Here at Blueline Services, we want to help make it easy. We want you to understand what should be included in a good background check (and what some companies may try to get you to overlook). We guarantee the most comprehensive and accurate background checks available to help you get the best team working for you and avoid any unfortunate mishaps that could cause detrimental damage to you and your company.

As our National Plus Search is the most powerful and comprehensive multi-jurisdictional search available, it is a prime example of what you should find in a background check. It is virtually instant, provides you with millions of accessible records, and is very cost effective.

What’s included in the National Plus?

Some companies charge more for or don’t include sex offender checks, identity verifications and address histories. But our National Plus Package includes this all at no extra charge.

We include:

Criminal Records:

• Administrative Office of the Courts
• Department of Corrections
• State/County Databases
• Sex Offender
• Global Security Watch
• INTERPOL and many other sources

Identity Verification:

• Address History
• SSN Verification
• DOB Matching
• Birth/Death Indexes
• Alias Search
• Over 300 data sources to help match identity

All of these many different sources and verifications are included to ensure that you get the best most accurate results possible.

The post What’s in a good background check appeared first on Blueline.

There has been little (if any) guidance for most employers. So tactics for handling this are all over the place, according to the Drug and Alcohol Testing Industry Association or DATIA.

Some employers are worried that trying to maintain a drug-free work policy might limit their pool of potential employees. While others are cracking down even more on their drug testing to avoid potential hazards in a new marijuana-friendly climate.

No matter your current thoughts or situation, one thing is certain: this issue affects us all.

The majority (60%) of the world’s illicit drugs are consumed by Americans. With more than 74 percent of all drug users being employed, that accounts for 12.9 million employed Americans. Two million use heroin, six million use cocaine, 18 million abuse alcohol and an impressive 23 million use marijuana at least four times a week (USDOL).

This means that even in a small business with as little as 15 employees, statistically at least one person is potentially struggling with substance abuse. (DATIA)

In a world with increasing amounts of fake news and with supporters arguing strongly from both sides, it’s important that we get the facts straight.

Can employees be tested and/or fired for using marijuana? Even if it is legal?

Yes. Even in states where recreational use is now permitted, all have exemptions for workplace drug policies. (AP)

You can still be drug tested for marijuana. And you can still be fired, or not hired for failing a drug test.

How can you be fired for something that is now legal?

Just as an employer can refuse to hire workers who smoke cigarettes or are alcoholics, the same idea applies to marijuana use.

Adam Winkler, a professor of constitutional law at UCLA, explained, “Employment in the United States is at will. This means employers can hire whoever they want, under any conditions they want, with a few exceptions.” (Mercury News)

These exceptions under federal law say that companies cannot discriminate based on gender, race, age, religion or disabilities, but marijuana is not one of those protected classes.

What are the difficulties of testing for marijuana?

Marijuana use can still show up in a drug test for days after it has been consumed. Unlike alcohol, there is no clear scientific standard to determine when someone is impaired by marijuana.

This makes it nearly impossible to know if a potential employee is currently high during the drug test, or used it a couple of days ago to relax on the weekend.

There are a number of efforts currently trying to develop something similar to the Breathalyzer test for alcohol, but for marijuana impairment. However, these are not available yet.

Do you still report the result as positive if they used it recreationally or medically?

Yes. Even though medical or recreational marijuana is now permitted by certain legislatures, it is not exempted under employer drug testing policies.

Several cases have gone to court on this matter, with most being decided in the employer’s favor. Because marijuana is still considered illegal under federal law, employers do not have to accommodate their employees’ medical marijuana use, even if it is during non-work hours.

However, as an employer you can also choose to accommodate off-hours medical marijuana use. Ultimately, the choice is up to you.

What are the dangers of marijuana use?

Despite what many have heard in the popular media surrounding marijuana legalization, marijuana use does cause serious side effects. Accurate and unbiased sources on this subject have been hard to come by with so many paid lobbying groups and fake news circling around.

Side effects of marijuana use, as listed by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, include: a negative impact on work performance and safety, increase in risk for injury, high potential for addiction, reduction in productivity, physiological signs of withdrawal, and dangers in the area of brain toxicity.

Jo McGuire, a DATIA board member, shared in a recent publication of DATIA focus magazine the story of a safety manager who exemplified just how costly a small work mishap can be for a company.

She recounts the story of a safety manager who was frustrated that a small ankle injury of an employee could end up costing around $6,000 in medical bills up front.

But to add to those bills he also had to consider: the lost work time of the employee, lost work time for the supervisor handling the off-site injury treatment, lost productivity, extra work stress load to those filling in the work gaps, hiring and training of a temporary employee and extra work for the safety manager to track, compile and maintain the injury claim.

In the end the actual cost this particular company had to forego to recoup from the entire ordeal was roughly $200,000. No small number.

A recent study by the National Institute of Drug Abuse also showed that illicit drug use cost the U.S. $193 billion dollars due to lost work productivity, crime, and health care in 2007. (NIDA)

Benefits of drug testing

Both pre-employment drug testing and routine tests to your current employees can provide serious short-term as well as long term benefits.

Some short-term benefits include:

• Fewer accidents/increased safety
• Decreased absenteeism, theft, and fraud
• Reduced monetary losses
• Ability to respond quickly when problems with drug abuse arise

Some long-term benefits:

• Decreased employee turnover
• Improved productivity and employee morale
• Reduced liability charges/cost of insurance claims
• Greater employee awareness about drug use policies and faster problem resolution
• (DOL & IHSN)

Here at Blueline Services we’re here to give you the most comprehensive and accurate drug testing and background checking at the best prices. Click on the link below to run a free demo to see just how we can streamline your screening services and save you money.

https://bluelineservices.com/drug-testing/

The post How marijuana is affecting your workplace appeared first on Blueline.

Brutal Betty

“The company I worked for made home furnishings.

The person who was in charge of us, whom I will call Betty, was a really nice woman when we were outside the office.

Inside, she was brutal. She would yell at people all the time and was never, ever, wrong.

She said you could never throw out any food from lunch that you didn’t plan to eat unless you asked her if she wanted it first. Otherwise she would actually go into the garbage and fish it out to see if she wanted to eat it.

One day, she tripped over an extension cord, fell, and broke her hip. As she lay there, screaming in pain (which I can’t fault her for too much, that’s gotta be painful), we called an ambulance.

Just as the EMT’s show up, Betty noticed some dirt on the floor. So she yells at one of my coworkers, Steve, to clean it up. He says, “No problem. I’ll get a broom” and she responds with, “No. Use your hands.”

The EMT leaned over next me and asked, “Did you guys push her?”

So everyone was super excited because we thought it would be Betty’s last day at work. The reign of terror would be over.

But nope. She was back 3 weeks later, with her leg propped up on a chair and one of those little poles with the plastic robot claw on the end. So when people would walk past her, she could reach out and grab them with it.”

This story was found on Reddit and edited for length and clarity.

Think you have a worse, similar, or other interesting #EmployeeFromHell story??? Share it in the comments to enter to win a $25 gift card from Amazon!

The post #EmployeeFromHell: “She would actually go into the garbage and fish it out…” appeared first on Blueline.

(Which is why it’s best to make sure your company does a thorough screening of its employees. It saves us all from pulling our hair out. Seriously, that no hair look works for some people, but we want you to keep yours. — so please click on our links above!)

But we found some crazy stories about coworkers dating on Reddit that turned some normal coworkers into an #EmployeeFromHell. Check them out and share your own crazy stories in the comments below for us to post!

Better than speed-dating:

“Where I work, [things get messy with dating]. It’s a seasonal job with a bunch of high school kids about to head into college and a bunch of college kids just trying to make some money over the summer. Everyone dates everyone and then cheats on them with someone else. When it comes time for promotions, we legitimately have to consider who has [dated] who and how that will affect morale and the team. Like, ‘Well, Jane really kicked a– last summer, but she also had that horrible breakup with Jack, and while I think Jack would be fine if we promoted her, Jane might have major issues working with him. Not to mention they both slept with John from maintenance. [It becomes kind of a nightmare]”

Not to mention a bit of logistical headache!

My ice cream > your ice cream:

“I dated a girl I worked with at Coldstone Creamery. I was a new hire, she had been there a couple years. We dated for about three months, then I, as civilly as possibly, broke it off between us. Just wasn’t working out, but I was hoping we’d still be professional about it at work. Well she’s good friends with the manager, and threatens to quit unless they fire me because she no longer feels comfortable with me working at the store. So the manager politely asked me to quit, I did, and then worked at the Marble Slab almost directly across the street. Their ice cream was better than Coldstone anyway.”

Lovers to arch-icecream-enemies. It’s never easy to stay friends afterwards anyway.

Then again, it doesn’t always end badly:

A fast-food Romeo and Juliet:

“I met my boyfriend at Wendy’s. It was awesome. Meeting in the freezer for kisses, winking at each other and just generally stealing glances at each other … we could’ve both been fired, so it felt a lot like a less-romantic, less-dramatic, fast-food version of Romeo and Juliet.”

Their coworkers and boss might not have been too happy with their secret freezer meetings though.

We’d love to hear from you! Share your own in the comments below!!

The post When dating a coworker gets messy appeared first on Blueline.