The unemployment rate is on the decline. This downward trend has been present since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic when unemployment peaked at around 15%. While the current rate isn’t as low as it was pre-pandemic, it is close. A recent survey found that nearly 90% of employers are struggling to fill open positions….
The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) is a federal law that requires employers to make specific disclosures to employees or job applicants related to the information they will obtain and use during the hiring process, including a background check. FCRA regulations require employers to meet specific criteria in their disclosures. Chief among these requirements is…
WELCOME, NC (October 1, 2021) – Richard Childress Racing, a performance-driven racing, marketing and manufacturing organization with 16 NASCAR Championships and more than 200 victories, has partnered with Smarthire Canada Screening Services to provide their SmartHire global screening services, the highest quality background screening services available today. Smarthire Canada Screening Services’s SmartHire platform is the…
Most employers understand that they must meet many federal requirements when moving forward with a background check. The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) requires that employers follow a very specific process before legally obtaining information from a background check. A myriad of federal and state court cases can further complicate this matter for employers, though….
Ban-the-box laws have been gaining traction nationally in recent years. New York City is the latest location to adopt additional requirements that impact employers’ rules when conducting employee background checks. The New York City Fair Chance Act, or NYCFCA, went into effect on July 29, 2021, and this law provides additional employment protection for those…
Employee background checks are becoming increasingly common, and they are among the most robust tools employers have for vetting potential job candidates in an increasingly geographically disparate workplace. However, these background checks often make employers and employees nervous. Employees may be concerned with the type of information the employer will request, while employers may be…
Background checks are used for many different reasons. For example, employers and landlords often use criminal background checks to keep their environments safe for other employees and tenants. And while running a background check on someone is becoming more common, there are legal protections in place to preserve the job candidate or prospective tenant’s rights…
Many organizations shifted to an operational model that enabled remote working solutions throughout the pandemic. And the shift has proven to be permanent for many of these organizations since they recognize that employee productivity doesn’t generally suffer. In addition, the cost savings associated with remote work provide further incentive to continue a work-from-home environment. But…
While most employers understand the value of criminal background checks for job applicants, the recent changes to many workforces have demonstrated that these screenings may be insufficient. There is quite a bit more unsupervised freedom with many employees now working from home or with a hybrid schedule. Supervisors and managers may feel disconnected from the…
The use of employee criminal background checks is becoming more common across many companies in the United States. These background checks can tell the employer tons of important information, some of which may be required in certain industries. For instance, employers hiring drivers may need to know about past driving convictions because hiring the wrong…