Over 33 States and 150 cities have been behind the push to "ban the box" and now Congress is considering more widespread legislation.  These laws, also referred to as "fair chance" laws, help to reintegrate ex-offenders successfully into society.  More specifically, the "box" being banned is the question on many employment applications asking, "Have you ever been arrested or convicted of a crime?"

With more bipartisan support of these laws, members of Congress have introduced the "Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act of 2019" or the "Fair Chance Act".

Here's how a federal "ban the box" rule would impact your business.

Small businesses aren't the only organizations that may be facing litigation for non-compliance or discrimination. As we frequently feature on this blog, large corporations with full human resources departments still make mistakes. This time, Walmart is facing allegations of racial discrimination due to its background check policies regarding criminal background checks. 

Read more to learn how enterprise companies such as Walmart face EEOC lawsuits. 

Once the hiring need has been established, a job description and listing is created to determine the right candidate for the job. During the hiring process, a candidate's information may be reviewed by everyone from recruiters to human resources to management.  Along the way, the applicant may be subject to removal from consideration. The ultimate hiring decision, however, is made by the hiring manager who will be working with the candidate. 

If you've incorporated background screening in your hiring process, your screening partner may also help with the hiring decision. Here's how.

How your background check company helps with hiring decisions.

As hiring managers or HR professionals, you're not only tasked with hiring the best and brightest but also doing it correctly. With FCRA class action lawsuits, changing legislation and candidates reviewing your hiring process online, your job responsibilities are heavily scrutinized and could put your employer at risk. Choosing a partner to assist and educate with compliance during your hiring process can help minimize that risk. 

Here are best practices for choosing the best employment background check company.

Today's job market has hiring managers concerned about grabbing up the best talent. It's easy to think of the hiring experience as one-sided, however more candidates are sharing their experiences online. Your candidate experience could affect your brand reputation, as well as your bottom line. 

Stand out among employers by creating a positive candidate experience.

VeriFirst now offers employers more flexibility when creating background check packages. The Package Builder can help HR teams match their company’s budget and tolerance for risk. As an added bonus, these packages help reduce the amount of wait time for background check results so that hiring managers can make decisions quicker.

American painter and PBS television host, Bob Ross, is quoted as saying, "there are no mistakes, only happy accidents." While that may be true on canvas, employers like Lowe's, Uber, Dish Network and Whole Foods weren't too happy when they were penalized for FCRA non-compliance. Nonetheless, we often don't learn an important lesson until we've done it the wrong way. 

Here are three common examples of the wrong way to do FCRA compliance in employment.

When the pressure is on to hire top talent and build great teams, hiring managers may often worry if they're up to the task. It's a big challenge to adapt to a candidate's market and meet the needs of the organization. There's also the fear of missing out (FOMO) on a candidate who may be a perfect fit - especially when considering the wait and cost of a background check. 

Here are some tips for managing those fears. 

Every individual has numerous points of data that can be accessed in a background check. When hiring a new employee, you might assume that you should just "run all the checks". You don't have to. You can save the wait time and the money buy only running the screens necessary for that particular job. 

If you're looking to protect your business, running an employment background check can help minimize the risk of negligent hiring claims and high turnover.  Let's look at a basic employment background check and determine which screens you should include when hiring. 

The birds are nesting and the allergies are in full swing. Welcome to Spring! If you're feeling inspired to clean out the garage, keep the energy going and consider doing some spring cleaning in your HR department. As is our focus, this post will mostly be related to hiring and screening employees. Benefits and other human resources functions could also be looked over or refreshed this time of year. 

Take this time to do some spring cleaning for your HR department! 🌻🌼