Attorney Lester Rosen, founder and CEO of background check firm Employment Screening Resources (ESR), has submitted a letter of public comment to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency that enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination, regarding the April 25, 2012 meeting where the EEOC voted 4-1 to approve updated Enforcement Guidance on the Consideration of Arrest and Conviction Records in Employment Decisions Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The letter is available at: http://www.esrcheck.com/Les-Rosen-Public-Comment-on-EEOC-Criminal-Guidance.php. Read More…

While existing law allows California consumers to place security freezes on their credit files maintained by the three major credit reporting agencies Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion, new legislation – Senate Bill 1384 (SB 1384) ‘Consumer Reporting Agencies Act’ – would authorize consumers to place similar security freezes on certain other consumer reports containing private financial information. Introduced by State Senator Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto), SB 1384 defines a “nationwide specialty consumer reporting agency” and “consumer file” for purposes of California law and authorizes consumers to place security freezes on consumer files compiled and maintained by nationwide specialty consumer reporting agencies. The full text of the bill is here: California SB 1384. Read More…

Recent news reports about how an employee of Wells Fargo in Milwaukee, Wisconsin was fired after a background check uncovered two 40-year-old shoplifting arrests from 1972 when she was 18 do not tell the entire story, according to one safe hiring expert, since there are two avenues that allow applicants and employees with minor offenses to work at banks. A Wells Fargo spokesman said the 58-year-old woman, who worked in customer service in the Home Mortgage department for five years and received numerous recognition awards, was terminated because Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) law prohibits the bank “from hiring or continuing the employment of any person who we know has a criminal record involving dishonesty or breach of trust.” Read More…

A letter published on the Cleveland.com website criticizes a U.S.-based background screening firm for laying off local workers in the Ohio area in March of 2012 and “offshoring” both jobs and the personal data of American consumers collected for background checks outside of the country. The full text of the letter, written by Katharine Sarlog, a former employee of the company who was recently laid off, is available by clicking here: Katharine Sarlog letter. Read More…

In a recent example of the need for businesses to conduct education verifications during background checks, the newly hired Chief Executive Officer of Yahoo!, Scott Thompson, was found to have discrepancies in his educational record after a letter from Third Point LLC, owners of close to 6 percent of Yahoo! shares, pointed out that while numerous biographies and securities filings claimed Thompson held a Bachelor’s degree in accounting and computer science, a “rudimentary Google search” revealed that his degree was in accounting only.  The letter is available here: Third Point letter to Yahoo! (UPDATE: Yahoo! Board of Directors Forms Special Committee to Review CEO Academic Credentials). Read More…