Background Checks

How to comply with laws regulating criminal background checks

08/06/2018

Employers want safe workplaces. Applicants with criminal records want a chance at gainful employment. Balancing those interests requires paying careful attention to laws that regulate inquiries about applicants’ criminal histories or arrest records.

‘Clean slate’ law helps ex-cons, adds employer responsibilities

08/01/2018

Pennsylvania governor Tom Wolf has signed a “clean slate” bill designed to help people convicted of nonviolent crimes obtain gainful employment.

In rare cases, expunged records can be used to exclude a job applicant

07/30/2018

Generally, California employers cannot use expunged criminal records as the basis for not hiring or for discharging an employee. However, there are some exceptions.

Required security clearance doesn’t violate CHRIA

07/10/2018

The Pennsylvania Criminal History Records Information Act restricts how employers may use criminal records in hiring. That doesn’t mean employers cannot require a security clearance from an outside agency.

What pre-hire checks do employers run?

06/05/2018

Criminal background checks are the most common kind of pre-hire screening.

Software could streamline criminal checks

04/26/2018

A San Francisco-based software company called Checkr has obtained $100 million in startup funds for software that lets employers quickly run criminal background checks on job applicants.

Complying with ‘ban the box’ turns out to be pretty easy

03/27/2018

A new study by the WorldatWork HR association found that 44% of employers that have banned asking candidates about their salary history report that doing so has been very or extremely simple.

Washington to ‘ban the box’

03/15/2018

Washington becomes the 11th state to prohibit private-sector employers from asking about arrests or criminal convictions on job applications.

A background check, an interview, then handcuffs

01/18/2018

When a man applied for a dispatcher job at an Arizona police department, the required background check revealed an arrest warrant.

Legal updates: Safe time in NYC, pay query ban in Albany

01/09/2018

Cities and municipalities continue to pass new laws affecting how employers manage their workforces. Here is a look at the new NYC “safe time” leave law and Albany County’s new rules on interview questions.