By Les Rosen, Employment Screening Resources

Employment Screening Resources (ESR) a leading national employment screening firm based in the San Francisco area, has released its third annual Top Ten Tends in Screening and Hiring for 2010.

ESR has identified new trends that are starting to make a difference, as well as old trends that have evolved as the screening industry matures and as plaintiff’s attorneys, including class action lawyers, have started to focus on background checks.  In 2009 for example, ESR noted that the use of social networking sites as a hiring tool would merely be a “hot topic.” In 2010, the trend has been upgraded to concerns over the potential for litigation alleging the unfair use of social networking sites.

Additional forces that will shape the screening industry and hiring in 2010 are advancements in technology as well as the constant struggle to balance privacy and fairness with security and due diligence.  For instance, the ease with which criminal records can be aggregated conflicts with the laws against the discriminatory use of criminal records.

Another issue related to the industry maturing is the proliferation of fly-by-night background check sites that have jumped on the screening bandwagon to make a quick buck, often using fear tactics or the lure of getting “inside information.”  Of course, legitimate employers understand that employment checks are a professional service that is heavily legally regulated.  In fact, concerns over accuracy and compliance with the requirements of the federal Fair Credit Report Act (FCRA) are likely to cause an increase in lawsuits and class actions in 2010.
 
Other trends are related to privacy, government-mandated screenings, and the emergence of best practice for international background checks. An issue related to the recession is problems associated with fraudulent educational and employment claims.

One very positive development that will help employers in 2010 is that the National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS) has been firmly established as the voice of the screening industry, and is very pro-active in promoting best practices.

“Employers that do not exercise due diligence to weed out potential bad hires are certainly taking an unnecessary risk and exposing a business to serious legal and financial consequences,” said Lester S. Rosen, attorney at law and founder of ESR and author of two books on background screening.  “On the other hand, an employer also faces a risk if they are not using appropriate tools and do not appreciate that, as with all matters related to employment, this area is heavily legally regulated.” 

The trends are reviewed at: http://www.esrcheck.com/2010-trends-backgroundscreening-industry.php

The top trends are:

1.  Increased focus on whether the use of credit reports and criminal records are discriminatory. 
2. More lawsuits including class action litigation over accuracy, privacy, and consumer rights.
3. Pressure on privacy and data protection including the physical location of data.
4. The battle over databases will continue with the  latest wrinkle being the proliferation of cheap “do-it-yourself” websites and even apps for smart phones. 
5. Lawsuits for unfair use of Social Networking Sites may arise.
6.   Increased technology will bring about the end of paper and faxing for employment screening.
7.  An increase in fraudulent employment and educational claims due to the pressure of the recession.  
8.   I-9 and other government requirements will grow.
9.  Screening will expand beyond new employees to vendors and others on premises and even consumer-generated checks.
10.   International screening will be under more scrutiny and best practices will start to emerge,
11.   Bonus Trend:   The emergence of the National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS) as the voice of the industry and the continuing efforts to establish best practices

More information on background checks and employee screening is at: www.ESRcheck.com.

By Jared Callahan, Employment Screening Resources

Employment Screening Resources (ESR), a leading national employment screening firm announced today the release of a Resource Center on its web site, containing “All Things Background Checks.” 

The new feature is intended to provide one  centralized location for ESR clients to keep current on the critical task of hiring a workforce that is safe and effective.  The site also allows Employers, Human Resources and Security Professionals, Recruiters and Job Applicants to locate resources on screening and to keep current on evolving issues affecting hiring by going to just one site.

Employment Screening Resources (ESR) is the firm that literally wrote the book on background checks, The Safe Hiring Manual, and provides pre-employment screening services and drug testing internationally.  The firm specializes in legal compliance expertise and industry leading technology, service, accuracy and turnaround. 

The new Resource Center starts with twelve icons, each directing users to a different area, including sections on whitepapers by ESR, Legal Resources, books, courses and even a section for job applicants.  One of the features includes access to ESR’s proprietary summary of staff opinion letters issued by the Federal Trade Commission.  The ESR blog, which is updated frequently, ensures that users of the site are updated on the latest trends and legal developments when it comes to safe hiring.  

“We are very pleased to have the opportunity to provide this critically important information to employers and consumers,” commented Jared Callahan, Director of Marketing, and a national speaker on topics related to safe hiring.  “Background screening is a critical part of the process in identifying the best employees and with this new Resource Center, employers may simply go to just one site to find the information they need.”

See: http://www.esrcheck.com/Resources/

By Les Rosen, Employment Screening Resources

2010 Trends in Screening – Trend Ten:  International screening will be more prevalent 

Given the mobility of workers backcross international borders, international background checks have presented challenges for employers. There are 192 countries in the world (using the United Nations membership list). That means that there is a great deal to keep track of. Every country of course has its own system and rules. Added to that are international data and privacy protection issues. In the past. Some employers have avoided international background checks due to the perceived difficulty. Due to the number of resources now readily available, an employer that fails to include an international dimension to their screening could well find that they are not exercising due diligence in hiring when it come to applicants that have spend time outside of the United States. 

However, international screening is more complicated then domestic U.S. screening. The complications are compounded by the fact that different screening organizations are giving information to employers that appears to be contradictory. Some firms say certain countries do not have criminal records available, while another firm may disagree. Some firms say that a special release is needed whereas other firms indicate that for a number of countries that no additional releases are needed beyond what the applicants normally signs. In this age of information, it is odd that there is still uncertainty as to exactly what criminal records are available from each country, and the nature and coverage of the records, such as whether the record is just for a particular court, city or state (or province), or nationwide. This coming year could well see the emergence of generally agreed upon best practices for international criminal checks.

For more informatin on international checks by ESR, see:  http://www.esrcheck.com/international.php

(Employment Screening Resources (ESR), a leading national online employment screening background firm, is releasing the ESR Third Annual Top Ten Trends in the Pre-Employment Background Screening Industry for 2010. This is the Tenth of the ten trends ESR will be tracking in 2010.)

An opinion issued by the U.S. District Court in Northern District of Illinois in 2003 provides a case study on what an employer and screening firm should NOT do when it comes to employment background checks. (more…)

By Les Rosen, Employment Screening Resources

2010 Trends in Screening Trend Nine: Increased need for employer due diligence

Another impact of the recession is the likelihood of applicant fraud.  Fraudulent educational claims, or worthless diplomas from degree mills, are already familiar problem for employers, recruiters and HR professionals.  However, resume fraud took on an added urgency in 2009 with the advent of services that would actually create fake employment references from fake companies.  The service apparently even included a phone number that an employer could call in order to reach a service that in fact would verify the fake employment.  Although statistic are not yet available, anecdotally it appears that some job applicants have been willing to resort to these extreme and dishonest measures to gain an advantage in the job market. 

In the long run, worthless diplomas bought over the internet or scams to create manufactured past employment will probably be unsuccessful for the most part, provided that employers exercise some due diligence.  For fake education, a competent background firm will typically verify first if a school is legitimate.  If the school does not appear on accepted lists of accredited institution, then a screening firm can review lists of known diploma mills and scams.  Screening firms will also verify if the accreditation agency is for real, since fake schools have resorted to creating fake accreditation agencies.

In addition, pulling of a fake job reference is getting much more difficult.  A good background firm will not simply call the name and number provided by the applicant.  Professional screeners will typically independently establish if the past employer even existed, and locate a phone number independently of whatever number an applicant puts on their resume.  Employment Screening Resources, for example, goes through an extensive procedure to verify that each past employer is legitimate and does not accept the applicant provided phone number.

The bottom-line for employers in 2010 is taking extra caution to ensure you are hiring bona fide employees.

(Employment Screening Resources (ESR), a leading national online employment screening background firm, is releasing the ESR Third Annual Top Ten Trends in the Pre-Employment Background Screening Industry  for 2010. This is the Ninth of the ten trends ESR will be tracking in 2010.)