The screening industry has seen significant changes over the last several months including newly proposed federal and state legislation, updated technologies and new resources. For employers, an outdated background screening program that doesn’t adhere to current regulations or ignores the latest screening tools can substantially increase the chance of noncompliance and put your company at risk for significant liabilities.

A fresh look at your program can save you time and money by leveraging efficiencies from updated services, and keep your program comprehensive and up-to-date. Over the course of the next few business days, we’ll examine a few key areas to focus a fresh look: overall compliance; Form I-9 and E-Verify; employment and education fraud; tax credits; and drug-free workplace programs.

Let’s begin the cleaning with a look at the overall compliance of your background screening program. In these tough economic times, many organizations have been affected with reductions in personnel and monetary resources, and internal screening proficiencies may have been lost. When was the last time you scheduled a meeting with your HR staff and corporate counsel to review your screening processes and protocols? As a standard practice, employers should always conduct a yearly review of their screening program with their HR Legal Counsel to ensure proper compliance.

In addition, you need to review your Federal Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) compliance measures and internal pre-adverse and adverse action process for proper compliance. As a Consumer Reporting Agency (CRA), Employment Background Investigations, Inc. (EBI) strictly conforms to federal guidelines as outlined by the FCRA and FACTA (Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003) to protect the rights of consumers. This legislation isn’t restricted only to a CRA. As an employer, you are automatically subject to certain FCRA provisions when you order specific reports as part of the background screening process, and non-compliance with these provisions can result in potential legal action by the consumer (your prospective employee).

EBI is committed to keeping our clients knowledgeable with regard to current state, federal and industry regulations and compliance protocols. The Source, EBI’s monthly newsletter, and periodic Legislative Alerts keep our clients and prospects in the know. EBI’s extensive library of white papers, published articles and other resources are an excellent reference source for employers and their staff. EBI has the right resources, forms, procedures, knowledge and expert advice to help keep your background screening program compliant.