With more states legalizing marijuana use for medical and recreational use, employers have a right to be concerned.  VeriFirst has previously acknowledged that employers have the right to terminate an employee if they test positive for marijuana, however, some states are fighting against this. Even though marijuana is still considered a Schedule 1 substance under federal law, states like Nevada and California are considering or passing legislation to rule out drug screening for pot.

Let's take a look at states changing laws regarding pre-employment drug screening for marijuana and what it could mean for employers.

Human resources professionals face daily pressure to hire the right personnel, quickly and efficiently.  They're also tasked with ensuring the new hires are qualified, meet job requirements, fit the personality profile and are adaptable enough to grow with the organization. After a while, a hiring manager may feel that they can see right through exaggerated resumes or lies during an interview.  A background check will also offer more information to determine a worthy candidate. So, what happens when human resources notices something amiss with their candidate?

When HR notices red flags during the hiring process, what happens next?

Interviewing potential employees can take up a lot of time as you try to find the right candidate that fits the job. Apart from learning about the qualifications of the applicants, there are other important things to review including their criminal background, work history, license verification and more. Some companies overlook this because receiving the results on the background checks can take too long. However, in addition to local court searches, there are instant options that you can use to minimize risks to your business.

Know when and how to get Prompt Results for Employee Screening.

Much of the success of your business depends on your brand reputation and your brand reputation depends on your employees. Everyone who works for your business represents your company. Not only do you want to hire great employees, you want to keep them around. Employee turnover requires more work, more time and more resources than hiring right the first time. 

Here are best practices for reducing your company's employee turnover ...

Diversion and Inclusion (D & I) have been the topic for HR managers for a few years now.  The truth is, diversity and inclusion is helpful to the business as a whole, not only as a human resources policy. In 2015, the U.S. Census reported that, for the first time in history, a majority of children (50.2%) under age 5 were considered part of an ethnic group or a minority race. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported in 2018 that 83.9 % of chief executives were white males.  There simply is no reason not to include diversity and inclusion in your business to better reflect your customers and the changing population of the country.

Here's how HR affects diversity and inclusion in the workplace.

Hiring managers look to criminal background checks to provide accurate and relevant data for their hiring decisions. When a criminal background check reveals an arrest or conviction, it doesn't necessarily mean that the candidate is no longer eligible for the job.  Unfortunately, it's not that cut and dry. The manager has a lot to consider:

• Can they use arrest records without conviction?
• Does the record pass individualized assessment?
• Are the records true, timely and accurate?

It's important to understand the data that is provided in a criminal background check and when it's available. There could also be criminal charges that haven't made it to the report yet. 

Let's take a closer look ...

The VeriFirst blog is meant to be an invaluable resource to background screening clients and hiring managers alike. We value the questions YOU bring to us and work diligently to create helpful posts and tips for employers looking to hiring the right candidate and reduce risk. We've examined the analytics to determine the blog posts that you read the most so that we can bring you more of what you want. Use this list as a refresher on the blog or as a resource. And please provide feedback in the comments below if there's another topic you'd like us to cover. 

Here are the top employment background check blogs and topics.

Hiring laws and those that pertain to employment background screening are passed fairly regularly. Because it can be challenging for employers to keep up, this blog publishes yearly news as well as weekly updates to help keep readers informed. Staying in compliance with these new laws will help mitigate risk to your business.

Here are important updates to employment and hiring laws expected in 2020.

Most organizations pre-screen potential candidates during the hiring process. They understand that pre-employment background checks minimize the risk to their business, their employees and their customers.  The organization also assumes that a person's history will determine their current and future actions. 

But what happens if a candidate passes a background check and then commits a crime? Can an employer or hiring manager assume a background check is valid for a specific amount of time?

How long is a background check valid?

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?