In recent weeks, inaccurate criminal background checks from data brokers containing errors that cost job seekers employment have come under fire on several fronts, including a final privacy protection report from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recommending regulations on data brokers, a letter sent to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) asking for a strengthening of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), a report from the National Consumer Law Center (NCLC) on inaccurate background check reports, and an article written by safe hiring expert Attorney Lester Rosen, CEO of accredited background check firm Employment Screening Resources (ESR), that is available at http://www.esrcheck.com/articles/NCLC-Report-on-Criminal-Background-Checks-Inaccurate.php. (more…)

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…)

A new piece of California legislature – Assembly Bill No. 1831 (AB 1831) – would prohibit local governments in the state “from inquiring into or considering the criminal history of an applicant or including any inquiry about criminal history on any initial employment application.” AB 1831 would only authorize a local government to consider the criminal history of a job applicant “after the applicant’s qualifications have been screened and the agency has determined the applicant meets the minimum employment requirements as stated in any notice issued for the position.” California Assembly Bill 1831 is available at: http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/11-12/bill/asm/ab_1801-1850/ab_1831_bill_20120222_introduced.pdf. (more…)

In an effort to help stop discrimination against unemployed Californians looking for work who may be passed over by employers or employment agencies only interested in hiring applicants who already have a job, newly proposed legislation in the state – California Assembly Bill No. 1450 (AB 1450) – would fine California employers and employment agencies that refuse to consider jobless applicants for job openings. The full text of California AB 1450 is available at: http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/11-12/bill/asm/ab_1401-1450/ab_1450_bill_20120105_introduced.pdf. (more…)

Further evidence that the number of people in the United States who have criminal records is larger than most people think, the federal government’s National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 (NLSY97) has found that nearly one third of the 23-year-olds participating in the study – 30.2 percent – reported being arrested for an offense other than a minor traffic violation, a figure noticeably higher than the 22 percent reported in an earlier NLSY study conducted in 1965. More information about The NLSY97 study may be found at http://www.bls.gov/nls/nlsy97.htm. (more…)