| BACKGROUND
SCREENING NEWS |
Liars
Index® Remains Elevated
The Liars
Index®, which tracks the changes in the percentage of education
misrepresentations among executives, again skewed high in the
second half of 2010, although retreating to 17.46%, from the
21.43% rate of mid-2010. The two-year running average remains
high, at 17.71%, on a par both with recent trends and the high
recessionary levels of ten years ago.
Issue 24,
January, 2011
Reprinted
with Permission of ®2011 Jude M. Werra & Associates,
LLC
To read
more Click Here
GOP
Lawmakers Push For Mandatory E-Verify
House immigration
subcommittee chairman Elton Gallegly (R-Calif.) said Thursday
that he plans to introduce the bill to mandate the use of E-Verify
within the next month. The program is already mandatory for government
agencies and contractors and used voluntarily by nearly 250,000
businesses to check the legal status of potential hires. But Gallegly
said he hopes making it a requirement for all U.S. enterprises
will drive out illegal workers entirely. "If there was ever a
need to do something quickly, when we have 14 million Americans
who aren't working today, I think they deserve to be put in the
front of the line," the California Republican said at a hearing
on the use of E-Verify.
For their
part, however, farm owners say few U.S. citizens want the type
of jobs taken by undocumented workers, including fruit-picking
and similar low-paying, backbreaking work. Since a bill to create
more agricultural work visas died in Congress last session, critics
say mandating E-Verify would abruptly cut off the supply of agricultural
workers, leading to higher food prices and creating more demand
for cheaper imported foods. "Pressing harder on the gas without
fixing the vehicle will only hurt our economy," Rep. Zoe Lofgren
(D-Calif.), the ranking member of the immigration subcommittee,
said Thursday. "Particularly in agriculture, mandating the use
of E-Verify would reverse the polarity of the magnet, shipping
millions of jobs overseas."
To read more
Click
Here
Close-Up
On Screening
Employers
face a thicket of state and federal laws that govern pre-employment
background screening. Now, these laws are in flux because legislators
and policy enforcers are scrutinizing the use of criminal records
and credit histories in hiring decisions.
With a law
that took effect Jan. 1, Illinois became the fourth state to restrict
the use of credit histories in hiring decisions. Similar measures
have been narrowly defeated in other jurisdictions, and the previous
U.S. Congress introduced a bill on the subject, but did not vote
on it.
In November
2010, Massachusetts became the second state, after Hawaii, to
prohibit private employers from asking job applicants about their
criminal records on initial written applications. Massachusetts
already prohibited the question on public-sector job applications,
as do several other states and more than two dozen cities and
counties. The laws and policies require employers to wait until
later in the hiring process to ask applicants about their criminal
records.
These examples
do not constitute a complete list, and the scrutiny is not likely
to subside. Behind the debates lie two fundamental values that
often conflict:
- Employers'
rights to maintain safe workplaces and to conduct
business without interference.
- Individual
rights to privacy and to fair treatment in the job
market.
In this uncertain
environment, the best way to avoid legal problems is to mind your
p's and q's-the practices you follow and the questions you ask
when using criminal records and credit histories in hiring decisions.
Source: HR
Magazine, Vol. 56, Number 2
To read more
Click
Here (May need to be SHRM member to access)
Spokeo
Charged With Violating Fair Credit Reporting Act
In his new
legal papers, filed on Wednesday, Robins asserts that inaccurate
information on Spokeo has cost him money by hampering his job
search. "Robins has been actively seeking employment throughout
the time that Spokeo has displayed inaccurate consumer reporting
information about him and he has yet to find employment," he alleges.
"This harm is also imminent and ongoing."
Robins' lawsuit
is one of several actions brought recently against Spokeo. The
company operates an online search engine that allows Web users
to search for detailed reports about individuals by name, email
address, screen name or phone number. Spokeo gleans information
from a variety of databases, including social-networking sites.
It offers some basic information for free, but also sells a variety
of data, including estimates of individuals' financial wealth.
Robins says that Spokeo correctly lists neighborhood and siblings'
names, but that most of the other data is wrong -- including his
age, marital status and field of employment.
To read more
Click
Here
Bill
Requiring National Background Checks For Health Professionals
Gains Traction.
State Sen.
Pat Miller (R-Indianapolis) is shepherding a bill through the
Indiana Senate requiring national criminal background checks on
health professionals like nurses and physicians. Miller, chair
of the Senate Committee on Health and Provider Services, said
the committee voted unanimously in support of the proposal. Miller
stated that the state currently relies on health professionals
to self-report arrests and convictions. "While the majority of
those working in health-related fields are honorable law-abiding
citizens, news reports of health care workers being convicted
of crimes without the knowledge of the state licensing board are
unacceptable," Miller said. "This legislation would help ensure
health care workers who have been convicted of a crime in Indiana
or any other state would be screened out in the licensing process."
If passed,
the legislation would require health professionals, such as nurses,
physicians, pharmacists and optometrists, applying for licenses
to receive national criminal history checks. Miller said the Indiana
State Police would then submit the applicant's information and
fingerprints to the FederalBureau of Investigation.
To read more
Click
Here
| Welcome
to the Legal Challenge Question! |
Sponsored By:
As
the background screening industry continues to get more competitive
the firms that will ultimately succeed will be those that create
competitive advantage through their people by offering continuous
learning opportunities to heightened their knowledge and capabilities.
We believe that having employees that are very knowledgeable about
the legal landscape of background screening is essential to continued
success.
We are grateful
to Pam Devata, Seyfarth Shaw
LLP for providing the expertise for this valuable endeavor.
For information regarding the answers to the Legal Challenge Questions,
please contact Pamela Devata at Seyfarth Shaw LLP at pdevata@seyfarth.com
or 312-460-5000 or visit www.seyfarth.com.
Please choose
your answer by clicking on it:
| LEGAL
ISSUES (continuted) |
New
Background Check And Registry Check Requirements For Tennessee
Health Care Providers
Effective
as of October 1, 2010, health care facilities and health care
professionals in Tennessee who employ individuals to provide direct
patient care will be required to perform a registry check on those
individuals, or obtain written assurances that the requisite registry
check has been performed, if a full backgroundcheck has not been
performed. Those health care providers who comply with this requirement
will be immune from civil or criminal liability based solely upon
the information provided through the registry check, including
claims related to the provider's refusal to employ or contract
with an individual based on the information in the registry check.
Mental health organizations also have expanded responsibilities
under the new laws with respect to backgroundchecks that must
be performed on those individuals having direct contact with or
responsibility for their service recipients. The specific requirements
of the new laws are outlined below.
To read more
Click
Here
Negligent
entrustment
The
act of leaving an object, such as an automobile or firearm, with
another whom the lender knows or should know could use the object
to harm others due to such factors as youth or inexperience.
Negligent
entrustment claims arise when an unlicensed, incompetent, or reckless
driver causes damages while driving a motor vehicle owned by someone
else. A party injured by such a driver must generally prove five
components of this tort: (1) that the owner entrusted the vehicle
to the driver; (2) that the driver was unlicensed, incompetent,
or reckless; (3) that the owner knew or should have known that
the driver was unlicensed, incompetent, or reckless; (4) that
the driver was negligent in the operation of the vehicle; and
(5) that the driver'sNegligence
resulted in damages ( Amaya v. Potter, 94 S.W.3d 856
[Tex. App. 2002]).
If a plaintiff
proves these elements, an owner may be liable for the full amount
of damages caused by the driver. In some instances, the plaintiff
may also recover Punitive
Damages from the owner, particularly if the owner himself
acted recklessly in entrusting the vehicle to the driver ( Allstate
Ins. Co. v. Wade, 579 S.E.2d 180 [Va. 2003]).
Source
ClearStar
Enhances International Background Screening Technology Capabilities
and Certifies Safe Harbor Compatibility
ClearStar,
a leading background screening industry technology and services
provider, today announced significant enhancements to the international
background screening capabilities of its Aurora technology platform
and certification of its compatibility with the U.S.-European
Union (U.S.-EU) and U.S. Switzerland (U.S.-Swiss) Safe Harbor
Frameworks. The new Aurora International Applicant Profile Control
functionality utilizes the applicant's country of residence to
drive applicant information data field labels and filters service
listings by country of residence and service groups. In addition,
the technology supports document upload at the order level to
accommodate the complex documentation needs of performing legally
compliant background checks on job applicants who lived, worked
or studied overseas. "International background checks are one
of the fastest growing segments of the employment screening industry.
Industry analysts predict that this growth will accelerate as
globalization increases and emerging markets recover from the
recession," stated ClearStar President Vince Pascarella. "ClearStar
is committed to providing our clients the tools they need to compete
for this business."
For more
information please Click
Here
Accurate
Background Welcomes New Leadership for Global Screening Division
Accurate Background, a global leader in the background screening
industry, is pleased to introduce Traci Canning as their new Vice
President of International Development. Canning brings extensive
global leadership experience in the background screening industry
with a focus on operations, product development, and compliance.
During her career, she has led the development of technology solutions
and implemented efficient global operations methods that resulted
in cost savings for her clients and better overall effectiveness
from her international teams. Before joining Accurate Background,
Canning was Managing Director of EMEA and APAC for Kroll. Based
in the United Kingdom, she was responsible for overall business
performance including brand development, technology, client acquisition
and satisfaction, and management of teams across Europe and Asia.
"I am excited to join the Accurate Background team," says Canning.
"Their dedication to exceptional customer service and their history
of innovation sets them apart in our industry."
To read more Click
Here
Hireright
Names Steven Spencer Vice President Transportation Solutions
HireRight
, a leader in employment background screening and drug screening
solutions, today announced the appointment of Steven Spencer as
vice president of transportation solutions and head of its transportation
business unit. "Steven's appointment is a significant step in
strengthening our capabilities and commitment to the transportation
industry as we look to expand on our more than 30 years of knowledge
and expertise in serving the screening needs of motor carriers
through our DAC Trucking brand," said Mike Petrullo, HireRight
president and CEO. Mr. Spencer joined HireRight Solutions (then
USIS Commercial Services) in 1999, and has helped establish the
group as the acknowledged leader in its field, providing a wide
range of services including the unique DAC Employment History
Database, the only such resource of its kind. In 2008, he was
promoted to senior director of transportation sales, where he
headed all customer relations and sales efforts for transportation
customers, giving him firsthand, day-to-day experience with the
background checking and drug testing demands of motor carriers
as well as other transportation industry segments.
"We work
closely with our customers in everything we do," said Mr. Spencer.
"Currently, our business unit is responding to two important customer
demands. The first is the need to make screening faster and more
efficient through the application of technology and integration.
Secondly, our customers are faced with managing a huge amount
of data and regulatory requirements, plus analyzing that data
to determine how it fits into safety programs like CSA. They need
a trusted and reliable partner to help them manage their programs,
provide actionable information, and support their efforts in meeting
compliance requirements."
To read more
Click
Here
HR
Plus Teams Up With Strategic HR
HR Plus,
www.HRPlus.com, a leading provider of comprehensive solutions
for employment and background screening and a division of AlliedBarton
Security Services, announces a strategic business collaboration
with Strategic HR. Founded in 1996, Strategic HR has provided
human resource and safety service solutions to more than 5,000
companies. "Strategic HR provides an additional value to our customers
by supplying a complimentary human resource solution that includes
consulting and staffing services. They also supply an excellent
knowledge resource to our clients by providing ongoing webinars,
newsletters and access to HR forms, guidelines and policies online,"
said Jeff Wizceb, Vice President, Business Development, HR Plus.
"We are dedicated to providing additional offerings to our clients
and prospects."
To read more
Click Here
Innovative Enterprises Announces Launch of New Web Site
Innovative Enterprises, Inc., a strategic partner to
the background screening industry and expert provider of court
research information products, smart data solutions and ancillary
services, today announced the official launch of its newly-designed
website. The site redesign was undertaken to enhance visitors'
experience and to provide an intuitive interface for navigating
the company's rapidly-emerging suite of solutions. "Professional
background screeners turn to us for consultative assistance with
their most perplexing problems," commented Clifford J. Williams,
Innovative's Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. "Our
redesigned website is just one of the many avenues that industry
professionals can use to connect with us and to find these answers.
It also creates an effortless pathway for members of the Human
Resources community to make direct connections with our exclusive
Screening Industry Partners™."
"One of the
features we're most excited about is our new blog," continued
Williams. "By creating an interactive user community, our goal
is to facilitate a forum in which visitors and members can communicate
with one another and with us, discuss how they've successfully
implemented our solutions, seek peer advice and relate other shared
experiences."
To visit
the new web site go to: http://www.knowthefacts.com
Hireright
Introduces Hireright DAC Edition™
HireRight
, a leader in employment background screening, drug screening,
and employment eligibility solutions, announced the general availability
of HireRight DAC Edition™, the first integrated screening
management solution of its kind available to transportation companies.
Using HireRight DAC Edition, hiring and safety specialists at
transportation companies can access and manage employment applications,
background screening, drug and health testing, I-9 verification
and contingent workforce screening all from a single dashboard.
Leveraging the company's 30 years of experience in serving the
transportation industry, HireRight DAC Edition is specially designed
to help organizations manage and meet the regulatory requirements
for screening and testing of commercially licensed drivers.
HireRight
DAC Edition is designed to increase efficiency and reduce time-to-hire
of qualified candidates. It allows all background screening and
drug testing and employment eligibility programs to be managed
through a single platform that is easily configured to each company's
screening policies and requirements. Features such as management
dashboards, status alerts, multitasking, user management, instant
search and streamlined reporting speed the screening process and
improve program visibility and consistency. We believe DAC sets
a new benchmark for screening in the Transportation Industry;
a solution that makes it easier to manage a comprehensive screening
program, while improving process efficiency, reducing costs and
promoting regulatory compliance."
To read more
Click
Here
One
Site! Many Suppliers! |
Looking for the Top Suppliers in
the Industry? Need to find a new Supplier?
Visit
our VENDOR
SHOWCASE which features suppliers to the Background
Screening Industry.
The
New 2011 Winter Version of Suppliers Now Available - Click
Here!
The
Conference Board Employment Trends Index™ (ETI) Increased
Again
The
Conference Board Employment Trends Index™
(ETI) increased in January for the fourth consecutive month. The
index now stands at 100.5, up from December's revised figure of
100.3. The index is up 7 percent from a year ago.The Employment
Trends Index aggregates eight labor-market indicators, each of
which has proven accurate in its own area. Aggregating individual
indicators into a composite index filters out so-called "noise"
to show underlying trends more clearly.
Says Gad
Levanon, Associate Director, Macroeconomic Research at The Conference
Board: "Despite anemic job gains in January, the Employment Trends
Index suggests that employment growth is poised to accelerate.
Both 'hard' economic data as well as confidence measures have
improved, and since employment growth typically lags, we expect
larger numbers of jobs to be added back into the economy in the
coming months."
To read more
Click Here
The
SHRM LINE Employment Expectations Report for February 2011 has
been released.
Key findings:
-- Hiring
expectations increase in February
-- Recruiting
difficulty index rises in January
To read more
Click
Here
Public
Record Update
Sponsored by:
Public
Record Update
By Mike Sankey, February, 2011
|
Changes
to Electronic Access of NC Criminal Court Records
|
At present,
millions of North Carolina criminal record searches are processed
annually by licensees of the ACIS Daily Criminal Extract. Licensees
receive a daily bulk feed provided by the North Carolina Administrative
Office of the Courts' (NCAOC). The data includes full information
on criminal court cases. Effective March 1, 2011, NCAOC will terminate
the inclusion of criminal court case details from these daily
ACIS extract feeds. The NCAOC will replace the current extract
with a stripped down version dubbed the "Demographic Extract"
which will include name, address, DOB and the last four digits
of the SSN. However, to retrieve specific case details including
charge, level of offense, method of disposition, plea, and sentencing,
all licensees (or vendors or end users) will now have an added
manual step and incur additional fees to access the Remote Public
Access system.
A
Restraining Order May Override the Mandate
Several consumer
reporting agencies are in the process of filing a restraining
order on the NCAOC to stop the mandate. A court date to hear the
motion is expected to be set before March 1. If the restraining
order is granted, BRB Publications will post a notice at www.brbpublications.com .
Reprinted
with permission of BRB Publications, Inc.
To read the
full article Click
Here
How
To Get The Most Out Of A Reference Check
Recruiters
and managers who see reference checks as the last hurdle to jump
before hiring their favourite candidate can end up compromising
the whole checking process, says Joshua Wood of Adaps IT Recruitment.
"The danger of doing it late is that the HR professional has invested
so much time in the process already that they don't really want
to find out anything bad," says Wood, an organisational psychologist.
"It's better if you see it as a serious part of the recruitment
process, rather than just a hurdle to get past. Because if you
just see it as the final step... you don't probe on the hints
of negative information, you just breeze through it."
Some employers call referees before narrowing the shortlist
to two or three candidates, Wood says. "They'll make [the check]
like an interview, and they won't just reference check the one
person who they think is going to get the job, they'll reference
check four or five people, which is a completely different mindset.
"It's treating the reference check as one of the serious stages
of the recruitment process [and] saying, 'We've got some information
from an interview', for example, 'but we want to verify that or
triangulate that with information from another source. If it doesn't
match up we need to do more investigation'."
Even if a recruiter or HR manager has limited time and resources,
and can only call referees for a few candidates, they can strengthen
the integrity of the process by having "the right mindset".
To read more
Click
Here
Seeing
Behind the Mask
The top candidate
for a physician's job in a small-town Midwestern hospital seemed
to be a shoo-in-until it was discovered on Facebook that she liked
books on witchcraft. While that might not have been an issue in
other areas, the hospital's chief executive officer didn't think
it would go over well in the conservative community the hospital
serves. The physician wasn't hired, recalls Van Allen, the recruiter
who conducted the search."There's nothing that screams more accurately
who you are than a Facebook page," says Allen, owner of The Hire
Connection in Lake of the Ozarks, Mo.
Most employers,
like that CEO, are looking for ways to see behind the mask that
a job candidate often wears to discover what the individual is
really like. Traditionally, employers have relied on professional
reference checks to determine whether a potential new hire's descriptions
of his past performance, job skills and integrity are accurate.
They contact former supervisors or co-workers to help them decide
whether the applicant would be a good fit with the organization.
Source: HR
Magazine, Vol. 56 No.2
To read more
Click
Here (may require SHRM membership to access)
Drug
Testing Integrity Act of 2011
H. R. 707
introduced In The House Of Representatives to prohibit the manufacture,
marketing, sale, or shipment in interstate commerce of products
designed to assist in defrauding a drug test on February 15, 2011.
The bill states It shall be unlawful to knowingly manufacture,
market, sell, ship, or otherwise provide to another individual
any product with the intent to assist such other individual to
use such product to defraud a drug test.
As used in
this Act, the term ''defraud a drug test'' means- (1) submit a
substance that purports to be from an individual other than its
actual source, or purports to have been excreted or collected
other thanwhen it was actually excreted or collected; or (2) engage
in any other conduct with the intent to produce a false or misleading
outcome of a test for the presence of a controlled substance.
The Federal Trade Commission will be responsible for enforcement
of the Act.
To read more
Click
Here
Drug
Use At Work: Higher Than We Thought
The number
of Americans using cocaine at work has declined sharply in the
past couple of years, falling 29% between 2008 and 2009 alone,
however, since the federal government tightened testing requirements
last October, drug testing of employees like pilots, airplane
mechanics, and train operators reveals that twice as many employees
are using heroin. "We're also seeing dramatic increases in on-the-job
use of prescription opiates such as Vicodin and Oxycontin, among
others," he says. Results from more than 5.5 million tests showed
an 18% jump in opiate positives between 2008 and 2009, and a rise
of over 40% since 2005.
Oral fluid
testing of 320,000 employees, between January and June 2010, detected
the heroin marker 6-acetylmorphine at a rate of 0.04%, a huge
increase over the 0.008% that had been found through urine tests.
Separately, from the time new federal standards went into effect
last October through the end of 2010, the marker showed up in
20% more transportation workers than before. "It's still a low
incidence rate," says Dr. Barry Sample, head of employer drug
testing at Quest
Diagnostics. The findings are based on the results of over
350,000 random drug tests.
Post-accident
employee drug tests are four times as likely to show employee
use of opiates than pre-employment drug screening suggesting that
the substances have played a role in workplace accidents.
To read more
Click
Here
The
Future Ain't What It Used to Be
David Arkless, president of global corporate and government
affairs at Manpower Inc. in London, explains the mismatch of available
labor and lack of skills: "In Europe, we've lost 10 million jobs
due to the recession, but we can't fill 3.5 million skilled positions.
"The school system isn't producing the necessary skilled workers,"
he adds. "At the same time, the European Union [EU] is erecting
barriers to immigration of skilled workers from countries outside
the EU."
The story
is similar in the United States, where numbers of graduates in
science, technology, engineering and math have flattened to roughly
225,000, well short of the estimated 400,000 needed by 2015, according
to the Business-Higher Education Forum, a coalition of chief executive
officers, university presidents and foundation leaders. In addition,
U.S. executives have failed to persuade Congress to lift the cap
on the annual number of H-1B visas for skilled immigrants.
Despite such
barriers to immigration, Arkless predicts a diverse and challenging
workforce in the future. "We estimate that 500 million people-or
double the number today-will legally work outside their countries
in the next 20 years due to conflict, natural disasters and climate
change, and economic opportunism," he says.
To read more:
Click
Here
We
Specialize in Promoting the Products and Services of businesses
in the Background Screening Industry.
Click on the specific Marketing Portfolio above that fits your
business.
|
|
How
long have you been in the background screening industry
and what led you to join the industry?
I've
been involved in the industry for 26 years. Initially,
I was working with a data communications company providing
drug testing communication devices/ software and credit
reporting systems. The Mayo Clinic, as well as all of
the major drug testing companies, including Quest and
Lab Corp, were clients and I supported those systems prior
to moving into management and sales. When I was the National
Sales Manager for another software integrator, one of
the major credit bureaus (back when there were 5 credit
bureaus) became our client and asked us to develop a system
for this industry. Evaluating the process first hand,
we contracted with them and I helped design the flow and
named the system. It made me aware of the gap in technology
and client service systems and how the industry itself
needed to be professionalized. We sure needed NAPBS in
the early 90's.
If
you could meet any one regardless of whether the person
is alive or not who would you want to meet and why?
I
would love to meet Paul McCartney. I'm a huge music fan
and he seems to truly be a good person especially with
all the fame. He and the rest of the Beatles changed the
world in many ways and I couldn't imagine what the music
scene would be like now without them. Growing up I remember
listening to them and Ray Charles and it helped shape
me. Look at the guy now…. ready to hit 70 and when
we saw him in concert in Nashville recently he never left
the stage, let his band members all take breaks and he
appeared to have never even taken a drink of water. Amazing!
What
is an accomplishment that you are especially proud of?
My
greatest accomplishment is having two sons and a daughter
and seeing them grow into good, ethical adults. I'm proud
we had the resources (with the help of this industry)
to send them to private Christian schools from day one
through high school. I keep thinking I'm going to add
the cost up, but never have. It really doesn't matter
because it was money well spent. It sure was nice, though,
to save money when they went to college. Second on my
list would be that I recently rode my 2010 Harley Davidson
Ultra Classic around the perimeter of the United States;
9000+ miles. Having success financially allowed me to
do this and that was certainly a goal early on. While
in California, I had one guy ask me if I won the lottery.
Stop
by Booth 301 while in Denver at the NAPBS conference and
ask me about the journey.
What
is important about your companies that it is important
for people to know?
Personal
service that keeps our clients' goals and objectives as
our focus. Listening is key! We try very hard to deliver
and strive to help our clients be successful and grow
their businesses. No two companies operate the same and
developing tools for everyone certainly takes Epic Concepts
and a well thought-out system. We provide a software platform
called EZyCHECK™ and have the Volunteer/Applicant
entry link portal called EZyAppthat we will be showing
at the NAPBS conference.
We
have totally updated the look and feel and have one of
the cleanest drug screening interfaces on the market.
At VeriCORP, we offer wholesale data and do back office
processing for those wanting a seasoned, professional
staff's assistance. It is an optional service for our
software Distributors as we never want to dictate which
vendor someone wants to integrate with.
For
quality control, we do use VeriCORP as a Beta site to
test software enhancements prior to releasing them to
our CRAs and other clients. EZyCHECK™ works equally
as well for wholesalers as retailers since we use it ourselves
for that now. We started the design and used the system
for reports we processed as a retail CRA until we divested
our retail client base in December 2005.
VeriCORP
processed reports as a CRA for a decade, incorporating
in early 1996. We now are offering a variety of Human
Resource products and services since our new company President,
Steve Kraus, joined the company. Steve actively manages
the operation.
If you had a Crystal Ball and could look into the future
what do you see happening in the background screening
industry 10 years from now?
More
automation and fewer staffing needs. That's already happened
over the last decade. We process more information faster
now with 1/3 rd of the staff. Systems do pay
for themselves quickly when you factor in the staffing
costs . . . actually almost immediately. Down the road
though I think value adding the reports with services
will continue the next wave. The human aspect will differentiate
the CRAs and researchers /data providers that are going
to continue to grow regardless of what laws are passed
and what the individual states do. I still see screening
being viable and growing, but we have to provide a service
that assists our clients reach their goals. Helping to
make their jobs easier and providing additional services
will be the trend so they can focus on other priorities.
Gary
can be contacted at (877) 717-3515 or gdewitt@epicconcepts.net
|
| Company
Information: |
| |
|
Company Names:
Epic
Concepts LLC
Title:
President
VeriCORP,
Inc.
Title:
CEO
|
| Education:
|
|
College Name: University of Louisville and IVY Tech -
Computer Sciences Digital Electronics
High
School Name:
DeSales
High School, Louisville, KY
|
| Birth
City: |
|
Louisville, Kentucky
Wife's
Name: Sherrian
Children's
Names:
Aaron,
Clinton and Britany
Pets:
Izzy& Bongo, our 2 Schnauzers
|
| Entertainment
Interest: |
|
Favorite Musical Group or Artist:
Right
now (it changes often) Amos Lee and Gillian Welch
Favorite
Sport Team: University of Louisville Cardinals
Favorite
Food: Italian and seafood
|
| Favorite
Vacation: |
|
Location: Maui
Why
Favorite:
We
were able to take the entire family there recently with
their friends and enjoy pure beauty. This trip was special
knowing that getting everyone together as a group for
over a week will be more of a challenge as they start
having families.
|
STOP
STRUGGLING WITH WRITING AND PUBLISHING YOUR NEWSLETTER: |
We can help
you have a high quality e-newsletter to help nurture your relationship
with your clients and attract new clients. Our customized newsletter
service will take over your newsletter task or create a new one
for you. We can manage the creation of your newsletter for you.
We are constantly
researching information to use for The Background Buzz and
you can put our research to use for you. Using the information
rich content from The Background Buzz (minus the ads
and competitors information) we will create a custom newsletter
for you.
Use your staff’s
time to do more valuable work and save all the hassle of researching
or writing articles, formatting and managing all the other ezine
tasks with our customized ezine process.
Contact Barry
Nixon at 949-770-5264 or at wbnixon@aol.com
for more information.
Bem-vindo
the International Legal Challenge Question! |
Sponsored by:
INTERNATIONAL
LEGAL CHALLENGE QUESTION
Most industries
and firms now compete in a global marketplace which is continuing
to increase the need for background checks for new hires that
will reside in another country or that are being hired from another
country. Commensurate with this growth in background checks is
the need to understand the myriad of data protection, privacy,
human rights and local laws that govern the practice of conducting
background checks. To help background screening firms around the
world to further enhance their knowledge we have launched this
International Legal Challenge.
We are grateful
to Brian Arbetter a Partner with the global law firm of Baker
& McKenzie LLP for providing the question and answer to the
questions in the International Legal Challenge. Brian is based
out of the Firm's Chicago and San Diego offices. His practice
focuses on international law issues, with particular emphasis
on labor and employment, as well as workplace privacy. For information
regarding the answers to the International Legal Challenge questions,
please contact Brian at brian.arbetter@bakermckenzie.com.
Please
Choose One of the Following Answer in Response to the Question
 In Brazil, is it legal for companies
to provide to public databases information about an individual's
history in terms of their timeliness of payments and performance
of obligations?
A.
No, it violates Brazilian privacy law to provide such information.
B.
Yes, but only about timeliness of payments, not about other performance
of obligations.
C.
Yes to both, but certain conditions must be met first.
D.
Yes to both, period, no conditions.
For
information on sponsoring The International Legal Challenge Question
please Click
Here
 NAPBS Goes International
The National
Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS®)
has approved their first international affiliated chapter, NAPBS
Asia-Pacific (APAC). The APAC region By-laws were approved by
the NAPBS Board of Directors on Friday, September 17, 2010 and
the NAPBS membership approved the chapter affiliation in January
2011.
NAPBS started
their global outreach in October of 2007 when it formed an International
Committee. Robert Capwell, Chief Knowledge Officer, Employment
Background Investigations, Inc. (EBI) and Barry Nixon, COO, PreemploymentDirectory.com
were appointed Co-Chairs of the International Committee and led
the initiative to forge relationships with employment background
screening, investigation and vetting firms around the world. The
goal of the International Committee was to explore the feasibility
of establishing a worldwide network of employment background screening
firms, to promote the development of guidelines and standards
for the industry and to promote the growth of the overall background
screening industry. Barry Nixon stated "this historic achievement
was made possible because of the leadership, hard work and commitment
of the APAC Steering Committee comprised of Wayne Tollemache,
Executive VP Asia Pacific Region, First Advantage, Nick Wright,
Director, IDS Group, and Nobby Nazareth, Chairman & Managing
Director, Evaluation India Private Limited and the staunch support
of the NAPBS Chairpersons from the beginning of this effort.
The Canadian
and European Steering Committees are close to submitting their
applications for becoming affiliated chapters of NAPBS shortly.
The
Number Of Embellished CVs Is On The Increase As Competition For
Jobs Intensifies
According
to Kroll Background Screening which is owned by HireRight, reports
a 115% increase in CV discrepancies in the past 12 months. More
than two-fifths (42%) of CVs it screened in 2010 contained some
form of inconsistency - nearly double the 19% it found to have
problems in 2009. The most popular areas job hunters lied about
were their employment history (41% of inconsistencies) and their
education (19%). Only 4% lied about directorships held, while
2% made up that they held a professional qualification.
To read more
Click
Here
World
Health Organization Says Alcohol an Overlooked Killer, Calls for
More Action
Alcohol is
"the world's third largest risk factor for disease and disability,"
and is responsible for nearly four percent of deaths worldwide
-- more than AIDS, violence or tuberculosis -- according to the
World Health rganization's (WHO) Global Status Report on Alcohol
and Health 2011 . More must be done worldwide to combat alcohol's
negative impact on health, WHO said in the press release . Alcohol
is a "causal factor in 60 types of diseases and injuries and a
component cause in 200 others," and is "associated with many serious
social issues, including violence, child neglect and abuse, and
absenteeism in the workplace," according to the report on global
alcohol consumption.
"Many countries
recognize the serious public health problems caused by the harmful
use of alcohol and have taken steps to prevent the health and
social burdens and treat those in need of care. But clearly much
more needs to be done to reduce the loss of life and suffering
associated with harmful alcohol use," said Dr. AlaAlwan, WHO Assistant
Director-General for Non-communicable Diseases and Mental Health.
Worldwide
alcohol consumption averaged 6.13 liters of pure alcohol per person
in 2005 and 9.4 liters in the United States. Although drinking
is common, the majority of people do not drink, according to WHO.
In 2005, almost two-thirds of women and nearly half of all men
abstained entirely from drinking.
To read more
Click
Here
CNIL
Exempts Foreign Based Companies From Filing Notifications With
Respect to Certain Processing
A "Deliberation"
of the CNIL (French Data Protection Authority) published in the
February 16, 2011 Official Journal of the Republic of France as
"Deliberation No. 2011-023" should ease the burden on companies
that have no operations in France, and engage France-based subcontractors
(or cloud service providers) in order to process their data on
the French territory. This is the case, for example for US based
companies that hire French service providers to process their
payroll or manage databases of client information, where the concerned
individuals (employees or customers) are located outside of France.Under
the Deliberation certain categories of data will be exempt from
the requirement to request an authorization. The exemption applies
specifically to three categories of activities: (i) processing
of payroll; (ii) management of workforce; and (iii) management
of database of clients and prospects.The exemption is very narrow
and very limited.
Only the
requirement for declaration or request for authorization is lifted.
The remainder of the obligations remains. In particular, the Declaration
stresses that there must be a written agreement between the foreign
data controller and the French based data processor to ensure
security and confidentiality of the data, and require the processor
not to use data other than as requested by the data controller.
To read more
Click
Here
Click here
for the text of the Deliberation as published in the
Journal Officiel (pdf) in French.
German
Government Budgets 10 Million EUR to Set Up Data Protection Foundation
On February
8, 2011, the German Federal Commissioner for Data Protection and
Freedom of Information issued a concept paper setting forth
concrete suggestions for the creation of a Data Protection Foundation
(the "Foundation"). The Foundation is intended to function in
a manner similar to the German consumer protection organization
( StiftungWarentest) that evaluates and compares products
and services for German consumers. Among its tasks, the Foundation
will (1) test products and services for data protection compliance,
(2) educate citizens to help improve "self" data protection, (3)
conduct research activities, and (4) establish a data protection
seal.
To read more
Click
Here
Business
Climate Improves Further
The latest
Business Climate Index for German industry and trade published
by research institute IFO rose in February 2011 for the ninth
time in succession. More companies have reported a better business
situation than in the previous month. With regard to their business
prospects for the coming six months, they also continue to be
optimistic.
To read the full report in German language please click
here
To read more
Click
Here
India
Needs Law Against Invasion of Privacy: Ratan Tata
New Delhi:
Tata Group Chairman Ratan Tata has said there is a need for a
law to keep a tab on invasion of people's privacy. The call follows
an incident last year in which Tata's private conversation with
a corporate lobbyist was leaked to the media. "There should be
a law against invading people's privacy, unless it's for an investigative
purpose," Tata said in an interview to the 'Wall Street Journal'.
To read more Click
Here
Indian
Data Protection Law Encourages Outsourcing
India's data
protection law, which came into force in February 2009, is already
beginningto show its effectiveness according to PavanDuggal, an
Indian legal expert. Duggal told the annual international Privacy
Laws & Business conference in Cambridge that the act, known
as the Information Technology Amendment Act 2008, was starting
to 'flex its muscles.' He added: "The law encourages more outsourcing
of high end operations to India. The legal regime now in place
in India to deal with data protection will increase confidence.
Effective civil and criminal remedies provided for under the act
enhance the comfort factor of corporate organizations which can
resort to these remedies."
The law means
that companies outsourcing work to India must ensure that their
serviceproviders comply with the requirements of the Act. Companies
who set up, or who havededicated outsourcing units, must also
ensure that these units comply with the amended Act.Breach of
the Act is now a crime punishable by a fine of INR 50 million
and imprisonment.MrDuggal said: "For companies doing business
in and with India the new law is a breath of fresh
air. How the law is implemented will determine its efficacy."
Source
Japan
to Implement National ID System
The Daily
Yomiuri reports on privacy concerns about recently announced
government plans for a comprehensive identification system to
be implemented in 2015. The Council for a Number System for Social
Security and Taxation drafted the plan, which would assign each
citizen a unique number. The system would store such personal
information as name, gender, annual income and number of dependents,
the report states. But the plan calls for a third party to monitor
the stored data, and it has yet to be determined what information
could be used for business purposes, prompting concerns about
data protection and privacy. A bill pertaining to the ID system
is expected this fall.
To read more
Click
Here
The
Significance of Data Protection In Korea
Korea
JoongAng Daily reports on a new version of the Data Protection
Act currently before the Korean National Assembly and experts'
calls for the reforms. Prof. Park Whon-il describes Korea's data
protection legislation history and the effect of current technological
advances extending personal information from "the data of a living
person such as character, voice, sound and image...to include
data such as e-mail addresses, credit card numbers and log files."
With proposed revisions to the act aimed at regulating the public
and private sector, Park notes the importance of an independent
data protection authority and provisions for breach notifications.
To read more
Click
Here
Drugs
On The Job
Worried bosses
are resorting to more workplace drug-testing and uncovering hundreds
of drug-using Waikato workers - including a concerning amount
testing positive for methamphetamine (also known as P).
Workplace
drug testing in the Waikato more than tripled last year over 2009,
according to statistics supplied by the New Zealand Drug Detection
Agency. The company - one of the country's biggest drug testers
- performed 2864 workplace tests in the Waikato in 2010, up from
934 in 2009. Of those, 8 per cent tested positive to having drugs
in their system - about 229 people in 2010 and 75 in 2009. The
Waikato region was above the national average for both methamphetamine
(also known as P) and amphetamine use.
In 2009 12
per cent of workers who tested positive to drug use had P in their
system compared with 7 per cent nationally. In 2010 it was 9 per
cent, compared with 6.7 per cent nationally. Cannabis made up
68 per cent of the positive tests. The prevalence of P in workplace
tests came as no surprise to Foundation of Alcohol and Drug Education
executive director Colin Bramfitt.
To read more
Click
Here
Data
Privacy Bill Hurdles 2nd Reading
The country's
booming BPO sector has something to look forward to this year
as the House of Representatives passed last week on second reading
the proposed Data Privacy Act, which seeks to govern and establish
fair practices in the collection and use of personal details stashed
in the computer systems of the private sector and the government.
The outsourcing sector is the one of the primary backers of the
proposed law since a huge number of confidential data is processed
in the country from other countries, particularly the US. The
House action came shortly after the committee on information and
communications technology, along with the committee on government
reorganization, endorsed the bill authored chiefly by representatives
Roman Romulo of Pasig City and Susan Yap of Tarlac.
To read more
Click
Here
Vetting
Scheme To Be Less Bureaucratic And Intimidating In New Common
Sense Approach
Deputy Prime
Minster Nick Clegg announced that more than nine million people
working or volunteering with children and vulnerable adults will
no longer need to register and be monitored by the state following
a scaling back of the Vetting and Barring scheme (VBS). Criminal
record checks will be portable between jobs to cut down on needless
bureaucracy. "The new system will be less bureaucratic and less
intimidating. It will empower organisations to ask the right questions
and make all the appropriate pre-employment checks, and encourage
everyone to be vigilant," Clegg said. The plans are part of a
new Protection of Freedoms Bill and update the VBS, which was
due to start in July. The bill includes an end to a requirement
for those working or volunteering with vulnerable groups to register
with the VBS and then be continuously monitored by the Independent
Safeguarding Authority, and a halt to employers knowingly requesting
criminal records checks on individuals when they are not entitled
to them.
"The Freedoms
Bill will protect millions of people from state intrusion in their
private lives and mark a return to common sense government. It
delivers on our commitment to restore hard-won British liberties
with sweeping reforms that will end the unnecessary scrutiny of
law-abiding individuals," said Clegg.
To read more Click
Here
| INTERNATIONAL:
PROFESSIONAL WORKSHOPS AND ASSOCATION CONFERENCES
|
Featured Course:
Document Verification for
non-UK National Employees Workshop - London - March 2011
(
Click Here to View full
list of 2011 Events ) - Updated Monthly
|
ADVERTISERS IN THIS EDITION |
|  |
|
|
| |
|
Background
Screening Jobs |
|
Visit
the Job Board for the Employment and Tenant Screening Industry.
Here you will find resumes of people with industry experience
and employers seeking applicants with experience in Employment
and Tenant Screening and related businesses.
www.backgroundscreeningjobs.com
|
UPCOMING CONFERENCES, COURSES & EVENTS |
2011 Events (Click
Here to View full list of 2011 Events)
SHRM
State Conferences, visit
http://www.shrm.org/Conferences/StateAffilliateConferences/Pages/default.aspx
Drug
and Alcohol Testing Industry Association (DATIA), 2011 Training
Course Schedule, visit
http://datia.org
SAPAA
Training Institute Learning Events, http://www.sapaa.com/
CUPA-HR
Conferences:
http://www.cupahr.org/newsroom/news_template.asp?id=5445
World
Federation of People Management Associations, Events,
www.wfpma.org/default.asp
|
Annyong
ha shimnikka!
