So your candidate’s background check didn’t turn out all roses. Now what? Employment background checks are under a microscope from federal and state regulators who are cracking down on employers in an effort to combat perceived misuse and discrimination. With that in mind, EmployeeScreenIQ polled the HR world to find out what steps professionals take (and what they avoid) to prevent getting into hot water. You can be among the first to hear the results. Background screening experts Jason Morris, Nick Fishman and Angela Bosworth, J.D., will host a free webinar on February 15 titled, “Risky Business: Ensuring Your Background Check is Legally Compliant.”

Webinar Title:
Risky Business: Ensuring Your Background Check is Legally Compliant
Date: Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Time: 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM EST
Cost: FREE
Register here: www1.gotomeeting.com/register/154532953

Drawing from our new trends survey report, we’ll cover best practices and tips to ensure that your hiring practices comply with ever-changing screening laws, legislation and guidelines. We’ll also discuss some colorful background check scenarios that we presented to survey respondents . . . and their surprising answers.

Those who attend will receive an advance copy of the 2012 survey report, so register today!

By Jason Morris, President & Kevin Bachman, VP of Quality Service.

We have made a conscious effort over the years to NOT make our blog a self-promotional site.  In fact, it’s with great care that we let you draw your own conclusions from the information that we put out.

On Sunday a story hit the AP wire that has made its way around our industry.  The article, points a wicked finger at the screening industry as dangerous, lazy and careless.  The article calls out a few background check companies, also known as Consumer Reporting Agencies (CRA’s) for reporting incorrect, and un-verified information to employers. Employers use these inaccurate reports to deny people jobs, hurting innocent people simply looking for work.

We love to take strong positions against inaccurate reporting. We find no more pleasure than calling out news that is wrong, looking smarter than some reporter looking to make his bones by writing a careless expose… WE CAN’T DO THAT HERE.  The reporter was right in all aspects except one; WE ARE NOT ALL THE SAME!

Are there companies that are careless and quick to pass along outdated or inaccurate information? YES. Are there companies that use only databases and don’t research actual court records? YES. Are there companies that simply scrape data off of court websites and don’t check it for accuracy? You guessed it, YES AGAIN.  It’s these companies that give us all a bad name; pushing onto employers the idea that screening is a commodity then sell the cheapest product possible to fit neatly into the world they’ve just created.

There are reasons for this.  Conducting background checks is a complicated business. The employers are generally unaware of the nuances of local, county, state, and federal laws, their processes, problems or regulations. And that’s not their fault. It’s not their business.  But without this knowledge, and with all companies claiming to do the same thing, it’s easy to discount claims of service and accuracy and simply look at price and whiz-bang technology systems.  On the other side, these screening companies know this; and their use of terms like “criminal search”, “instant” and “national background check,” combined with bells and whistles software allows them to perpetuate a higher degree of accuracy than their processes actually provide.

Last week we wrote about our experience at the Criminal Records and Employment Conference at Cornell ILR Law School in NY.  We wrote about the civil rights activists that were upset about all things screening.  We still stand tall and disagree with many of their positions; however, it’s stories like this that help us realize why they are so upset!  People are getting hurt everyday by these careless background checks and companies hiding behind loopholes in the Fair Credit Reporting Act rather than taking personal responsibility for their actions.

Its because of all this that EmployeeScreenIQ takes a “No Shortcuts” approach to all things screening.  “No Shortcuts” is more than just a tagline or fancy marketing campaign. It is the foundation for how we operate our business. This mantra is employed at every level of our organization so that you can make informed hiring decisions. One of the worst things you can do in your background screening process is to make a hiring decision based on inaccurate data. Rather than just reporting raw, unconfirmed information, EmployeeScreenIQ takes the necessary steps to ensure the results are reliable, accurate and up to date. Three fundamental principles of the Federal law WE choose to follow.

Before reporting criminal records to you, our Public Records department actually confirms that the information we’ve found belongs to your applicant. They also actually consult our 50 state compliance guide to ensure that the record is legally reportable. Believe it or not, the same methods apply to verifying other pieces of adverse information such as employment and education verifications. We’re all for streamlining the process and reducing turnaround time, but it should NEVER come at the expense of a quality product. Want proof that our methods work? Only .017% of all county criminal checks we complete are disputed.  (A dispute rate that this article points out screening companies are unwilling to publish!!!)

The proof is in the pudding.  EmployeeScreenIQ has successfully achieved compliance with the National Association of Professional Background Screeners accreditation program and is formally recognized as Background Screening Credentialing Council Accredited.  This recognition affirms EmployeeScreenIQ’s commitment to excellence, accountability, high professional standards and continued institutional improvement. Less than 2% of employment screening companies have earned this distinction and we are pleased to share such a small stage.

Accreditation is an important seal of approval that all companies should look for when choosing a provider as it is the only program in our field that proves their procedures are compliant with industry best practices. It also affirms security protocols, industry knowledge and expertise.

AP IMPACT: When your criminal past isn’t yours

We just published The Verifier XXIV, Fall 2011 Edition, a publication intended as an educational tool and information resource for human resource professionals or anyone interested in keeping abreast of recent employment screening and background check industry developments.

Highlights of this issue include the following:

Articles:

• Time to Streamline Your Background Screening Process? Check Out Our Latest Video
• No Shortcuts. Smarter Screening Equals Intelligent Hiring.
• Top Commercial Airline Flies High With EmployeeScreenIQ
• 2011 Background Check Turkey Awards
• Background Checks Gone Wild Hurt Us All

Announcements and Legislative Updates

• EmployeeScreenIQ Rated Top 5 Screening Firm in U.S.
• California Governor Bans Use of Employment Credit Reports
• EmployeeScreenIQ Announces Integration with Taleo Business Edition
• EmployeeScreenIQ Recognized as Fastest Growing Company

Check it out!

iEmployeeScreen Mobile is coming soon and we wanted you to be the first to know!

iEmployeeScreen Mobile provides you with a 360-degree understanding of emerging technology, the ever-changing world of legislation and regulations, plus the latest trends and best practices in employment screening.

• Expert articles, legislative updates and other industry happenings.
• It’s like having the EmployeeScreenIQ website at your fingertips!

Register to be notified when iEmployeeScreen mobile app is available

Coming to ?

Visit EmployeeScreenIQ at SHRM in Las Vegas (booth #2557), where we’ll be giving away iTunes gift certificates for the first, 100th, and 500th mobile app downloads.

Despite an influx of legislation and accusations that employers are overinflating the importance of candidate background checks, a new survey from EmployeeScreenIQ finds that companies are using them responsibly to make hiring decisions in conjunction with qualifications and interviews.

The 2011 edition of “Trends in Employment Background Screening” examines how HR professionals are adapting to the rapidly-changing world of employment background screening. The 14-page report delves into heated issues such as hiring discrimination, credit checks, hiring matrices, social networking and more. Nearly 800 individuals from a wide range of organizations in the U.S. completed the survey, which was distributed in March.

Among the top findings:

• Respondents are less concerned about EEOC inquiries and government interference in the background screening process than they are about a provider’s ability to deliver results and candidates with criminal records.
• Respondents cited qualifications and interviews as the leading influencers when making hiring decisions, ranking candidates’ criminal records third in importance.
• 66 percent of respondents never check social networking sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn, and others for the purposes of conducting background check.
• 92 percent of employers will reach out to candidates or consider job relevance when a background check reveals adverse information. Only 8% of respondents reject a candidate outright.
• 21percent conduct credit checks on all employees while 33% don’t perform them at all.

Download a complimentary copy of “Trends in Employment Background Screening 2011″ by visiting: http://www.employeescreen.com/2011_report.asp

This year’s survey refutes the outcry that employers are overinflating the importance of background checks and credit reports. The vast majority of respondents clearly stated that while background checks are essential, they are just one element of the hiring process.  The challenge ahead for organizations and HR professionals is to safely navigate these stormy waters by keeping informed and taking the proper steps to ensure compliance.

2011 has become a year of litigation and legislation that should concern any employer that conducts employment background checks.

EmployeeScreenIQ’s second annual survey report dives into these and other heated subjects. Nearly 800 HR professionals shared their views about background checks and how they influence the hiring process – as well as insights about the trends and challenges that will shape the future of employment background screening.

The experts at EmployeeScreenIQ have compiled the findings into a 14-page report that includes:

• How employers respond when a background check reveals negative information
• Concerns about new and upcoming state laws that restrict credit checks
• Concerns about increased hiring discrimination scrutiny by the EEOC
• How background checks influence the hiring process
• The risks of social media screening

Respondents also share their perspective about topical issues such as credit reports, criminal records, drug testing, and much more.

Those of you who have followed our blog over the past few years know that we have been a harsh critic of using social networking sites to conduct background checks on employees.  The biggest driver in our arguments against this practice has always been our concern is that doing so was a lawsuit waiting to happen.  Potential discrimination, negligent hiring, lack of transparency, no dispute process, etc.

And yes, we still have these concerns.  However, we can’t bury our heads in the sand anymore and say that employers just shouldn’t do it.  In fact, we’ve heard about cases where employers are held accountable for not checking a public site, when they could have avoided incident if they did.

So where does this leave us.  I guess somewhere in the middle.  If you look at the numbers, more and more employers are using social networking sites as part of their employment screening procedures.  As a CRA, I am still not sure I want anything to do with offering the service on behalf of my clients.  But, I do know for sure that I would like to help them avoid the potential risks inherent in this practice.

Earlier today, I published a guest article on EmployeeScreen University entitled “Screening Job Applicants with Facebook”, written by Molly DiBianca.  Molly is a labor and employment attorney who has been an outspoken advocate of this practice.  While I have not always agreed with her position, I have a great amount of respect for her as a trailblazer in this regard.  She offers solid advice that employers can use if they decide to engage in social networking employment background checks.

I encourage you to read the article in it’s entirety and draw your own conclusions about whether this is right for your organization.

P.S. In a roundabout way, this post also serves as an apology to Social Intelligence’s Max Drucker for not taking the time to listen to his arguments about this practice before firing off.  I agreed be more open-minded and Max agreed not to kick my ass:)

EmployeeScreenIQ is surveying the HR world, and six minutes could win you an iPad 2.

How important are background checks in the hiring process? How does your organization respond when a background check reveals adverse information? Which employment screening issues are you most concerned about?

These questions and others make up the second annual 2011 Employment Screening Trends Survey from EmployeeScreenIQ. It takes only six minutes to complete and covers attitudes about emerging issues, usage trends, challenges and more.

Just by participating in the survey, you’ll be entered in a prize drawing to win an iPad 2. All participants will receive an executive summary of the survey results in late April. Last year’s report garnered attention from Human Resource Executive, TLNT.com and other HR media… so don’t be left out.

Click below to take the survey and share your thoughts. We hope to hear from you!

It’s common knowledge that a good onboarding program can improve a new employee’s engagement and productivity while also contributing to organizational performance. Yet employers are only beginning to grasp the importance of the candidate experience. Inside that world lies the critical stage of background screening.

EmployeeScreenIQ’s new white paper, Background Screening and The Candidate Experience, is a must-read for employers and HR professionals. Our paper explains how background checks can directly impact the onboarding process and your company’s brand.

Inside you’ll learn about:

• Viewing candidates as potential employees, clients, and/or consumers
• Maintaining transparency with background screening policies and practices
• The importance of verifying negative information before it’s reported
• Protecting your brand when a candidate disputes the findings of a background check
• Choosing a screening firm that’s dedicated to best practices and compliance
• And more!

Be sure to download your copy of EmployeeScreenIQ’s Top Background Screening Trends for 2011. Here’s a short video below which previews our findings.