Tag Archive for: FCRA

Get to Know the One Source Certified Contractor Program

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Generally, it’s a given to run background checks on all full-time employees. Employees get widespread access to your organization’s information, facilities and trade secrets, so it only makes sense to screen them before they join the team. But what about contractors? They are not full-time team members with access to all of your information, but they do get to spend time in your facilities and networks. Even if you don’t have time to run full-scale background checks on all your contractors, it is worth it to screen them in some way, and we can help through our Certified Contractor Program.

Whether a contractor is troubleshooting your computers, working with your electrical system or renovating your office space, you should be able to fully trust them with your property and information.

At One Source, we offer a simple way to ensure the contractors you hire will be reliable and safe through the One Source Certified Contractor (OSCC) program. This program looks into the backgrounds of contractors to see if they meet a set of standards identified by One Source. Should the contractor fail to meet these standards, they will not receive access to your site. And you’ll save time because neither you nor the contractor have to decipher full background checks.

We know not every organization and site are the same, so we offer a few different levels of to the OSCC program.

  • Level 1: A full criminal background check
  • Level 2 and higher: A full criminal background check plus a drug test

All contractors must be certified against a set of standards , which you can review here. These standards were built by background check professionals and are intended to keep you, your organization and the contractors as safe as possible. Recently, a school district in Omaha, Nebraska entrusted the OSCC program to screen contractors who would have access to their school facilities. Through our screenings, we prevented more than one registered sex offender from being granted site access at a school.

The OSCC is part of the many ways we are committed to keeping our community safe. And the best part of the OSCC is that it is completely free for you to use. In order to run OSCC background checks on contractors, all you need is a contractor’s OSCC credentials. Enter those credentials into the search bar on the OSCC Search page, and One Source will check them to the highest standard.

Make sure everyone entering your organization to work is thoroughly vetted with the OSCC program as well as One Source’s comprehensive background check options. Learn more about how we can provide proper background checks for everyone in your organization by browsing our blog or by reaching out to our team today.

What Happens If a Candidate is Lying On An Application?

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Current background check technology makes it increasingly difficult to stretch the truth on a job application—but that doesn’t mean people don’t try lying on an application. Luckily for you and your hiring team, background checks are a simple way to detect inconsistencies.

And if your company runs background checks on current employees, you may occasionally find falsehoods on their applications years after the fact. Dishonesty can throw a wrench in your HR team’s work, but if you have the expert help of One Source and know how to spot troubling information on your own, you can save a lot of time and suspicion.

Today, we’ll be looking at how people typically stretch or hide the truth on resumes and what you can do to make sure your team members are as qualified as they say.

Misrepresenting Education and Qualifications

It’s relatively easy to catch when people aren’t honest about where they went to school and what degrees they earned—easy enough that you may wonder why people would ever attempt lying on an application about something like that. Still, it is not uncommon for applicants to change their school history or stretch the truth about their level of education.

One Source can verify education credentials, and we can also verify the specific degrees an applicant lists. Sometimes people are honest about where they went to college, but may be altering the exact details of their degree. You should always verify a candidate’s school and degree records, especially if their education is essential to their potential job.

Overly Complex Job Titles

These days, job titles in LinkedIn profiles can be less likely to represent what a person actually does. Job titles can be full of flashy buzzwords that don’t give you a clear understanding of their work. And sometimes, these overly eye-catching titles can be a lot of show and not much substance.

Keep an eye on the less exciting job titles too. People can exaggerate their skills or involvement in a task by creating impressive sounding titles that don’t exactly reflect reality. A “social media manager” who snapped a few pictures at a company event don’t have experience building a social presence. Basically, just because a candidate lists a job title does not mean they are well-versed in the job they describe.

These mistruths can be trickier to detect in a background check, but you can make a judgement call. Always ask applicants to explain the specific duties and responsibilities of former roles. This will help you find those who are genuine.

How to Detect and Prevent Dishonesty

There are a few ways to be certain you’re hiring a genuinely qualified candidate: background checks and attentive interviewing. One Source will identify inconsistencies about work history, education, criminal history and more. It’s up to you to recognize when applicants stretch the truth in more subtle ways. However, One Source can help you determine how legitimate a candidate is.
Reach out to One Source today to learn more about our comprehensive TotalCheck system and how we work with you to help you hire honest, qualified employees.

How Changing Marijuana Laws Affect Hiring

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Today in the United States, marijuana is legal to some capacity in 33 states. Other states are discussing legalization. We can expect marijuana laws for legalization to expand over the next several years.

Rapidly changing marijuana laws presents questions and challenges in the employment screening space. Many pieces of marijuana legislation include new employee protections that could impact the way you screen potential employees. To stay compliant with hiring and credit reporting laws, it is important to stay up to date with state regulations.

In today’s blog, we’ll give an overview of the most recent laws protecting employees in regards to marijuana. If your state is not included, now is a good time to adapt to nationwide trend. This allows you to get ahead of the game in case your state passes marijuana laws.

Illinois Right to Privacy in the Workplace Act

In January 2020, Illinois became the eleventh state to legalize recreational marijuana. Part of the law that allowed for recreational marijuana included the Right to Privacy in the Workplace Act. In other words, employers cannot punish them for using marijuana outside of work.

Essentially, Illinois employers cannot fire or refuse to hire an individual because they use marijuana in their free time. This doesn’t mean employers cannot run drug tests on candidates or employees, but the results of marijuana tests are not grounds for termination.

Pre-employment Drug Screening in New Jersey, Nevada, and New York City

New Jersey, Nevada and New York City have all passed similar measures in the past year regarding drug screening and employment. This means employment refusal or termination cannot be based on marijuana screening results.

New Jersey’s ruling specifically applies to those who use medical marijuana. An employee being fired for a positive drug test even though they were using marijuana for medical reasons which led to the passing of this law. The employee sued their employer for not accommodating their medical needs. Now, with the exception of jobs that require lots of safety precautions, employers cannot discriminate against those who use medical marijuana.

Additionally, in Nevada and New York City employers can run pre-employment drug screenings, but those screenings cannot include marijuana. Bypassing marijuana screening eliminates the possibility of hiring teams discriminating against those who use marijuana. There are exceptions to these regulations for safety-conscious positions.

If you think your business may be affected by these new laws or if you want to plan ahead, reach out to One Source. We can help you tailor your drug screening and hiring process to your local mandates.

How An Inadequate Background Check Will Lose You Money

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If you type “background check” into your search bar, you’ll likely see some websites touting their free, fast screenings mixed in with trusted background check agencies. These free background check websites can look tempting—especially if you’re looking to cut costs—but looks can be deceiving. This can lead a company to perform an inadequate background check and potentially a bad hire.

In the case of background checks, not all screenings are equal. Organizations that offer inadequate screenings are all over the internet. And while the screenings themselves may be cheap, their shortcomings can have long-term consequences.

Before you jump into a background check system, consider investing in quality background checks. A reliable, comprehensive background check service will save you from the dangers of an inadequate background check. In this blog, we’ll explain the pitfalls of free screenings and how quality checks from companies like One Source can save you money in the long run.

Lack of Personalization

Every organization approaches screening differently. Before you commit to a background check plan, think about how many screenings you’ll need, what specific information you want in each report, and how you’d like to manage screenings. Background checks aren’t as simple as typing an applicant’s Social Security number into a free database. Free screening sites will lead you to believe they provide comprehensive information, but they will not be able to tailor screenings to your needs. However, this will lead to an inadequate background check and possible bad hire for your company.

Most free screening sites only let you perform one screening at a time, offer no way to organize information, and lack checks that may be essential to your business. All of these issues will waste your time and still leave you with insufficient information. 

One Source tailors your background checks to each position in your company, provides an easy-to-use dashboard to keep reports organized, and always provides comprehensive data.

Dangers of a Bad Hire

At One Source, we work to give you extensive information so you can make the most informed hiring decisions. Hiring a reliable, trustworthy candidate will always be a safer investment than hiring someone you don’t know much about. 

Inadequate background checks will never quite give you all the data you need to make a confident decision. Your peace of mind is worth finding a dependable screening resource. For every bad hire, organizations lose money—more money than a quality background check might cost. Wasted onboarding time, benefits, and equipment all add up to lost funds when you make a bad hire. High turnover rates also lower productivity and dampen morale. 

Before you choose a screening service, remember how your hiring choices can ripple across your company. Quality screenings increase your chance of quality employees, who will in turn increase your profitability. One Source can work with you to personalize your screening solutions and ensure you have everything you need to make the best hire. Check out our TotalCheck solutions to learn more about how we can work for you.

What Does My HR Team Need to Know About Background Checks On Current Employees?

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Employment background checks are a nearly universal HR practice. Organizations generally screen potential employees before they offer them a position. However, it can be helpful to occasionally run background checks on current employees.

By running background checks on your current employees, you can hold your team continuously accountable. This also ensures your employees maintain company values. Each organization requires a unique set of screening procedures, but you can tailor your recurring screenings to fit your needs.

Today, we’ll talk about why some companies screen their current employees. We’ll also discuss what you can do with the information from new background reports. One Source tailors screening solutions for your needs—we can help you determine how your HR team handles background checks.

Why do companies screen their current employees?

Employment screenings help you ensure the new people you bring into your organization meet your expectations and will perform their jobs properly. After you hire your team members, however, it can be a good idea to perform occasional checks to make sure they’re still qualified to work with you.

This especially applies if your employees have to operate cars or machinery. To keep your organization safe, you can check your employees’ driving records periodically. By making sure they’re still in good standing and can safely operate machinery, you protect yourself from the consequences of any potential accidents. You can also run comprehensive backgrounds checks on all of your team to keep the most current information on them.

What can I do with the information from these background checks?

Your HR team likely has clear guidelines that explain what charges or violations will remove them from hiring consideration. When you’re hiring team decides not to hire an applicant because of the information in their background report, they are taking adverse action against the applicant. You must be able to back up your decision with your HR policy and specific parts of the applicant’s report.

For your current employees, you can create a termination policy based on your adverse action policy. By aligning these policies, you hold all current and potential employees to the same standards. If you rescreen your employees once a year, you can determine if they are still upholding the expectations of your organization and if they are qualified to complete their jobs. 

How can One Source help me?

At One Source, we offer solutions that make rescreening employees efficient and easy. Applicant Recheck allows you to instantly run a screening on your employees you’ve put in the One Source system. We also offer bulk background checks. To complete bulk checks, we’ll send you a spreadsheet to fill out, you’ll send it back securely and we can then run checks on your whole team at once. 

One Source can help you set up company-wide screenings at any frequency that makes the most sense for you. Reach out to our Client Relations team to learn more about how we can help you build the best screening process for you.

2020 Q3 FCRA Compliance Update

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As we enter the winter of 2020, it is a good time to take a look at your company’s policies and processes. This new season will bring different challenges and opportunities for businesses. Whether you plan on hiring this fall or not, it’s always in your best interest to stay up to date with new FCRA compliance policies.

The first half of 2020 brought some policy changes in the world of hiring and screening. Here, we’ll cover some of the most prominent new FCRA compliance policies to keep your hiring practices compliant with state and local laws.

Salary History Bans

Recent measures have been taken that prevent employers from asking applicants about their salary history. They are intended to stop employers from basing their pay on previous compensation. In general, these bans seek to increase pay equity and ensure employees are paid fairly—regardless of any previous salary.

Maryland recently passed a version of salary history ban that includes additional expectations for employers. After October 1, 2020, employers must upon request provide applicants with a range of wages they expect to pay the person they hire. Employers cannot retaliate against an applicant for requesting pay information. Additionally, employers can’t use previous earnings as a baseline to set pay for new hires.

Toledo, Ohio and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania also each passed salary history bans in their local governments. Both bans went into effect in June 2020.

Ban-the-Box Laws

A ban-the-box law delays the time an employer can ask about an applicant’s criminal history. Instead of inquiring about criminal history at the beginning of the hiring process, employers under ban-the-box laws must wait. A potential criminal record must be obtained later in the hiring process. Ban-the-box laws can also change the way an employer is allowed to respond to a candidate’s criminal record.

In Waterloo, Iowa, organizations with 15 or more employees cannot take adverse action against applicants based on arrests, pending charges or expunged records. They also cannot take adverse action against any criminal charge without a “legitimate business reason.” The new law in Waterloo defines a “legitimate business reason” as instances where a criminal record would pose a risk to other employees, the public or any vulnerable populations served by the business.

The communities of Suffolk County, New York and St. Louis, Missouri also just passed ban-the-box laws. Suffolk County’s law went into effect on August 25, 2020. St. Louis’s ban-the-box ordinance will start on January 1, 2021.

Whether or not these new laws impact your business, they reflect trends that may spread to your community. As you develop plans and policies for the coming months, One Source will keep you updated on compliance laws and help you find screening solutions. Learn more about our tailored background check solutions here or get in touch with our Client Relations team.

New Compliance Laws You Should Know in 2020

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If you haven’t been staying up to date on new compliance laws over the past few months, we can’t blame you. Every aspect of life has been altered by the pandemic, and your top priority should be the health and safety of your family, employees and customers.

One Source is here to support you through difficult times and update you on new compliance laws that may impact your organization. Regardless of whether your company is hiring right now, these new compliance laws will likely affect you down the road.  So it’s best to stay one step ahead and be prepared when your business is ready to hire again. Here are some of the most important state and federal regulations about screening and hiring that have been passed in recent months.

The Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act

This federal law goes into effect in December 2021. It declares federal agencies (all departments and offices within the federal government) cannot request a criminal background check until a conditional job offer has been extended to an applicant.

Law enforcement agencies and positions with access to classified national security information are exempt from this law. This law only applies to government agencies, not private businesses. It is a version of a “ban the box” law that delays a criminal background check until much later in the hiring process.

Updated Form I-9

Every employer in the U.S. must complete a Form I-9 for each person they hire. Form I-9, used to verify an employee’s identity and employment authorization, is an important, routine part of the hiring process. 

The U.S. Citizen & Immigration Services agency released an update to the I-9 in October 2019, and the updated version became mandatory on May 1, 2020. You can visit the UCIS website to learn more about the changes to the I-9.

Drug Screening in New York City and Nevada

A new law went into effect in New York City on May 10, 2020, banning marijuana testing from pre-employment drug tests. Some jobs are excluded from this rule, especially jobs with safety requirements. If an employer screens a candidate for marijuana against this new law, the employer will be charged with discrimination.

Additionally, a new law went into effect January 1, 2020 in Nevada. This law prohibits employers from taking adverse action against applicants who test positive for marijuana. Employers can still test applicants for marijuana, but they cannot take adverse action based on a positive test result alone.

New Jersey Salary History Ban

Private employers in New Jersey can no longer inquire about their applicants’ salary history, past benefits or any other past compensation. This law was enacted January 1, 2020. The Salary History Ban is meant to encourage employers to pay new employees what they think their position is worth without context from an employee’s previous positions. Salary history bans attempt to address gender pay gaps by putting all applicants on an even playing field. Employers in New Jersey should work with their credit reporting agency to make sure salary history is not part of their employment verification reports.

Regulations and expectations in the hiring world continue to evolve. As the landscape of hiring changes, One Source stays on the cutting edge to help you make your best hiring choices. Contact One Source Client Relations today to learn how we can assist your hiring team.

Can I Ever Run a Background Check Without Permission?

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The reasons to run a background check—and contexts in which you could need a background report are numerous: You may need a report ASAP. You may be running a check outside a formal hiring process. You may need a large number of reports completed at once.

Under a time constraint and without the strict rules of a hiring process, you might wonder whether it’s necessary to get the subject’s permission to run a screening. Technically, if you have someone’s full name, you could run a background check on them without their knowledge. However, that doesn’t mean you should. Ethically—and often legally—you should always obtain permission before screening anyone.

So the short answer is no, you can’t run a background check without permission. Screening ethics aren’t quite that simple though. Background checks in personal and professional settings have different expectations. Let’s dive into the rules, expectations and potential consequences of running background checks in different contexts so you can decide what makes the most sense for you.

Background checks in larger organizations.

If you are a landlord or an employer that hires frequently, you likely run background checks on your applicants to help you decide who to hire or rent to. In organizations with a full HR department, things are a bit different. You have employment policies and all the disclosure and authorization forms you need to properly run a pre-employment background check. But there are legal obligations for organizations that perform a lot of screenings that require consistent care, and you shouldn’t go it alone.

The information you gather from consumer reports has a direct impact on someone’s future, so you must abide by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). The FCRA protects applicants with specific rights through the entire background check process. The law requires you to get their approval to run a consumer report—and they have the right to dispute that information.

No organization or landlord should ever disregard the FCRA. Those who do can end up in serious legal trouble like image-damaging class action lawsuits. A screening partner like One Source can help guide you through the FCRA with ease and make screening a simple and clear process. Often, credit reporting agencies (CRA) will provide you with an FCRA disclosure and authorization form as well as a sample policies and procedures to help you start. You don’t want to start off on the wrong foot by running a background check without permission. 

Background checks on a smaller scale.

Not everyone who runs a background check hires frequently or has an HR department. Smaller organizations that handle professional hiring may only need to run one or two background checks. Or you may be an individual wanting to run a report on just yourself. 

Even if you don’t hire frequently, that does not mean you shouldn’t inform those that you intend to screen. You should still have an employment policy in place and treat each new hire for similar positions equally. If you decide to utilize a CRA for this type of background check, then you will need to follow the FCRA requirements.

One Source can help with screenings on a smaller scale with our specializations in screenings for contractors and contingent works. If you want someone to do work on your office or rental home, you can screen them under the permissible purpose of site access. While you could look up the contractor online for reviews of their work, you can get a professional report on their background by utilizing a CRA. In order to do that, you must inform them of your intent to screen. Once again, you must not run a background check without permission.

At One Source, we help you see how the FCRA and screening ethics fit into your background check needs. Contact our Client Relations team today to see what screening options are best for you.

The State of the Screening Industry During the Pandemic

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While the current COVID-19 crisis and efforts to contain it have brought several industries to a halt, some businesses find themselves urgently in need of more team members. The healthcare and supply chain industries are working nonstop to fulfill the demands of sick and social-distancing populations. The screening industry has become more important than ever to these industries that are experiencing a spike in demand.

The industries with high demand have to hire new workers quickly. However, that doesn’t mean proper hiring protocols can be pushed aside.  Different security risks have arisen from having an entirely remote staff.

Background checks and monitoring are still necessary—even as the landscape of hiring changes. One Source is still here to serve your screening needs, and we’ll be totally transparent about ways COVID-19 has impacted the screening industry.

One Source Background Check’s COVID-19 protocols.

We created processes to keep our operations as normal as possible while prioritizing our team’s safety when we realized social distancing and stay-at-home orders were on the horizon for our clients.

Certain office closures around the country and the world will cause delays as we gather information for your reports. Some aspects of background checks that may be delayed across the entire screening industry include:

  • Court Records. We can process record requests in about 90 percent of U.S. counties at the moment. Many courts have ways to access records electronically. We will experience some delay for county courts that don’t have electronic records and are closed due to the pandemic.
  • Drug and Alcohol Testing. Some clinics in the U.S. are not open to those without respiratory symptoms. Some clinics are entirely closed. However, only 8 percent of the clinics in One Source’s network are currently closed. Double check with your local clinics to make sure they’re available for testing.
  • Education and Employment Verification. It may take longer to process verification requests due to some schools and organizations being closed right now.
  • International Criminal Records. Closures worldwide can slow processes and delay record requests.

Despite potential delays, we will still provide your reports on time and clearly mark if any parts are incomplete. You can see our entire COVID-19 process at the link at the top of our homepage.

Considerations for your own screening process.

You may be considering loosening some of your screening processes so you can hire faster if your demand for employees has increased. However, consider how the changes will affect your business down the road before you change your procedures.

For example, a business could choose to temporarily suspend criminal record checks to expedite hiring—a choice with potential negligent hiring and civil rights legal consequences.

Hiring without screening opens the door to negligent hiring charges. And if that business decides to reinstate criminal record checks, future hires could claim that criminal screenings were never necessary to the business and are a form of discrimination.

While we’re all taking this pandemic day by day, businesses do still need to plan ahead and consider the future of their workforce. Background checks play a big role in building a strong, consistent team and they shouldn’t be reduced for temporary circumstances.

To learn more about One Source’s COVID-19 response and how we can help your organization through,  Contact the One Source Client Relations 

Answering All of Your Fair Credit Reporting Act and Adverse Action FAQs

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The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) guides the background check process for employers and offers privileges and rights to the candidates who undergo screenings. Following the FCRA is essential for any hiring team, especially when it comes to adverse action, which is the process of removing an applicant from consideration due to screening report results.

Complex and important aspects of the background check process, both the FCRA and adverse action can raise plenty of questions for employers. One Source’s team can guide you through the FCRA and answer any questions about adverse action. Below we have discussed some frequently asked questions.

How long do I have to wait to remove an applicant from consideration after I notify them of my intent to take adverse action?

Once you decide to take adverse action against an applicant, you must notify them of your decision and the specific parts of their report led to your choice. You must then put any further actions on hold to give the applicant the opportunity to dispute their report. Generally, you must wait five business days before sending a final notice. The waiting period can vary by state, though, so be sure to check with your background check agency.

What if a candidate declines to consent to a background check?

If screenings are one of your company’s requirements for employment, then refusal to participate in a screening would disqualify them. However, the FCRA does not apply to applicants who don’t want to be screened. By refusing a background check, they waive their FCRA rights. Therefore you can remove them from consideration without taking adverse action.

Do I have to follow adverse action with contractors and volunteers?

Yes. Contingent employees and volunteers are protected by the FCRA, so you must follow FCRA guidelines in order to remove them from your recruitment process. There are several functions to which FCRA applies, including contractors, and volunteers. 

What if the information we are basing adverse action on is vague?

Sometimes, a criminal record won’t provide much context to a charge, so you’ll have to take adverse action without a full understanding of how an applicant got a criminal record. That’s why it’s required to wait several business days before you can finalize adverse action. You leave space for an applicant to provide details about their charges or dispute their accuracy. Plus, this gives you time to consult your screening firm. They will help you decipher what the codes on a criminal record mean and explain how the record translates into actual crimes. You can then make a better judgement about whether or not to keep the applicant in consideration.

With the help of an expert screening partner like One Source, your team can navigate the FCRA with ease. Contact the One Source Client Relations team today to see how we can help you manage your hiring process.