A new report on background check companies from the National Consumer Law Center (NCLC) called ‘Broken Records: How Errors by Criminal Background Checking Companies Harm Workers and Businesses’ that claims mistakes on criminal background screening reports conducted for employers prevents many job seekers from finding work “is itself fatally flawed with errors and inaccuracy,” according to a safe hiring expert. To address the “erroneous information and unfounded conclusions” contained in the report, Attorney Lester S. Rosen has written an article, ‘Consumer Group Report on Inaccurate Criminal Background Check Reports Loses Impact Due to Lack of Objectivity and Errors,’ that is available at http://www.esrcheck.com/articles/NCLC-Report-on-Criminal-Background-Checks-Inaccurate.php. (more…)

According to ‘THE EMPLOYMENT SITUATION – DECEMBER 2011’ from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, total nonfarm payroll employment added 200,000 jobs in December 2011 with most gains occurring in transportation and warehousing, retail trade, manufacturing, and health care. In addition, the change in total nonfarm payroll employment for October 2011 was revised from a gain of 100,000 jobs up to 112,000 jobs while the change for November 2011 was revised from a gain of 120,000 jobs down to 100,000 jobs. The Employment Situation for December 2011 will be available at http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/empsit.pdf until the Employment Situation for January 2011 is released on Friday, February 3, 2012. (more…)

Consumers and attorneys are looking more closely at background check reports and laws governing employment screening and filing more lawsuits against employers. On one hand, employers are being sued by victims that alleged the employer failed to perform adequate screening. On the other, employers and background screening firms also face lawsuits from job applicants complaining about the accuracy of background reports, or failure to meet the guidelines of the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). In a number of cases, class action suits are being utilized as the vehicle to bring legal actions against employers. This is Trend Number 7 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…)

 Employment Screening Resources (ESR) – a nationwide background screening firm accredited by the National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS®) – has announced the development of the “ESR Assured Compliance_SM” process that allows employers to automatically comply with federal and state laws governing employment screening background checks through the company’s online paperless Applicant Generated Report (AGR) system that is constantly updated with required changes in hiring and employment regulations. For more information about “ESR Assured Compliance_SM,” visit http://www.esrcheck.com/ESR-Assured-Compliance.php. (more…)

To help employers and recruiters better understand the legal risks of using the Internet for recruiting and screening job applicants, Attorney Lester Rosen, the founder and CEO of nationwide accredited background check firm Employment Screening Resources (ESR), will present an audio conference titled ‘Web 2.0 Caution! The Legal Line You Walk When Using Social Media and Search Engines to Recruit and Screen Applicants’ on Wednesday, October 26, 2011 from 1:30 PM to 3:00 PM Eastern Time (10:30 AM to 12:00 PM Noon Pacific Time). For more information, visit: http://www.esrcheck.com/Newsletter/ESR-Speaks/Web-20-Caution-Using-Social-Networking-Sites-and-Search-Engines-to-Recruit-and-Screen-Applicants-98/. (more…)