Here’s a short list of important compliance updates highlighting critical information about laws that a few different states have enacted recently. Keep up to date with any compliance changes by using Blueline Services for your background check and drug testing needs.

Background Check Updates

Maine: Bill LD1167 took effect on October 18, 2021. This bill prohibits employers from requesting criminal history records on an initial application or stating on applications that individuals with criminal history cannot apply. Employers may ask about one’s criminal history during an interview or once it is determined that the applicant is qualified for the position.

New York: Bill Int 1314-2018 also took effect on October 18, 2021. This bill extends and clarifies protections for individuals with pending criminal charges. It requires an assessment of the relationship between the charged conduct and the job, which is the same requirement when considering one’s conviction history.

Drug Testing Updates

New Jersey: The employment sections of New Jersey’s personal cannabis use act went into effect on August 21, 2021. This law says that marijuana use should be treated the same as alcohol use. This means that employers cannot discriminate against people based on marijuana use. However, employers can still drug test upon reasonable suspicion of impairment in the workplace.

New York: The Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act (MRTA) amended New York Labor Law 201-D(4-a) to say that employers cannot discriminate against employees based on legal marijuana use outside of the workplace. Employers cannot test for marijuana use unless it is required by a state or federal law (DOT) or the employee is impaired at work under reasonable suspicion.

Stay up to date on these and other compliance updates with Blueline Services so you are aware of any changes that may affect your business. It’s critical that your business avoid compliance violations, and we at Blueline Services are here to help.

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Proper employment screening is the most effective way for companies to reduce their overall risk and liability. Background checks help ensure a quality hiring decision and save your company time and money. Ban the box policies have tightened the regulations on these screenings.

The background check industry is facing significant challenges. Legislation, known as ban-the-box laws, prohibits employers from asking criminal history questions during the hiring process. These laws are intended to provide applicants with a fair chance at employment by delaying background checks until further along in the hiring process. Ban-the-box policies have been enacted in 36 states and over 150 cities.

HR managers are faced with finding the balance between being liable for negligent hiring and giving applicants with a criminal history a fair chance to be evaluated. Thorough background checks can uncover all the information necessary for employers to make the right decisions in hiring.

Being able to access the full records of a potential employee makes the hiring decision much simpler, with the integrity and safety of the company and its current employees being kept secure. It’s understandable to want to give the ability to individuals with checkered histories the chance to return to the workforce without being labeled. However, in certain roles, it’s also imperative the applicant be forthcoming with any hidden records that may impact the role itself.

Staying within compliance is an ever-growing challenge unto itself in this evolving time, and the team at Blueline is here to make it an easier road to navigate. Let us help you through the entire hiring process, and take you through any testing and reporting that may be required after the hiring work is done.

Blueline’s customizable screening services offer:

• Identity verification
• Criminal record checks
• Driving records checks
• Reference checks
• National database

Let Blueline help you keep external threats from becoming internal threats. We are here to make sure you stay in compliance with all new rules and regulations.

The post Ban the Box? appeared first on Blueline.

At the initial meeting, the applicant showed up in a sweet car and was looking sharp. The manager decided not to run a background check on him. That was a big mistake. This guy paid the first month, moved in, stole the fridge, microwave, and the freaking stove. He then moved on to the carpet and wiring. Before too long neighbors started having issues with their electricity. A knock on his door went unanswered, so the manager let themselves in.

The apartment was destroyed, and when the management company went after him for the damages, he showed up in court looking completely different. He went from looking like a wealthy businessperson to looking like a homeless person, including the accompanying odors. His defense was basically that he had mental issues and had claimed bankruptcy. It turns out he had a history of this behavior, which was listed in detail on his background report.

This video shows another bad tenant horror story: https://youtu.be/Owlx2_L24u8

So, since you can never be completely certain the new renters you just signed with aren’t going to turn your property into a farm, run a thorough background check.

Use Background Checks to Avoid Bad Tenants

Check out this article about bad renters. A thorough tenant screen with Blueline Services helps you avoid these tenants. Background checks should be completed on every potential tenant before allowing them access to the apartment. In certain areas, there are strict laws regarding squatter’s rights, making it almost impossible to evict once the person has moved in. Let our team do the work for you to keep you out of these situations. Sure, there are unforeseen circumstances that happen, but most people aren’t going to trash your property. A background check can end up saving you significant money, while also keeping your property in great condition.

The post Background Checks to Avoid Terrible Tenants (and Goats) appeared first on Blueline.

A California-based background screening company has recently learned this the hard way. The firm has found itself on the hook for providing inaccurate background information. The company received background records from a third-party vendor and didn’t take steps to confirm their accuracy. How would something like this affect your business? Could you recover if you are faced with fines running into the millions of dollars?

The need for background and drug screening is higher than ever. Employers need to provide a safe workplace, and screenings help with that.

Choosing a credible background screening provider should involve more than a quick glance at Google. There are companies out there that don’t see anything wrong with cutting corners. When working with compliance issues, there is no corner-cutting. Blueline Services provides thoroughly researched and vetted reports that are relevant, up to date, and most importantly, credible. Our platform will give you accurate, easily navigable reports to ensure you stay within compliance.

The post Why Having a Credible Screening Provider Matters appeared first on Blueline.

There are specific issues you must address when dealing with background screenings. Here is a brief rundown:

• Approved Purpose: You may use a third-party company to run background checks for approved purposes like prescreening potential employees. When requesting a background check for employment considerations, you must follow the FCRA provisions and guidelines.
• Written Disclosure: Potential candidates must be given written disclosure advising of the background check. You must present this document separately to the candidate, and they have to give their signed consent before the screening can be ordered.
• Completed Results: After the screening comes back the potential employee must be shown the information to have the opportunity to challenge any wrong or missing information.
• Adverse Action: There are 2 steps you must take when the screening reports an adverse result that will be grounds to deny employment. First, you’ll need to provide them with a pre-adverse action notification and a copy of the report, along with a copy of “A Summary of Your Rights Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act.” After providing them these documents, you’ll need to wait at least five days, maybe longer depending on your local rules, to allow the candidate to offer a rebuttal on the report. The second step is to provide them with a written adverse employment decision notice.

Following these guidelines can be time-consuming and confusing for a business to handle. That’s why it is so important to find a good background screening company like Blueline Services. We are up-to-date on FCRA Employer Compliance Responsibilities.

The information provided above is for educational purposes only. It is not intended to be legal advice.

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The California Department of Fair Employment and Housing has updated the state’s criminal background check rules to expand California Worker Protections. The new rules expand the scope of the Fair Chance Act and let employers know they intend to enforce the new regulations.

New Legal Requirements

The newest updates create worker protections dealing with Covid-19, criminal background check stipulations, and rules for providing notifications to candidates. The California Worker Protections Fair Chance Act prohibits the majority of employers from inquiring into a candidate’s criminal past before a conditional offer of employment has been made. Employers can’t include any questions that request the disclosure of criminal history to ensure the candidates are being judged on merit and not past indiscretion.

Arrests that didn’t end up with convictions may not be used as consideration for employment, with a few exceptions. The employer can’t revoke a job offer until they have reviewed and conducted an individualized assessment while providing the candidate time to respond to the allegations before the employer can make a final decision. After the assessment, if the employer revokes the offer, they must wait five business days for the candidate to respond.

The employer must notify the candidate in writing if the offer is denied. This is only after the fair chance process has run its course.

Why It Matters

Employers should make sure that all screening and hiring policies and processes are updated and revised to align with the DFEH’s guidance. Employers who rely on a candidate’s criminal history to make an employment decision must follow the Act’s specific personalized assessment and notice requirements. Background screening options that identify the potential impact of the fair chance act might help mitigate the risks of regulatory action, hearings, or other exposure that can harm an employer’s brand and status.

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We’ve outlined some simple steps on how to get started with background checks and what the process looks like! Hopefully these steps help answer some of your questions.

1. Establish A Background Check & Drug Testing Policy

The first step to running background checks is establishing a clear and consistent policy on how your background checks (and/or drug testing) will be performed. This will not only help protect yourself and your company from discrimination/liability issues, but it will also help your entire screening process run more smoothly and efficiently.

Your screening policy should be drafted by both your HR department and legal counsel. Together, they should be able to create a policy that will work for your specific needs, industry, and location. We also have a generic policy that we can send you to help you get started with drafting your own screening policy. SHRM is also a great resource for generic policy outlines. But please remember! Employment laws differ in different states or counties as well as within different industries so please make sure you are familiar with laws that may apply specifically to you.

2. Consent Form

The next step is to provide your applicant with a consent form. They must sign this in order for you to be able to legally perform a background check or drug test. Once you have received the applicant’s consent, you can then move on to the next step.

3. Run The Background Check Through Our System

Now that you have consent, you can run your background check! We have multiple options or ways in which you can run the applicant’s information through our system.

–ATS Integration: (integration option) Our system can easily integrate with a wide variety of applicant tracking systems and HR software. This means that you can easily access screening data about your applicant from within your system.
–Quick App Pro: (link option) A lot of our clients feel that this is the easiest and best option. If you want to use QuickApp Pro, we will set up a customized link for your account. This can include your logo and custom verbiage for your clients. You can embed this link into your website or email it out—whatever is easiest for you! With this option, the applicant’s information will be sent electronically into our platform where we can process the background. We will then email you the results with a flag or not flagged status.
–Quick App: (email option) This option is also a great way to save time and cut down on potential mistakes. You will need to login to our platform and input your applicant’s first and last name along with their email address. The platform will then send the applicant an email asking them to complete their background check. We can set this emailed link to expire in however many days you would prefer.
–Manual Entry: (entry option) The entry option does require a little bit more work and review for you, but we still have a variety of clients that utilize this option. With this option, you have the applicant fill out a paper authorization form and then enter all of that information manually into our platform for us to process.

If you are not a client with Blueline Services, please ensure that your screening provider is a certified FCRA-compliant Credit Reporting Agency. The Fair Credit Reporting Act has established guidelines and regulations that screening providers must adhere to under federal law.

4. Receive Results & Make A Decision

Our system will help you stay up-to-date on any progress with your applicant’s screening. Once we have performed all of the checks and verifications you selected in your screening package, we will send you an email with a link to your applicant’s screening results.

After receiving the results, you are then able to make a more informed hiring decision!

(Please remember that in states where ban-the-box rules apply, you must make a hiring decision first before running a background check.)

4. Follow Pre-Adverse And Adverse Action Requirements

If you decide to hire the applicant that you ran the background check on, then you are good to go! The screening process for hiring that applicant ends here and you are able to send them an employment offer.

However, if you decide to deny an applicant based on findings from your screening report, you must send that applicant both a pre-adverse action letter and adverse action letter. This gives the applicant a chance to review and respond to the findings within their background check. Applicants are given 30 days to appeal if they feel a mistake has been made.

Within our screening system you are easily able to send out both automated pre-adverse and adverse action letters. They are available within a dropdown menu in our system.

After your decision has been made, send out the pre-adverse action letter in order to inform the applicant of your denial and give them a chance to appeal. Then, after a reasonable amount of time has passed for the applicant to be able to respond to the letter (around 3-6 days), you can send the adverse action letter. (please note: the applicant will have a total of 30 days from when the initial pre-adverse action letter was sent to appeal the findings)

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Those outline the basic steps to running employment background checks. If you have any further questions about this process or need to get started with your own screening process, please don’t hesitate to reach out!

Have questions about what’s included in an employment background check? Take a look at our post here about some basic employment background check options!

The post How To Run Employee Background Checks: A Simple Guide appeared first on Blueline.

What does this mean from a background screening perspective?

There are two key details to make note of:

The first major change is that the New York Office of Court Administration (OCA) fees have increased pretty dramatically. The fees for running a New York OCA criminal record search (a.k.a. a statewide search) will increase from $65 to $95.

Any organizations performing this search in New York should account for this rather sizable increase to search fees and adjust accordingly. We wanted to help make sure that our clients were made aware of this impending change as soon as possible. As outlined in the legislation, the intent behind raising the fee is to help increase contributions into the state’s indigent legal services fund. The entirety of the additional $30 will be put towards this defense fund.

The second change is that undisposed cases will no longer be included in criminal history record searches through the NY OCA. Undisposed cases are cases where criminal charges against an individual occurred, but there is no record of a conviction, imposition of any sentence or penalty, or unexecuted warrant of arrest (see full definition here). However, this new provision dealing with unresolved cases will not be implemented for another year.

If you perform background checks in New York and have any questions about how these new changes might affect your current situation, please don’t hesitate to reach out. Give us a call at 888-919-8378 or email us at backgrounds@blueline-services.com.

The post New York To Drastically Increase OCA Search Fees appeared first on Blueline.

Their executive summary stated, “In an increasingly global economy, employers are rightfully placing a premium on the safety of employees and the community. Employers continue to utilize professional background checks at a near universal rate.”

Results from their survey showed that 95 percent of employers perform one or more types of employment background screening. The majority also stated that they screen both part-time and full-time employees, with 86 percent saying they screen all full-time employees and 68 percent including part-time employees in their screening process.

The five most important reasons to background screen according to this year’s survey included:

• Public safety, including protection of “employees, customers, and others”: listed by 86 percent of employers
• Improving quality of hires was listed by 52 percent
• Law/regulation requirements: 39 percent
• Protecting company reputation: 38 percent
• Prevent and/or reduce theft, embezzlement and other criminal activity: 36 percent

Human resource professionals confirmed again in this year’s survey that accuracy in background screening is “very important” (98 percent). The most significant challenges in employment screening also echoed last year’s survey results with “length of time to get results” and “cost of screening” being listed as the biggest challenges for professionals in regards to screening.

Accuracy, turn-around time, and cost are all very important factors when deciding on a screening provider. Make sure that your provider fits with your company’s needs.

Blueline Services offers some of the most comprehensive and customizable screening packages available. We ensure that results will have the quickest turnaround time possible with affordable prices.

To see if we can help you with your screening needs, call us at 888-919-8378 to get a quote.

The post NAPBS Survey Reveals Why 95 Percent of Employers Background Check Employees appeared first on Blueline.

Beginning July 1st 2018, another amendment to their lengthy drug testing law will be made effective. Recently signed legislation is lowering the breath alcohol testing standard for private employers from .04 grams of alcohol per 210 liters of breath to .02 grams per 210 liters of breath.

Because it is easy for employers to violate technical aspects of this drug testing law, it’s important to stay up-to-date on all drug testing legislation. You can view the newly amended legislation here along with all other Iowa legislation (drug testing law – Iowa Code section 730.5)

As a trusted partner Blueline Services strives to help you stay updated on all of the changing legislation within our industry. If you have any questions concerning your state’s specific laws feel free to contact us at: 888-919-8378.

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