What types of background checks can employers conduct?

Criminal background checks Criminal background checks are common in employment situations in which the employee will have access to company financial information or will be working with vulnerable populations. Oftentimes, a company will reconsider hiring the person if they are applying for a position related to a previous felony conviction. In order to conduct criminal…

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Pennsylvania cracks down on volunteer background checks

Pennsylvania will soon be implementing the volunteer background checking law that MYB discussed in January, but despite no further news about how schools should handle volunteer background checks, some of the confusion has been lifted for other types of volunteers in Pa. communities. It has now been specified which background checks are required for volunteers…

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3 ways businesses can benefit from drug testing

see improvements in your company by drug testing, from a former human resources manager and director. Find better workers. When word gets around that your company conducts drug tests, you’re automatically able to screen out potential employees that won’t be able to pass drug tests — because they are less likely to apply for jobs…

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State marijuana legalization brings up new questions in hiring

is actually legal — it creates a confusing situation. Should an applicant be denied a job in another state because he or she utilizes a drug that is legal in the state in which he or she resides? One problem is that THC — the active ingredient in cannabis — can stay in the body…

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March 2015: unemployment rate steady

According to a news release from the Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate has not changed since February, continuing to hold steady at 5.5 percent, or 8.6 million unemployed individuals. In March, 126,000 new jobs were added to the workforce, way down from the previous monthly average of 269,000 new jobs…

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Virginia becomes 15th state to ban the box

After last month’s Senate vote to pass statewide ban-the-box legislation, the Virginia House of Delegates approved the new measure and Gov. Terry McAuliffe signed it into law on April 3. The new law requires state government job applications to remove all questions about an applicant’s criminal history. The law allows for background checks to be…

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New Mexico takes first steps toward decriminalizing medical marijuana

approved measures that take steps to decriminalize marijuana and ensure that licensed medical marijuana providers do not have felony criminal records. State legislators have made clear that, despite these new bills, the state is not yet ready to legalize cannabis. “This is not legalization,” said Senate bill sponsor Sen. Joseph Cervantes. “This is decriminalization of…

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