Written By: Blank Rome LLP The Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”) provides federally-imposed limitations on all employers who seek information from a Consumer Reporting Agency about an applicant or employee for use in making an employment decision, such as a hiring or promotion. The FCRA contains specific notice, authorization, and reporting requirements related to obtaining […]
FCRA Developments: Updated Summary of Rights & “Stand-Alone” Disclosure Need Not Be Separate In Time
Written By: Jill L. Rosenberg, Joe Liburt and Jessica R. L. James Employers across the country should dust off their background check policies and forms and be mindful of recent developments related to the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). FCRA mandates specific, technical steps for employers using consumer reports to make employment decisions, including hiring, […]
Importance of Employee Background Screening for Small Business
A background check is one of the most crucial pre-employment screening steps that are necessary for small businesses and companies before making a decision to hire. As a small business owner, running a background check on any potential employee should be taken seriously. This is because it helps protect your establishment from numerous potential risks which could cost you a fortune and productivity in the days ahead.
While resumes might look decorated and appealing, small business owners shouldn’t just assume that their potential employees are telling the truth. If you want to get the right person for the job, going that extra mile is necessary as it could help unearth any information likely to be concealed during resume writing.
South Carolina’s New Expungement Law Could Increase Applicant Pool
In an effort to increase the state’s potential workforce, the South Carolina General Assembly passed legislation last week that will expand the state’s current expungement law and allow individuals to more easily remove criminal convictions from their records. The hope is that prospective employees with low-level crimes on their records will no longer be discouraged from applying for jobs; this, then, should make it easier for employers to recruit qualified workers. What do South Carolina employers need to know about this new law? While South Carolina does not have a ban-the-box law, the state legislature has instead taken it one step further: the new law will make it easier for persons to erase certain convictions from their records. Current law permits persons to expunge a first-offense, low-level crime carrying a sentence of 30 days or less from their record following a period of good behavior. The new law removes the “first-offense” requirement and also allows persons to erase multiple convictions arising out of the same sentencing hearing if they are “closely connected.” Significantly, the law also allows offenders to expunge first-offense simple drug possession and possession of drugs with intent to distribute crimes. The law applies retroactively to those offenses committed prior to the law’s passage.
From Discrimination to Invasions of Privacy: The Dangers of Social Media Background Checks
State laws do not bar employers from using social media for any form of background check, but they do make it more difficult. Left to their own devices, employers must use social network search functions to find their candidates on LinkedIn (usually pretty easy), Facebook (more difficult), and Twitter (next to impossible).
This added challenge brings to light issues with the consistency and verifiability of social media background checks. Employers can rarely be sure if they’ve found the correct social media profile for a candidate. Since many candidates are difficult to find on social media — whether because they don’t have active accounts or have activated robust privacy settings — there is no consistency to the social media background check process.
Someone who is very active on Facebook could have a disadvantage compared to a candidate who doesn’t have a profile. With any background check, consistency in procedures from one applicant to the next is paramount. That consistency cannot be achieved with social media background checks.
Employers and job seekers alike should be aware of the rocky implications of social media background checks. More traditional background checks — from criminal history searches to educational verifications to reference checks — are considerably more effective and less legally or ethically treacherous. Even though more and more employers are using social media to vet their candidates, there are countless reasons that the practice is time-consuming at best and extremely risky at worst.
