As a professional background screening company, we receive numerous questions from clients and readers of this blog. As an example, someone asked recently if adverse action notices are necessary if the employer sends a note, in writing, stating that the job seeker's qualifications were "not within guidelines." Our question is this: What guidelines? Are the guidelines discriminatory? Was the candidate aware of these guidelines before applying?

We thought we'd start with a basic answer to the most basic of questions:

What is an Adverse Action Notice?

Tis the season of gratitude and service and your employees are looking forward to the break. As an employer, there are a multitude of ways to say thank you. Science has proven that gratitude and sincere acknowledgment improves lives and self-care in a stressful work environment. As an HR professional, you can also help encourage a culture of thankfulness and praise.

Here are four ways that HR can show gratitude to employees.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) was enacted so that consumers would have access to their personal information being stored and shared to employers and others.  This information could be false, inaccurate or incomplete and was being used against them.  While background screening is a vital tool to protect your business, FCRA compliance is another necessary protection. Non-compliance could be costly if an applicant were to take legal action. 

Do you know if your business hiring is FCRA compliant?

Performing background checks as an employer or landlord is vital to keeping your business, property, customers or employees safe. Unfortunately, the time and cost of a background check may lead to opting out or choosing to do research online in lieu of working with a professional background screening company. This can be a problem if the results found online aren't accurate or if the new hire or tenant isn't screened thoroughly. Denying employment or housing could cause the applicant to litigate because they weren't given a fair chance. Instead of putting yourself or your business at risk of EEOC or FCRA noncompliance, we have some practical ways to help.

Here are 3 simple ways to lower your company's turnaround times and screening costs. 

"We're very impressed with your skill set and are happy to offer you the job.... pending a background check investigation."

Even to those with nothing to hide, the second part of that sentence can shatter nerves of steel for job seekers. They wonder, "What will they find?" And, "Have I done anything wrong that I can't recall?" Or "What about that one mistake I made in college?"

Your recruiting and hiring staff can help ease these fears when running employment background checks.

Most employees expect to be screened during the hiring process. It may be a surprise to find that employers do have the right to run a background check post-hire. In both cases, the employee must have given written consent to be screened and the employer must follow adverse action procedures. The reasons for running a background check after hiring vary depending on industry, promotions or other events that may trigger an employer to screen again.

Can an Employer Run a Background Check after Hiring?

Employers screening potential applicants face more regulations such as Ban the Box and other "fair chance" laws to decrease discrimination in hiring. Landlords are also facing more legislation for the same reason. Within the past several months, there have been new laws for landlords and property owners looking to run background checks on their tenants. 

Read more to learn about new laws impacting landlords and tenant screening.

The efficiency of your company hiring process is more important than ever. Candidates go to websites like Glassdoor and others to share their experiences with any other potential candidate. Creating a positive candidate experience is crucial to attracting a quality pool of applicants as well as protecting your brand image. For a business that wants to hire the right employees, reducing time-to-hire is one way to improve the hiring experience. It's not necessary to cut corners to reduce the time from placing an ad to hiring an employee. 

How to reduce time-to-hire without putting your business at risk.

The National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS) last week announced that they are rebranding as the Professional Background Screening Association (PBSA). Founded in 2003, the organization promotes and establishes ethical business practices and legislative compliance within the background screening industry. 

VeriFirst is proud to be PBSA Accredited!

With the NAPBS name change, we wanted to share what this accreditation represents to background screening companies and employers. 

NAPBS changes their name to PBSA.