The National Employment Law Project (NELP), National Consumer Law Center (NCLC), and Community Legal Services, Inc. (CLS) recently sent a letter to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) providing information on a proposed Summary of Rights and regulatory changes to strengthen the protections found in the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) regarding criminal background checks on job applicants for employment. The letter to the CFPB is available at http://www.nelp.org/page/-/SCLP/2012/NELPrecommendationstoCFPBforFCRAenforcement.pdf?nocdn=1. (more…)

Unaccredited schools are thriving in California with approximately 147 known “diploma mills,” more than any other U.S. state and a 10 percent increase from the past year, according to the Accredibase™ Report for 2011 from Verifile Limited. The report found the United States to be the most popular location for known diploma mills in the world with roughly 1,008 operating in the country, an increase of 20 percent over the past year. (more…)

When the National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS®) was formed in 2003 as a professional trade association for the background screening industry, the idea of an accreditation process was a central driving force in order to demonstrate that background screening was a professional endeavor. Currently, NAPBS accreditation is quickly becoming a requirement of many employers when considering a background screening provider since it is the only practical means of third party verification of the professionalism and competency of a particular screening firm. This is Trend Number 5 of the fifth annual ‘Employment Screening Resources (ESR) Top 10 Trends in Background Checks’ for 2012. To view the list of trends, visit http://www.esrcheck.com/ESR-Top-10-Trends-in-Background-Checks-for-2012.php. (more…)

An accreditation program for background screening agencies created by The National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS®) – a nonprofit trade association representing the background screening industry founded in 2003 – is helping to promote ethical business practices and establish standards for background screening firms performing employment background checks in the following areas: consumer protection, legal compliance, client education, product standards, service standards, and general business practices. (more…)

With half of 2011 over, the time is right to revisit predictions about the background check industry made six months ago at the start of the year. Employment Screening Resources (ESR) – a background check firm accredited by the National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS®) – compiles an annual list of top background check trends as predicted by ESR’s founder and President Lester Rosen. The first of five installments of The Top 10 ESR Background Check Trends of 2011 Review features the number ten trend, new accreditation standards, and the number nine trend of the year, E-Verify and I-9 audits. For the other installments of the 2011 ESR Background Check Trends Review, visit Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, and Part 5.

• Number 10 ESR Background Check Trend for 2011: New Accreditation Standards Help Employers Select Background Screening Firms.
• Number 9 ESR Background Check Trend for 2011: E-Verify and I-9 Audits Help Government Find Employers with Illegal Workers.

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