ESR is NAPBS Accredited for ScreeningESR is accredited by The National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS®) for employee screening background checks.
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October 2010 Vol. 10, No. 10
1. ESR Achieves BSCC Accreditation
The National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS®) Background Screening Credentialing Council (BSCC) announced today that Employment Screening Resources (ESR) has successfully proved compliance with the Background Screening Agency Accreditation Program (BSAAP) and will now be formally recognized as BSCC Accredited.
"Employment Screening Resources is gratified that the National Association of Professional Background Screeners announced that we achieved BSCC Accreditation," stated ESR President Lester Rosen, who founded the San Francisco area background screening company in 1996 with the purpose of promoting a safe workplace for both employers and employees. "Working to achieve accreditation was a total team effort and the process itself was a rewarding experience," added Rosen, an attorney at law and author of 'The Safe Hiring Manual - The Complete Guide to Keeping Criminals, Terrorists, and Imposters Out of Your Workplace,' one of the first comprehensive guides for employment screening.
Each year, U.S. employers, organizations, and governmental agencies request millions of consumer reports to assist with critical business decisions involving background screening.
Background screening reports, which are categorized as consumer reports, are currently regulated at both the federal and state level. Since its inception, NAPBS has believed that there is a strong need for a singular cohesive industry standard and therefore created the BSAAP. Governed by a strict professional standard composed of requirements and measurements, the BSAAP is positioned to become a widely recognized seal of approval that brings national recognition to background screening organizations (also referred to as Consumer Reporting Agencies). This recognition will stand as the industry "seal" representing a background screening organization's commitment to excellence, accountability, high professional standards, and continued institutional improvement.
"The BSAAP is the industry's primary vehicle for quality assurance, self-regulation, and public accountability," said Tracy Seabrook, CAE, executive director of NAPBS. "Developed and sustained by background screening professionals, the BSAAP reflects, reinforces, and promotes best practices, institutional ethics, and the highest standards of background screening operations."
The NAPBS Background Screening Credentialing Council (BSCC) oversees the application process and is the governing accreditation body that will ensure the background screening organizations seeking accreditation meet or exceed a measurable standard of competence. To become accredited, consumer reporting agencies must pass a rigorous onsite audit, conducted by an independent auditing firm, of its policies and procedures as they relate to six critical areas:
Any U.S.-based employment screening organization is eligible to apply for accreditation. A copy of the standard, the policies and procedures, and measurements is available at http://www.napbs.com/.
About NAPBS®
Founded in 2003 as a non-profit trade association, the National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS) represents the interests of more than 700 member companies around the world that offer tenant, employment, and background screening. NAPBS provides relevant programs and training aimed at empowering members to better serve clients and maintain standards of excellence in the background screening industry, and presents a unified voice in the development of national, state and local regulations. For more information, visit http://www.napbs.com/.
2. New California Bill to Regulate Offshoring of Background Checks Overseas
On September 29, 2010, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed into law California Senate Bill 909 (SB 909), which appears to be the first law in the nation that addresses the issue of personal information being sent offshore (outside the United States or its territories). SB 909 - authored by State Senator Rod Wright (D - Inglewood) - amends the California Investigative Consumer Reporting Agencies Act (ICRA) that regulates background checks in California.
The bill requires that a consumer must be notified as part of a disclosure before the background check of the web address where a consumer "may find information about the investigative reporting agency's privacy practices, including whether the consumer's personal information will be sent outside the United States or its territories."
If a background screening firm does not have a web site, then the background screening firm must provide the consumer a phone number where the consumer can obtain the same information.
The background screening firm's privacy policy must contain "information describing its privacy practices with respect to its preparation and processing of investigative consumer reports."
Specifically, background screening firms in California (and firms that do business in California) must have a statement in their privacy policy entitled "Personal Information Disclosure: United States or Overseas" that indicates whether the personal information will be transferred to third parties outside the United States or its territories.
The bill defines "third parties" as including, "but not being limited to, a contractor, foreign affiliate, wholly owned entity, or an employee of the investigative consumer reporting agency."
The bill also requires a "separate section that includes the name, mailing address, e-mail address, and telephone number of the investigative consumer reporting agency representatives who can assist a consumer with additional information regarding the investigative consumer reporting agency's privacy practices or policies in the event of a compromise of his or her information."
In the event a consumer is harmed by virtue of a background screening firm negligently sending data offshore, the bill provides for damages to the consumer.
The bill goes into affect January 1, 2012. This will presumably allow time for background screening firms to provide new releases to employers, or to modify the language on online systems.
The full text of California Senate Bill 909 can be found at: http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/09-10/bill/sen/sb_0901-0950/sb_909_bill_20100929_chaptered.pdf.
ESR does not offshore personal data, and all domestic background checks are performed exclusively in the United States. ESR will provide more a detailed analysis of the new law in upcoming blogs.
3. EEOC Meets to Discuss Credit Reports and Job Applicants
The EEOC held a public Commission meeting on Wednesday, October 20 to hear testimony from representatives of various groups, social scientists, and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on the growing use of credit histories of job applicants as selection criteria during employment background screening.
The EEOC Chair commented that the discussion provided important input into EEOC's work to ensure that "the workplace is made free of all barriers to equal opportunity." She also said that as a result of high unemployment forcing more people into the job market, an increasing number of job applicants are exposed to employment background screening tools such as credit checks that could unfairly exclude them from job opportunities.
The Commission heard from a diverse set of experts, including one from the National Consumer Law Center (NCLC) who expressed concerns that the use of credit histories creates a "Catch-22" situation for job applicants during the current period of high unemployment and high foreclosures, both of which have negative impacts on credit. Others explained using credit histories for employment purposes can have a disparate impact on protected groups, including people of color, women, and the disabled.
Representatives from the business community - including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce (USCC) and the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM) - told the Commission that the use of credit histories is permissible by law, limited in scope, and predictive in certain situations of reliability. A recent survey from SHRM revealed that 13 percent of organizations conduct credit checks on all job candidates and another 47 percent consider credit history for selected jobs. Also, it is the experience of SHRM member companies that few organizations utilize credit histories for every job opening.
However, an industrial psychologist said that there is little research exploring the implications of using credit checks in the employment context and - given the potential for discriminatory exclusion - he concluded that it would be wise to use an applicant's credit history only within the context of a thorough background check.
ESR Articles (click for more info)
The FCRA in 4 Easy Steps
Find out how to be in compliance with the FCRA
Criminal Records and Employment Applications
What questions should employers be asking?
10 Safe Hiring Tools
These tools don’t cost anything and promote a safe and profitable workplace
Negligent Hiring
What occurs when Due Diligence is not performed
Please feel free to contact Jared Callahan at ESR at 415-898-0044 or jcallahan@esrcheck.com if you have any questions or comments about the matters in this newsletter. Please note that ESR's statements about any legal matters are not given or intended as legal advice.
Employment Screening Resources (ESR)
www.ESRcheck.com
7110 Redwood Blvd., Suite C
Novato, CA 94945
415-898-0044
