#InTheNews: Employee Background Screening

Macy’s Reaches Agreement in Lawsuit Involving Employee Background Screening

ESR News reported that “an agreement has been reached in the case of The Fortune Society v. Macy’s brought under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Fair Chance Act (FCA) of the New York City Human Rights Law (NYCHRL) that sought to address criminal background checks by Macy’s in New York City, according to a press release from the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (NAACP) Legal Defence and Educational Fund (LDF).” The case is concerned with Macy’s (a popular American retail store) unlawful practices concerning employee background screening and the discrimination against job applicants who have old, irrelevant, or minor criminal offences.

New Artificial Intelligence Social Media Background Screening Product

In society, online presence has become more prominent, social media checks and background screening have become increasingly important.“Peopletrail, a leading US-based consumer reporting agency, providing advanced background checks and pre-employment screening solutions globally, announces a new AI-powered social media background screening product for small and medium-sized businesses”. “It can be very easy to violate state and/or federal laws if you are unaware of compliance rules and regulations”, so it is very important to do in-depth background checks while adhering to compliance regulations.

Anti-Discriminatory Laws in Background Screening

In the midst of a global pandemic, with low employment rates, there is increased competition for job roles that are available. This means that with background screening being essential to make sure that those qualified and suitable are attaining job roles, it is easy for discrimination to take place. Benzinga reported, “discrimination continues to be a concern in the hiring process, even as municipalities and states pass Ban-the-Box legislation in an effort to create a more equal hiring process. However, challenges remain in times of higher job loss, as witnessed during the recent Covid-19 pandemic”

Sign up for risk management, compliance, corporate and background investigations, business intelligence and due diligence related news, solutions, events and publications.

Subscribe for our newsletter

Employee Background Screening during COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic is undeniable affecting the world. And the situation is changing at an hourly rate. Businesses are having to adapt quickly in order to survive, i.e. cutting steps in their hiring process, and no-one knows how this will play out. However, there are ways you can mitigate the impact, EmploySmart™ is a full in-depth (and fast) background screening service of employees and candidates at all levels, and industries.

The virus is, unsurprisingly, having a huge impact on businesses and the recruitment industry is certainly not immune to that. Businesses are having to adapt quickly in order to survive and it is very possible that the legacy of COVID-19 may forever change the nature of recruitment and the workplace landscape. The rise in recruitment fraud is creating a number of challenges – last year it cost £23 Billion just in the UK. The COVID-19 is set to cost even more. And what is particularly worrying for any HR professional is that fraud in recruitment regularly sees genuine businesses used to add legitimacy to illegal behaviour.

Learn how with this FREE ebook. Taken as a whole, this ebook is the perfect primer for any HR professional, business leader and companies looking to avoid employee background screening risks. It provides the tools and knowledge needed to effectively stay ahead of COVID-19. Read more on how to manage the hiring risks during COVID-19.

Employee Background screening survey: Take part now!

As all organisations respond to the threat of the coronavirus (COVID-19), human resource management functions have important roles to play. CRI Group is conducting this research to find out HR operations in the COVID-19 situation and how did it affect daily HR activities, including monitoring, hiring new employees, and managing employee risks, etc. We would be very thankful if you could take a few minutes to fill a questionnaire. This survey should take just 4-5 minutes to complete.

Your opinion matters! Participate in the background screening survey now and let us know how COVID-19 and WFH has affected your business.

Your survey responses will remain completely confidential and your name will not be given to any external parties and no personal details will be disclosed publicly. Once you submit your answers, you will be able to freely download “The best practices of Employee Background Screening” presented by CRI Group’s CEO Z. Anjum and an infographic of the “Top 10 things every organisation should know about employee background checks”. Thank you for taking the time to help us with your answers.