As laws change regarding the legal and lawful use of criminal history checks in the pre-employment background screening process compliance becomes an issue.  As ban-the-box legislation continues to spread across the country companies and organizations need to make sure their employment screening policies are compliant with all relevant laws.  As ban-the-box legislation gets adopted by cities, counties and states it is important now more than ever that companies and organizations use a professional third party background screening company to help them remain compliant and insuring they are in good standing with the FCRA.

New laws like ban-the box which makes employers remove the question asking the applicant if they have a criminal record can cause confusion with companies and organizations.  This confusion however can be avoided by utilizing a professional national background screening company to conduct the criminal background checks on their behalf.

Criminal checks even under ban-the-box can still be performed by companies and organizations prior to employment.  However, they have to wait until a conditional offer is made before checking if the job applicant has a criminal history.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is tasked with enforcing discrimination laws and seeks legal action against companies and organizations that maintain discriminatory hiring practices.  The EEOC and ban-the-box legislation are trying to ensure an even playing field for all job applicants even those with a criminal past.  Recent legislation across the country aims to create a fair and equal entry to employment.

In the current employment screening climate employers should work with third party background screening companies to help them become or remain compliant with federal, state and local laws governing the use of criminal records, consumer reports and/or public records.

To read more about this subject read recent press release found  here.