Legislators considering background checks for home inspectors

background checks for home inspectors assessing property values for municipalities is being proposed out of New Jersey’s 12th District. Though the bill has yet to be presented, Assemblyman Ronald S. Dancer seeks to have the state put the practice into law in the wake of an incident in Palmyra in which a man stole prescription…

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10 background check facts all employers should know

infographic which nicely highlighted the background check process, and some important facts about pre-employment background checks. And it got us thinking. What are the key facts about background checks that all employers should know? What are the figures that will help them make their mind up? With that said, we came up with these ten key…

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Consumer Financial Protection Bureau mandates new FCRA forms

 making a change to three notices required by the Fair Credit Reporting Act, effective January 1, 2013. The change directs consumers, furnishers and users of employee background checks to the CFPB instead of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and are part of the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Pub.L. 111-203, H.R. 4173) that President…

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Big push for paramedic background checks

In New Jersey, EMTs and people applying to become emergency responders are not required to undergo criminal background checks — the only emergency health professional that escapes this kind of scrutiny. “We do these checks of police and firefighters. We shouldn’t put people in positions of incredible trust without some sort of check on that,”…

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Huffington Post's ad-sales chief fails background check

Ad Age. The dismissal centered around a background check turning up an old, outstanding warrant for failure to appear in court related to a 2003 DWI charge that he says he has since dealt with. “I did not know about [the outstanding warrant] … but it was a stupid mistake,” he said. An AOL spokeswoman said…

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2012 changes affect employment background checks

informative piece recently regarding a few of the significant changes that have been implemented in the background screening industry this year. For example, were you aware that 2012 “is the first time in more than 20 years, since 1990, that the industry has updated their regulations”? We thought it was worth highlighting the key points noted,…

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Bill may limit criminal background checks in Michigan

bill (H.R. 6220) introduced by Rep. Hansen Clarke (D-MI) would prohibit employers from asking about or checking an applicant’s criminal record until a conditional offer of employment has been made. Known as the “Ban the Box” bill, it would even prohibit the employer from asking the applicant to mark a box on the application form indicating…

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Illinois bans employer requests for social media passwords

Sen. Blumenthal vowed to put a stop to privacy-invading Facebook checks by employers a few months ago, it seems states are taking notice. The law, signed by Governor Pat Quinn last week, goes into effect Jan. 1, 2013, and bans requests for log-ins and passwords during background checks and throughout employment. In addition, it amends the…

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Why do employers run background checks?

background check on you prior to employment. But why? Why do employers go through this process with potential employees (and current employees too, in some circumstances)? Here are four reasons as to why it’s an essential part of any hiring process for employers. Federal and state requirements For many companies, it is a requirement –…

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Government streamlines employee background checks

reported that the government is completing its initial personnel security investigations in an average of 36 days, a sharp drop from the 145 days average in 2005, according to testimony Thursday before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs subcommittee. The Office of Personnel Management’s background investigations for top secret clearances average 72 days, compared…

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