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Written By Digital Content Editor Thomas Ahearn
Attorney Lester Rosen, the author of “The Safe Hiring Manual” and founder of Employment Screening Resources (ESR), explained how conducting background checks on job applicants may become more challenging for employers in 2023 in an article on the website of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM).
“Background screening deals with employment, which is so fundamental to people’s lives, so anything that impacts employment gets looked at closely by policymakers,” Rosen stated in the article “2023 Brings New Challenges to Employment Screening Compliance” written by SHRM Online Manager/Editor Roy Maurer.
Rosen is a frequent speaker on background check issues. He was the chair of the steering committee that founded the Professional Background Screening Association (PBSA) – which represents the background screening industry – and was the first co-chair. He received the PBSA Lifetime Achievement Award in 2019.
“Rosen said that as long as employers use a reasonable procedure based upon legally obtained information, do not make arbitrary employment decisions, and do make a good-faith attempt to be consistent, it is hard to argue that their decision is not defensible,” according to the article from SHRM, the world’s largest HR organization.
Rosen also said “Clean Slate” laws meant to help people with criminal records access better jobs will spread like the “Ban the Box” movement did in recent years. “The clean slate laws, which make it automatic that eligible records get expunged, make sense and will have a positive impact in getting more people back to work.”
Rosen thinks states removing dates of birth in records may hurt jobseekers. “The idea of removing identifiers like date of birth was to help people with records get jobs, but employers will still do due diligence. That means that checks will take longer, negatively affecting candidates, especially if the person has a common name,” he said.
Employment Screening Resources (ESR) is a service offering of ClearStar, a leading Human Resources technology company specializing in background checks, drug testing, and occupational health screening. ClearStar offers background checks to help employers make informed hiring decisions. To learn more, contact ClearStar.
NOTE: Employment Screening Resources (ESR) – a service offering of ClearStar – does not provide or offer legal services or legal advice of any kind or nature. Any information on this website is for educational purposes only.
© 2023 Employment Screening Resources (ESR) – A Service Offering of ClearStar – Making copies of or using any part of the ESR News Blog or ESR website for any purpose other than your own personal use is prohibited unless written authorization is first obtained from ESR.
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