Background Check News

Due to frequent changes to the legislation that governs the background check and pre-employment screening it is important that you do not set your policies and forget about them.

” Checking an applicant’s references and background is a crucial step in the hiring process. To do this it is, of course, first necessary to comply with the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). The FCRA imposes a number of requirements for employers who are investigating applicants for employment through the use of a consumer credit report, a criminal record check or reference checks. The employer must advise an applicant in writing that a background check will be conducted, obtain the applicant’s written authorization to obtain the records, and notify the applicant if a decision not to hire is based on what the check discloses.

A class action lawsuit filed July 20 is yet another indication that employers must proceed with caution in relying on criminal record checks. This case has been filed against First Transit Inc., one of the largest bus companies in the nation. The plaintiff has brought the case on behalf of a nationwide class of blacks and Hispanics whom she alleges the company refused to hire or terminated because of their actual or presumed criminal record, regardless of the nature or age of the offense, or the offense’s relation to the job.”

Bill Clifton

September 15, 2010

No matter the size of your company you can not afford to find yourself facing a similar situation.  Here at ASG we have investigators whose sole responsibility is to stay abreast of the governing case law to allow us to provide the best possible product to our clients.

Back to Basics with Pre-Employment Screening

” We all know that job candidates embellish, enhance, exaggerate - call it what you will - to make their CV and of course themselves, more appealing to hiring managers. There has been a great deal of research into the extent of lying in CVs. Figures run between 53% and 68% with college graduates being the worst at 70%. Many of these “little white lies” were caught by managers, and providing the employee wasn’t a complete disaster on the job, nobody was the wiser.

But, in these tougher times, competition in the job market has driven many candidates to desperate measures. Little white lies have now turned into works of total fiction. Enter CareerExcuse.com. Here is an outfit that will create a complete work history for a job candidate. From their side, they create a “real” company with address, website and free phone number, and “real” mangers and referees. So when an employee calls to verify work history and performance, all checks out and the feedback is glowing! Blown away? It seems unbelievable, but true, try it yourself.”

Rob McKay

September 10, 2010

We all understand that people wishing to be hired for a job are tempted to over exaggerate on their CV’s but is there a way to sift through this information and get a true understanding of the candidate?

With more and more of these companies popping up and offering fraudulent information it is necessary for proper pre-employment screening to be able to decipher between real and fake.  Our pre-employment screeners have the ability to check business listings for such companies and give you the peace of mind when hiring a new employee.

For more details or to discuss pre-employment screening options with one of our highly trained associates feel free to contact us at 888-677-9700.