A guide to North Carolina employment screening

North Carolina employment screening is similar to the employment screening rules and regulations in other states across the country. However, with North Carolina unemployment levels at a high, employment screening checks become an even more stringent part of the pre-employment process.

More unemployed = more employment screening

It might sound odd, but having more people out of work can often lead to increased levels of background checks and employment screening. Why?

Well, when there are a lot of applicants for vacancies, employers know that they can be picky – choosing the individual that stands out in every single possible way, and checks every single box. When employment is high, employers don’t have such a luxury.

How do I perform employment screening checks?

You may be asking yourself that very question, and there are a few simple steps we would suggest starting with:

1) Get in touch with an employment screening service

By talking to an employment screening service, you’ll get an idea of what sort of checks you’re after. Research before you make your choice. ‘Free’ and ‘Instant’ background check companies are often either fake or simply don’t do a very good job. This sort of information on people is neither free nor instant, so be sure to go with someone professional.

2) Choose your checks

There are many different types of background checks, and many different services, including resume checks, credit checks and criminal background checks – a screening service can help determine which are right for you.

3) Be consistent

It is important to continue staff testing once job applicants are hired – North Carolina employment screening is no different. It’s imperative that you run a pre-employment screening check – but don’t stop at that. Continue to run checks on your staff regularly, as you never know what you might have missed the first time.

What next?

North Carolina employment screening checks will be no better performed than by Mind Your Business, Inc, with CEO Karen Caruso recently awarded 2011 NC Small Business Person of the Year.

Providing a cost-effective service, quick turnaround and unbeatable customer service, if you’re after employment screening information, then MYB is the route to go.

E-verify now available nationwide

Earlier this month, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that E-Verify Self-Check, a program that allows job hunters to confirm their employment eligibility status, is now available in every state of the Nation.

Many employers use E-Verify to confirm their new employees’ work authorization. Now, employees can use the Self-Check services to determine if there are any discrepancies in their record, and to fix any such problems if necessary. This is a huge step forward for job seekers and will allow them to be more successful in their job applications.

The USCIS stated:

“[J]ob hunters in every state across the country, as well as Washington, D.C., Guam, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands, will be able to use Self Check to confirm their employment eligibility status.”

“Self Check was developed through a partnership between the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Social Security Administration (SSA) to provide individuals a tool to check their own employment eligibility status, as well as guidance on how to correct their DHS and SSA records. It is the first online E-Verify service offered directly to workers.  Available in English and Spanish, Self Check enables individuals to enter the same information into Self Check that employers enter into E-Verify.”

 Background Checks

In the same way that many recommend applicants perform a background check on themselves prior to an interview, performing an e-verify check can unearth any concerning issues. With background checks, the issues may be different, but providing job applicants with both of these opportunities is no doubt going to strengthen the market.

According to a recent report, the US economy added 243,000 jobs last month, showing a gradual improvement on what is no doubt a long road to recovery.

The outlook is good so far in 2012, and fingers are crossed that this will continue. If you have any questions regarding e-verify or background screening for employment, feel free to contact us!

North Carolina employment down in last decade

More than a decade of job stagnation in North Carolina was emphasized in a report last week, according to WRAL.com. North Carolina apparently has fewer jobs now than in 1999, according to this new report from consulting firm South By North Strategies.

In our contrasting post earlier this week, which discussed how employment has increased since the new year, we mentioned how January saw a big jump in job creation across America. Nonetheless, it seems that recent increases remain small when considering the bigger picture.

Even though North Carolina’s population has soared over the past 12 years, the state has 11,700 fewer jobs, the firm says.

“While the image of North Carolina as a state growing rapidly in population and jobs was very much an accurate one in the 1990s, it no longer holds,” the report notes. “In fact, North Carolina has not recorded any net job growth over the past 12 years, despite adding residents.”

In 2011, North Carolina added 19,600 jobs. The private sector created 29,400 positions, but the public sector cut 9,800 jobs, the report says.

“The great recession hit, and the bottom fell out,” said Jason Jolley, a senior research director and assistant professor at the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. “Two-thirds to three-quarters of the economy is based on consumer spending, and consumers don’t have money. Interest rates are historically low, but consumers don’t have access to credit. They’re tapped out.”

Has the recession affected you? Have you noticed employment struggles in North Carolina?

U.S. economy adds 243,000 jobs in January

Last month, the unemployment rate decreased to 8.3 percent and the number of unemployed persons fell to 12.8 million, according to  ‘THE EMPLOYMENT SITUATION – JANUARY 2012’ report released by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The report showed the unemployment rate declined by 0.2 percentage point in January 2012 to 8.3 percent and has fallen by 0.8 point since August 2011. Other key points include:

• Professional and business services employment added 70,000 jobs in January 2012, with nearly half of the increase, 33,000 jobs, occurring in employment services.
• Manufacturing employment added 50,000 jobs in January 2012, with nearly all of the increase occurred in durable goods manufacturing, which has added 418,000 jobs over the past two years.
• Leisure and hospitality employment increased by 44,000 jobs in January 2012, with food services and drinking places adding 33,000 jobs. Since a recent low in February 2010, food services has added 487,000 jobs.
• Health care employment added 31,000 jobs in January 2012, with hospitals and ambulatory care services each adding 13,000 jobs.
• Construction employment increased by 21,000 jobs in January 2012, following a gain of 31,000 jobs in the previous month. Over the past two months, nonresidential specialty trade contractors added 30,000 jobs.
• Retail trade employment continued to trend up with a gain of 19,000 jobs overall in January 2012 and has added 390,000 jobs since an employment trough in December 2009.
• Wholesale trade employment increased by 14,000 in January 2012. Since a recent employment low in May 2010, wholesale trade has added 144,000 jobs.
• Mining employment added 10,000 jobs in January 2012, with 8,000 of those jobs in support activities for mining. Since a recent low in October 2009, mining employment has expanded by 172,000 jobs.

What does this mean for background screening?

As is always the case – when employment levels rise, so do background checks. With more applicants being hired, there is ever-more need to ensure that those hired pose no risk to employers, current employees or the business.

If you are in need of employment screening assistance, or have any questions about the process, get in contact with us today – we’d be happy to help.

New payroll tax deal would increase drug screening

Under the payroll tax deal sought by congressional negotiators, drug screening for those on welfare would see a significant increase. States would be permitted to screen claimants who lost their jobs because they failed or refused a drug test and people seeking new jobs that generally require drug tests.

According to a 2006 survey cited by Republicans, 84 percent of employers required new hires to pass a drug test. Federal law currently does not allow states to deny benefits for reasons other than misconduct, fraud or disqualifying earnings – so this move is a significant one.

I’m glad that it’s in there,” Rep. Jack Kingston (R-Ga.) told HuffPost in an interview. Kingston was the first Republican in Congress last year to propose drug testing for those collecting unemployment. “I think that it will be a helpful tool for states.”

The drug screening proposal is part of a larger bill, in which the maximum duration of unemployment insurance would gradually fall from 99 weeks to 73 weeks. While that does seem like quite a drop, if no bill was passed the the longest time people could claim benefits would abruptly drop to 26 weeks at the end of February when federal unemployment programs are set to expire.

This could affect nearly 1 million people who have been out of work for six months or longer.

The drug screening legislation will no doubt be a welcome addition for many, who are justified in claiming that welfare recipients should not be an exception to the drug screening rules that many employed taxpayers are subjected to.

Nonetheless, there will always be critics. Particularly when it comes to such a controversial topic. Critics claim that drug testing welfare recipients is simply not a cost-effective measure and not a valid use of taxpayers dollars – with money saved being only a fraction of that which is spent on the tests.

What do you think? Should welfare recipients be drug tested?

Employee fraud increases by 41% in twelve months

Annual data from fraud prevention service Cifas showed there was a 41 per cent spike in the number of dishonest actions by staff to gain a benefit by theft or deception in 2011.

Here is some of the data that the report provided:

While the spike seems shocking at first, Richard Hurley, communications manager for Cifas, said the increased trend could be due to more awareness of fraudulent practices and techniques.

He said: “The damage done by fraudsters who sit within an organisation is not just upon a balance sheet but also on staff and customer morale, reputation and can even result in regulatory and legal sanctions.

“While the 14.5 per cent increase witnessed in 2011 demonstrates that some organisations are increasingly aware of, and looking out for, fraud committed by insiders, the surge must also underline how prevalent the danger actually is. To assume that staff committing fraud will not affect your organisation is pure folly.”

Many are suggesting that the economic downturn is a reason for the increase, and rightly so. Nonetheless, suggesting that company’s are simply being more vigilant these days is also a fair comment.

One thing all business owners ought to take from this is the importance of running background checks on staff. Risks are high anyway, and to increase that risk by forgoing the correct employment screening would be a mistake. For more information on employment screening and background checks, reach out to Mind Your Business today.

Background checks run on just 5% of Nevada daycare workers

Mind Your Business came across some shocking news earlier this week regarding daycare workers in the US. News4 reported that only 5% of new daycare workers in Nevada have their background checks for abuse and neglect completed on time when they start work.

That was just one of several scary facts uncovered in a recent investigation by the Legislative Auditor of Nevada. That report reads: “there is an increased risk to the health and safety of children at child care facilities.” Out of 50 case studies of state inspections of child care facilities, the auditors found state inspectors were late at conducting checks 14% of the time – with some site visits running eight months behind the legal requirements.

14% of the time? Eight months behind the legal requirements? Are these figures that parents would want to hear? Ultimately, as News4 says: “You may not know who is taking care of your children.”

Auditors did a random check of 20-employees at facilities around the state. They discovered of those 20, 19 were not given timely background checks. While it would therefore be unfair to attribute the 5% figure across the whole state – in this small sample, it was a 95% failure rate.

Government Response

Wendy Simons,  Chief of the State Bureau of Healthcare Quality and Compliance, said: “An agency can’t catch everything, but a parent placing a child in care can say, I’d like to see your records of notification and the fact that your employees have been checked.”

Simons also says that she is going to ask lawmakers to create tougher penalties for facilities failing to report new employees on time. She believes that will cut down on a lot of this problem.

What we can take from this is the hope that this is not an epidemic across the county, and was simply an anomaly in the Nevada criminal background screening process. For more information on daycare background checks, or employment checks as a whole, get in touch with us today – we’d love to hear from you.

How to perform an applicant background check

When hiring a new employee, one of the most important parts of the process will be an applicant background check. This form of staff testing will provide you with a better understanding of whether the individual will be an asset or a hindrance to your business.

So how do you get started? 

Firstly, I would decide which types of background checks you would like to perform.  There are various different types of background check that can be performed, and it will depend on the job role you are performing the check for.

In order to do this correctly, I would suggest hiring a background screening service. A background screening service will provide you with reliable results, ensuring that you know any information regarding applicants or employees that could put you at risk. By helping you obtain such information, you are in a better position to make any hiring decisions.

What type of background screening service should you consider?

There are many different types of background screening service, so this can be a difficult decision. I would avoid any company which claims to be able to provide a “free” or “instant” background check. This type of information about an individual is neither free nor easy to obtain, so those that claim it is are unlikely to provide you with the results you are looking for.

While hiring a trustworthy background screening company may be more expensive, it will be a cost-effective decision in the long run. To make a mistake at this stage in the hiring process could cost you a significant amount down the line in regards to possible litigation and loss in productivity.

What do you do once the applicant background check has been completed?

When you have the results, if there has been some negative or dubious information returned, it is time to assess whether this is an issue with the applicant that could affect the applicant’s work performance or potentially damage your company.

Additionally, repeat the background check process at regular intervals. If you run a background check on an individual prior to hiring them, and then they work for you for 20 years – is that one check enough? Probably not. It is definitely worth running checks regularly on all employees, just to be safe.

If you have any further questions on the applicant background check process, or would like to find out how background checks could improve your company’s productivity and profits, contact us today – we’ll be happy to help!

FCC warns background check mobile apps may be illegal

Employment checks in North Carolina faced a potential hurdle this week as the Federal Trade Commission said it sent letters to six unidentified mobile applications makers warning them that their background screening apps may be violating federal statutes.

Specifically the FTC said if the app makers have reason to believe their background reporting apps are being used for employment screening, housing, credit, or other similar purposes, they must comply with the Fair Credit Reporting Act which is supposed to protect consumer privacy and ensure that the information supplied by consumer reporting agencies is accurate.

Fair Credit Reporting Act

Under the FCRA, operations that assemble or evaluate information to provide to third parties qualify as consumer reporting agencies, or CRAs. Mobile apps that supply such information may qualify as CRAs under the Act, according to Network World.

CRAs must take reasonable steps to ensure the user of each report has a ‘permissible purpose’ to use the report; take reasonable steps to ensure the maximum possible accuracy of the information conveyed in its reports; and provide users of its reports with information about their FCRA obligations.

For example, in the case of consumer reports provided for employment purposes, CRAs must provide employers with information regarding their obligation to provide notice to employees and applicants of any adverse action taken on the basis of a consumer report.

According to the letters, the FTC has made no determination whether the companies are violating the FCRA, but encourages them to review their apps and their policies and procedures to be sure they comply with the FCRA. Future actions against those firms weren’t ruled out if violations are found.

Conclusions?

While there is no doubt that the background check process will transfer into the mobile world at some point in the future, only time will tell how the process can be completed in a legitimate way.

NC Attorney General unveils sex offender app

North Carolina now offers a phone application that allows people to find out if sex offenders live near them and their children. This is no doubt a welcome move by parents, who want to use mobile technology to ensure the safety of their children.

The Department of Justice on Monday released a free mobile application that utilizes the GPS mapping feature built into the Apple iPhone and iPad to show the names, photos and homes of registered sex offenders living nearby. Users can search for offenders within a 1, 3 or 5-mile radius of their present location and receive alerts whenever a registered offender moves in nearby.