Active Screening Blog Posts
Update: Are Credit Checks Discriminatory? Some U.S. Senators Say, “Yes.”
A group of U.S. Senators is upping the ante on their bet that most Americans want credit checks banned from the hiring process. Led by Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), the “Equal Employment for All Act of 2015, aims to amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) by...
How Identity Theft Can Affect Your Background Check
Most background screening companies are committed to operating at the highest standards to keep your Personally Identifiable Information (PII) protected. Click here for a list of the most proactive firms (these are the ones like Active Screening who have taken a...
Has Your Restaurant Server Been Background Checked?
We know all about the industries where background checks are REQUIRED - transportation, healthcare, child care, security, education. Then, there are the industries where background checks SHOULD happen - ministries, insurance, youth sports leagues, non-profit...
Judge Disses FCRA Class Action Claim
Complying with the Fair Credit Reporting Act is supposed to be relatively straightforward for employers, but it continues to be one of the biggest stumbling blocks. The latest company to get accused of violating FCRA law is Kohl’s Department Stores Inc., but this...
Are Property Owners Using Discriminatory Tenant Screening Policies?
Some New Orleans property owners are being accused of discriminatory background screening tactics for prospective tenants. If the allegations prove true, the ramifications could affect how property owners are policed when requesting and collecting background checks. A...
Is Ban the Box Gaining Federal Traction?
A grassroots movement to eliminate questions about a job candidate’s criminal history during the early stages of hiring may be going mainstream sooner than many people expected. A group of bipartisan federal legislators this month introduced a bill to “ban the box” on...
Chipotle Facing Meaty FCRA Class Action Lawsuit
It’s been a tough year for Chipotle. In January, a major pork shortage that affected nearly a third of all locations nationwide disrupted the chain’s carnitas supply for months. Last month, the burrito chain faced a class action claim that it had been using GMOs in...
Update! EEOC Heads to Court… Again
Attorneys representing the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) had a busy week in court in early September. The government agency that oversees the laws, rules and regulations of background checks was dealing with two cases, that, as we’ve previously...
Active Screening Heads to the NAPBS National Conference
Later this month, hundreds of screening industry insiders will head to Austin, Texas for the National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS) 2015 Annual Conference. As an accredited member of NAPBS, Active Screening is proud to be attending this...
Why You Need to Double-Check Candidates’ Education Credentials
Listing education credentials on a resume is something pretty much everybody does, but it turns out the same can’t be said for fact-checking those claims. Many big name companies have fallen prey to people who have flat-out lied about schools attended, degrees earned,...
Who Needs A Background Check Before Entering Our Schools?
There is a nearly universal expectation that when we send our children to school, they will be safe. Parents put an enormous amount of trust into the people who are caring for our kids, some of whom (depending on their extracurriculars) spend upwards of 10 hours a day...
Three Background Check Mistakes EVERY Nonprofit Makes
Without non-profit organizations, thousands, if not millions, of Americans would go without an array of services. From youth sports groups to domestic violence shelters, and animal rescue agencies to literacy campaigns, our country is a better place because of the...
A Behind the Scenes Look at the US Open Tennis Tournament Screening Policy
The US Open tennis tournament kicks off in New York City this week. It’s the last grand slam tennis tournament of the professional season. More than 720,000 on-site fans will visit Flushing Meadows, and thousands more will be employed at the complex, during the...
How Pennsylvania is Singlehandedly Changing How States Protect Children
Pennsylvania has become the gold standard in child protection. In the last two years, the state has passed 23 new pieces of legislation aimed at beefing up background check requirements, increasing child protection protocols, and solidifying mandated reporter status....
California Background Check Laws Complex, But Not Impossible to Navigate
Two California court rulings are showcasing the complexities of the state’s screening laws. Background check laws in California are notoriously difficult and more stringent than in most other states. Two laws in particular were designed by the legislature to better...
What You Need to Know About Cross-Border Background Checks
The American workforce is changing. Recent data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that 15.9 percent of the total U.S. workforce, or 24.4 million individuals, were foreign-born. But this globalization of our domestic workforce is simply a mirror for what’s...
Guidance, Not Law – The EEOC Under Fire For Background Report Litigations.
A lawsuit pitting the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) against a major car manufacturer is raising concerns about several hiring issues. Among them: Use of criminal background checks Disparate or Structural discrimination Policies against ex-offenders...
States Beef Up Background Checks to Protect Vulnerable Populations
Protecting and caring for our most vulnerable populations is everyone’s business. Children, the elderly and people with disabilities are too often targeted by predators who want to hurt them in some way. From identity theft and fraud, to sexual and physical abuse, the...
Woman Sues Credit Reporting Firms for Declaring her Dead
Here's another entry into the crazy but true background screening file… and a solid reminder of why you should occasionally conduct your own background check on yourself AND view your results.From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:Alexandria Goree from St. Louis discovered...
Don’t Hire an Ex-Offender Until You Read This
A few weeks ago, Facebook went nuts with a clip from Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. Unless you have HBO or are a fan of The Daily Show, you might not recognize the name of this Brit. He’s wickedly funny though, and like Jon Stewart, often takes an acerbic and wry...