 Document Examination Alternatives
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, organizations have adjusted how they operate. In March 2020, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced temporary compliance flexibility for certain I-9 requirements. What was first a short-term action has...
Lawsuit Filed for Alleged Background Check Disclosure Violations
Amazon is busy this time of year. But a recent court filing may leave it busier than usual. A prior Amazon employee claims the retailer violated a handful of background check disclosure-related laws. Narek...
State Regulator Announces Increased California Fair Chance Act Enforcement
“Fair Chance” -type laws are becoming more common across the country. These types of laws often restrict the types of criminal information employers can consider during the hiring process, or when certain criminal information...
A Potential Case of Negligence in Florida Emphasizes Screening for Risky Hires
It’s a nightmare scenario when there is a threat to an individual. Or worse, if someone takes another’s life. While tragedies related to an employee are rare, they’re situations for which HR teams may...
Hiring in New Jersey? Have Your Summary of Rights Ready
Last year we talked about New Jersey’s state-specific background check disclosure requirements. But this isn’t the only thing employers should know about New Jersey-specific requirements. Like Washington state, New Jersey also has a state-specific...
New Guidance on Cannabis Drug Tests in New York State
Legal recreational marijuana use continues to shake up drug testing policies in the workplace. The state of New York recently joined the growing list of states that have legalized the recreational use of marijuana...
Rideshare Companies in the Hot Seat for Screening Practices
Transportation service giants Uber and Lyft have faced a fair share of attention related to their drivers. Buckley v. Uber claim both rideshare companies failed to comply with federal background check laws. A driver...
An Update on an FCRA Disclosure Case
The Fair Credit Reporting Act’s (FCRA) disclosure requirements haven’t always been clear to employers. A recent update to a long-running case, Walker v. Fred Meyer, Inc., adds additional clarification. to what employers may need...
Rhode Island Works to Boost Pay Equality
The topic of salary equality has been prevalent in recent years. As part of this trend, Rhode Island recently passed amendments to its pay equity law. This law applies to employers that employ any...
Complaint Filed Against Walmart for Hiring Policies
The United States’ largest private employer faces a proposed nationwide class action lawsuit based on its screening policy. A complaint filed on July 16, 2021 alleges that Walmart “denies employment to many qualified applicants...
I-9 Compliance Flexibility Extended Until the End of 2021
I-9 compliance has looked different for some employers since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. The U.S. Department of Human Services (DHS) has offered continued I-9 flexibility to employers. On August 31, 2021, the...
Maine Beacons a Change in Hiring Practices
Like lighthouses dotting the coast of Maine, “Fair Chance” laws throughout the country provide a guiding light to prevent employers from running into rocky compliance issues. Maine is one of the latest states to...
Fair Chance Act Guidance Updated for New York City Employers
Amendments to the New York City Fair Chance Act (NYC FCA) took effect on July 29, 2021. According to the New York City Commission on Human Rights (NYCCHR) the changes generally “… new protections...
Louisiana’s Fair Chance Law Goes into Effect
Like New York City, the state of Louisiana now has its own “Fair Chance”-style law. Louisiana Act 406 places new restrictions on employers that consider a candidate’s criminal history when making hiring decisions. “Employers”,...
The Litigation Saga of Waterloo, Iowa’s Ban the Box Law
Cities have been quick to enact laws around the use of criminal history for employment purposes in recent years. These types of laws are commonly known as “Ban the Box” Laws. In some cases,...
Seeing Dollar Signs (or Not) on Salary Verifications in Nevada
Las Vegas is famous for high-rollers and big spending. It might seem like the city, and the broader state of Nevada, are all about the money. But now, a new state law is putting...
Kentucky in the Lead to Protect Employers with New Reentry Law
You might have noticed a significant push across the country to remove a criminal record as a barrier to employment. Varying new laws have been introduced to attempt to help the third of American...
Beyond Washington’s Disclosures: Summary of Rights Requirements
Last month we highlighted background report disclosure requirements in the state of Washington. As we previously discussed, part of the disclosure requirements for “investigative consumer reports,” under Washington law, is providing candidates with additional...
Continued Form I-9 Compliance Flexibility
The way employers hire has adapted to a more remote workforce. Some government agencies have also introduced temporary policies to assist employers in both promoting remote readiness and meeting COVID-19 restrictions. It’s been over...
Washington’s Vast Approach to Background Check Disclosures
Those that have visited the Pacific Northwest know the beauty of the area. The region is known for lush forests, majestic mountains, and stunning waters. Washington alone is home to Olympic National Park, Mount...
Philadelphia Inches Closer to Certain Drug Testing Limits
There has been a rise in legalizing medicinal and recreational cannabis across the United States. Some areas have expunged records related to marijuana. Others have decriminalized the use of marijuana. It seems attitudes about...
Another Disclosure Violation Case
We’ve highlighted many cases of companies accused of violating the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). So many of these situations fall back on disclosure forms. We have previously discussed cases involving FCRA disclosures, such...
Illinois Human Rights Act Updates Are Now Law
With the change of seasons we are seeing changes to some laws. In February we talked about Illinois Senate Bill 1480 and about potential changes coming to the Illinois Human Rights Act. The changes...
Costly Settlement for Alleged FCRA Violation
The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) outlines the fundamental federal requirements for employment background checks done by consumer reporting agencies. No company wants to face the consequences of a violation. But the truth is,...
Vermont Blocks Wide Use of Credit Checks in Employment Decisions
Some states and cities have introduced and passed bills to place restrictions on using credit checks for employment purposes. Generally, these laws restrict when or how employers use credit history for most employment decisions....
