Background Check Trends for 2019

News and Notes - January 17, 2019 3:17 pm

Lawsuits involving the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). Employers must continue to remain in compliance with applicable laws and regulations in performing background checks. Screening compliance and following FCRA requirements along with state and local laws and regulations will continue to increase in complexity and this will likely spur more lawsuits.

An increase in employers hiring ex-offenders. With low unemployment rates, employers may be more willing to hire ex-offenders. When employers come across candidates that meet the necessary skills requirement, they will not want their screening process to side-step the talent. It’s a difficult road – if the ex-offender does not disclose he or she is an ex-offender, employers may see them as dishonest. However, if the ex-offender does disclose, the employer may decide not to hire him or her. There will likely be more laws related to background checks and privacy issues to help in getting more ex-offenders back into the workforce.

The issues of legal marijuana. Many states currently allow medical marijuana use and several let adults for recreation. For employers, this complicates the background check and screening process. State laws are clashing with federal laws regarding the drug. Employers have lost court cases in several states in the Northeast setting up a potentially problematic precedent that firing someone for medical marijuana use violates the Americans with Disabilities Act. Furthermore, in those states allowing for legal marijuana use, employers must continue to address those situation where new employee candidates test positive but are compliant with local laws.

ebiinc.com/resources/blog/5-hr-trends-for-2019
esrcheck.com/wordpress/2018/12/31/top-ten-background-check-trends-2019/