Hire Image LLC

Hire Image  reports that, last month, New York City passed a first-of-its-kind law banning employers from conducting pre-employment marijuana testing. According to New York City Council’s Legislative Process, because the law was not signed or vetoed by the mayor within 30 days, it became law on May 10, 2019 and is effective one year later on May 10, 2020. The new law amends the New York City Human Rights Law and states that it is an unlawful discriminatory practice for an employer, labor organization, employment agency, or agent to require a prospective employee to submit to a drug test for the presence of  any THC or marijuana as a condition of employment.  There are exceptions for certain applicants and types of employment.  As such, pre-employment marijuana testing will continue to be permissible for:  police officers or other law enforcement jobs, certain construction and maintenance jobs, positions requiring a commercial driver’s licen...

Hire Image  reports that, effective October 31, 2019, Kansas City employers with six or more employees are prohibited from: Asking about the salary history of an applicant for employment; Screening applicants based on their current or prior wages, benefits, other compensation, or salary histories; Relying on the salary history of an applicant in deciding whether to offer employment or in determining the salary, benefits, or other compensation for such applicant during the hiring process; or Refuse to hire or retaliate against an applicant for not disclosing his or her salary history. An employer may; however, engage in discussion with an applicant about salary, benefits, and other compensation expectations.  The above prohibitions do not apply to applicants for internal transfer or promotion at  Hire Image ; a voluntary disclosure by the applicant regarding his or her salary history; any attempt by the employer to verify the applicant’s non-salary information...

Hire Image  background screening specialists report that, effective September 1, 2019, Colorado employers with 11 or more employees (effective September 1, 2021, for all employers) are prohibited from: Advertising that a person with a criminal history may not apply for a position; Placing a statement in an employment application that a person with a criminal history may not apply for a position; or Inquiring about an applicant’s criminal history on an initial application. Employers may obtain an applicant’s publicly available criminal background report at any time at  Hire Image . Under the law, employers are exempt when the law prohibits a person who has a particular criminal history from being employed in a particular job; the employer is participating in a program to encourage employment of people with criminal histories; or the employer is required by law to conduct a criminal history record check for the particular position. For more information about ...

Effective June 25, 2020:  Employers with 15 or more employees in the city of Toledo, Ohio are prohibited from inquiring about or using an applicant’s salary history: to screen job applicants, in deciding whether to offer employment, or in determining salary, benefits, or other compensation during the hiring process. Employers are also prohibited from refusing to hire or otherwise retaliate against an applicant for failing to disclose his or her salary history. Additionally, upon request, employers must make the applicable pay scale available to applicants who have received conditional offers of employment. The law does not apply to applicants for internal transfers or promotions within a company, or to positions for which salary, benefits, or other compensation are governed by a collective bargaining agreement. For more information about the growing trend of salary history bans, please visit our  Hire Image  Resource Library. Originally Posted:-  h...

Effective September 17, 2019, Maine employers are prohibited from asking about a prospective employee’s compensation history until after the employer has extended a job offer that includes compensation terms. The law also prohibits employers from making such inquiries to the candidate’s current or former employer.  However, employers may confirm a candidate’s compensation history if the candidate voluntarily discloses it.  Also, the law does not apply to an employer who “inquires about compensation history pursuant to any federal or state law that specifically requires the disclosure or verification of compensation history for employment purposes.” Between now and the effective date, employers should review their hiring policies and practices, as well as any employment applications used to ensure they are in compliance with the new law.For more information about the growing trend of salary history bans, please visit our  Hire Image  Resource Library. Origina...

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) filed a lawsuit against Dollar General alleging its use of criminal history in its hiring practices and decisions violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 because it had a disparate impact on some applicants.  While continuing to deny the allegations, the company agreed to settle with a $6 million payment.  Additionally, Dollar General agreed to hire a criminal history consultant to evaluate their policies and implement any recommendations within six months.  Dollar General also agreed to increased managerial training, so that managers better understand how not to discourage those with criminal histories from applying for employment and to consider hiring those whose conditional employment offers were rescinded based on their criminal history. Not sure what you can or cannot ask and when hiring in your state?  Visit our   Hire Image  Resource Guide to learn more. Origina...

Effective September 29, 2019:  Illinois employers are prohibited from: (1) screening job applicants by requiring that the wage or salary history of an applicant satisfy minimum or maximum criteria, (2) requesting a wage or salary history as a condition of: being considered for employment, being interviewed, continuing to be considered for an offer of employment, an offer of employment or an offer of compensation, (3) requesting that an applicant disclose wage or salary history as a condition of employment, or (4) seeking the wage or salary history, including benefits or other compensation, of a job applicant from any current or former employer. The Illinois law does not apply if the job applicant’s wage or salary history is a matter of public record or the job applicant is a current employee and is applying for a position with the same current employer. An employer or employment agency may still provide information about the wages, benefits, compensation, or ...

The United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia joined several other district courts by recently holding that the protections accorded for consumer reports obtained for “employment purposes” under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) do not apply to independent contractors.  As most people are aware, the FCRA mandates that disclosures are clear and conspicuous and in stand-alone documents when the report is obtained for “employment purposes.”  “Employment purposes” is defined in the FCRA as “a report used for the purpose of evaluating a consumer for employment, promotion, reassignment or retention  as an employee .” (emphasis added)  The court found that, in this case, it was undisputed that the plaintiff was applying as an independent contractor and not as an employee.  As such, the court found that the FCRA’s protections did not apply in this instance. While there appears to be a trend for employers under these circumstances, emplo...

On September 9 th , the National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS) announced that the association’s name has changed to the Professional Background Screening Association (PBSA), noting that the “new name marks the culmination of the association’s transition into a truly global organization.”  The name change is only one part of the re-brand, which also includes a new logo and website at  www.thepbsa.org . “PBSA has a significant international footprint, and we only expect it to grow larger,” said Melissa Sorenson, executive director of PBSA. “It was clear to us that we needed to bring our name and brand in line with what our association is today – a truly global organization. I am thrilled with this new direction and am excited to see what is next for PBSA on the global stage.” Hire Image  LLC has provided reliable and comprehensive employment background checks and background screenings, and other background investigation services inclu...

Effective October 31, 2019, Kansas City employers with six or more employees are prohibited from: Asking about the salary history of an applicant for employment; Screening applicants based on their current or prior wages, benefits, other compensation, or salary histories; Relying on the salary history of an applicant in deciding whether to offer employment or in determining the salary, benefits, or other compensation for such applicant during the hiring process; or Refuse to hire or retaliate against an applicant for not disclosing his or her salary history. An employer may; however,  Hire Image  company engage in discussion with an applicant about salary, benefits, and other compensation expectations.The above prohibitions do not apply to applicants for internal transfer or promotion; a voluntary disclosure by the applicant regarding his or her salary history; any attempt by the employer to verify the applicant’s non-salary information or conducting a background ...

In our  People Lie! One Certain Truth on the Importance of Background Screening  blog, we discussed the fact that 78% of  Hire Image   hiring managers have caught lies on resumes or job applications.  Taking that one step further–how are they catching all of these lies?  The answer is generally thorough verifications. With so much attention on criminal history, Ban the Box, and marijuana laws, we sometimes lose sight of how vital verifications are in the background screening process.  As such, we thought it was time to look into verifying  Hire Image ’s Top 10 Truths about Verifications: 1. Employment Verifications are the most commonly requested type of verification. They not only can confirm dates of employment, positions, job duties, the reason for termination (in some states), and eligibility for rehire, but they can also reveal insights into the candidate’s truthfulness, loyalty, work habits, and integrity.  Additional...

In our technologically advanced world, it is not surprising that employers take advantage of social media to recruit and hire potential employees. Many employers have turned to social media as a way to screen and monitor the behavior of both potential and current employees. From gaining insight into the type of person a candidate is, to determining if they present themselves in a professional manner, employers can gauge if the candidate is a good fit for the company at  Hire Image . But just how practical and useful is this information, and what are the legal implications? One practical application for using social media is for recruiting. A 2011 study done by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) found that 76% of companies use or plan on using social media sites for recruiting. Many individuals seeking employment use social media platforms to make themselves known to employers, and also to research potential employers. When social media is used in this way, i...

U.S. government shutdown has affected many federal agencies, some of which professional background screeners rely on to conduct searches.  With the recent shutdown, several federal websites have been shuttered, and access to certain information suspended.  Hire image  to provide all information regarding government updates. Why shut down a website when it could still be operable for consumers or anyone else to obtain information?  It’s not like a website needs a federal employee to operate it each day.  For example, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) website is completely shut down.  Since employment background checks are considered “consumer reports,” the FTC is the agency that enforces the Fair Credit Reporting Act that regulates all consumer reports.  As a consumer reporting agency,  Hire Image  must comply with the FCRA.  In my opinion, the site could remain open for quick reference or information. In addition to the FTC...

The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights (USCCR) held a briefing on December 2012 to assess the impact of criminal background checks and the EEOC’s guidance on the consideration of arrest and conviction records in enforcement decisions under Title VII and its impact on the employment of black and Hispanic workers.  Hire Image , along with the National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS) and many other like-minded organizations, signed a letter to the commission to provide insight into the defects of the Guidance – defects that discourage responsible use of criminal background checks. The letter was quite lengthy but highlighted the lack of transparency in issuing the guidance as well as the failure to weigh the important societal interests served by criminal background checks. The USCCR received so many letters that they have been unable to post them online.  We have reproduced the letter here. Peter Kirsanow, a member of the US Commission on Civil Rig...

This morning, The Today Show ran a Rossen Report segment about how background screening companies have made reporting mistakes that caused candidates to, unfortunately, lose out on job opportunities. Specifically, the report followed several job seekers who were mistaken for criminals with the same or similar names, thus ruining their chances of getting hired.  Hire Image  Company mostly hire those employees whose background is good. Contrary to popular belief, there are no foolproof background searches or “national database” searches that cover the entire country. As a matter of fact, many states don’t submit criminal records to national databases and those that do only submit incarceration records. With the absence of a truly national database, the best search option available is hands-on research at the primary source: the county courthouses. However, with over 3,000 counties throughout the U.S. and over 10,000 courthouses housing criminal records, it would be an onerou...