New York’s 2019-2020 Budget Significantly Increases Fee for Background Checks


The New York Legislature’s 2019-2020 State Budget includes a drastic increase to the Office of Court Administration (OCA) searches – from $65 to $95 per search.  While the stated purpose of the increase is to fund the state’s indigent defense programs, it begs the question – is the state merely looking for more money or is there some underlying purpose to try to get employers to stop doing background checks? Hire Image, along with many others have fought against this steep increase.  Unfortunately, to no avail.
Hire Image currently passes through a $68.00 fee, which includes the additional $3.00 OCA processing charge.  With this change, the pass-through fee will now increase to $98.00.  It should be noted that this fee is for each name searched, as the state has also refused to include alias names in the search.  For those who are residents of the State of New York, we encourage you to reach out to your legislators regarding this increase and let your voices be heard.
As a reminder to our clients requesting criminal search reports on New York State applicants, there are other requirements when using criminal records in Hire Image.  All New York employers are required to provide their candidates with Article 23-A and to follow the rules outlined in the law.  Those in New York City have additional obligations under the Human Rights Fair Chance Act if you may not hire someone based on their criminal records.  Our Screening System makes these forms available for New York applicants.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

How to properly perform Employee Background Checks

In order to protect your company, you need to conduct  background screening  when hiring employees . Employee Background Checks ensure that the person you are considering for hire does not have any improprieties on their record, which could come back to haunt your company or the culture you’ve built within it. Employee background checks scour data related to employment history, driving history,  drug screening , academic or professional qualifications, and criminal records, among others. According to recent data, most companies outsource these services. One such employee background  screening company  that is leading the pack is  Hire Image . Since 2005, Hire Image has superior market standing and provides well-informed hiring data to each of its clients. Hire Image works with national and international companies as well as large enterprises and SMBs, ensuring that they continuously hire the right people in their own image. ...
Read more

Clarity on Oral Fluid Drug Testing and the New SAMHSA Guidelines

Image
As part of recently established guidelines by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), oral fluid specimens will now be included in the mandatory requirements for Federal Workplace Drug Testing Programs. Join   Hire Image  CEO Christine Cunneen and OraSure Technologies Director of Sales, Brian Feeley, and Director of Marketing, Jackie Pirone, for our FREE Webinar to take an in depth look at oral fluid drug testing, learn about the new SAMHSA guidelines, and get answers to other important questions: • What is oral fluid testing and how does it work? • How do drug screening methods differ? How are they the same? • Do any methods detect impairment? • Can you conduct hybrid testing? • What are the new SAMHSA guidelines and how do they affect your industry and testing policies? • Can oral fluid be used in all 50 states? Originally Posted:-  https://www.hireimage.org/oral-fluid-drug-testing-new-samhsa-guidelines/
Read more

Salary History Ban Becomes Law in New York State

Image
Effective January 6, 2020:  Employers in New York are prohibited from inquiring into or relying upon the salary history of an applicant or employee in determining whether to offer a job and in setting that person’s salary.  Employers are also prohibited from retaliating against applicants or employees who refuse to disclose salary history information. This decision follows in the footsteps of New York City, Suffolk County, and Westchester County, all of whom already passed their own salary history bans.  Unlike New York City’s law though, New York State’s law applies not only to job applicants.  Rather, it also applies to current employees who are seeking internal transfers or promotions. Nothing in the law prohibits an applicant or employee from voluntarily and “without prompting” disclosing salary history.  Additionally, if an applicant or current employee chooses to disclose such information to try to negotiate a higher offer, an employer may th...
Read more