Why Background Checks and Credit Reports Should Be a Core Part of Reputational Risk Management

by Julia Magas - Business 2 Community

Being an entrepreneur can bring you into contact with a vast network of people, including clients, suppliers, employees, contractors, fellow CEOs and leaders, and more. Our relationships with these networks are often predicated on the basic principles of good old-fashioned trust. However, as a business grows, so does the network of people it interacts with. While it’s wonderful to think that we can rely on our intuition to tell us something’s off, that isn’t always the case.

Read more: https://www.business2community.com/public-relations/why-background-checks-and-credit-reports-should-be-a-core-part-of-reputational-risk-management-02393995

New York City Expands Applicant and Employee Protections Under Its “Ban the Box” Law

by Amanda Gomez, Nancy Gunzenhauser Popper, Susan Gross Sholinsky, Epstein Becker & Green - JD Supra

On January 10, 2021, Int. 1314-A (“Law”) was enacted,[1] and it goes into effect on July 28, 2021. The Law significantly expands job applicants’ protections under New York City’s Fair Chance Act (“FCA”), otherwise known as the “ban-the-box law.”[2] Among other things, the scope of FCA protections now includes pending arrests and other “criminal accusations” (not just criminal convictions), and prohibits inquiries into certain matters even after an employer makes a conditional job offer.

Read more: https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/new-york-city-expands-applicant-and-8034746/

Virginia Governor Signs Consumer Privacy Law

by Lisa Nagele-Piazza - SHRM

Gov. Ralph Northam recently signed the Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act (CDPA), which will give consumers certain rights to control how their personal data is used beginning Jan. 1, 2023.  

Virginia is the second state to pass a comprehensive data privacy law, following California. Notably, however, Virginia's legislation has a carve-out for information collected in the employment context, whereas California's law applies to some employment data.

Read more: https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/legal-and-compliance/state-and-local-updates/pages/virginia-governor-signs-consumer-privacy-law.aspx

Know Before You Hire: 3 Employment-Screening Trends in 2021

by Roy Maurer - SHRM

The COVID-19 pandemic will continue to impede aspects of employment screening in 2021, leading employers to use alternative procedures such as conditional hiring and remote drug testing.

"The good news for employers is that as the economy opens back up, courts reopen, and employers and schools resume more normal operations, these issues become self-solving," said Les Rosen, attorney, speaker and the CEO of Employment Screening Resources, a background-screening firm in Novato, Calif. "In the meantime, employers cannot stand still just because the system is less than perfect. Keep in mind that due diligence does not require a 'complete' background check. Due diligence requires that an employer take reasonable steps to fulfill its duty of care."

Read more: https://www.shrm.org/ResourcesAndTools/hr-topics/talent-acquisition/Pages/Background-Checks-Employment-Screening-Trends-2021.aspx

Illinois Set To Enact New Law Limiting Criminal Convictions In Employment Decisions

by Jeffrey Risch and Allison Sues - JD Supra

Illinois has long limited employers from considering the criminal history of an applicant or employee in making employment decisions. The Illinois Human Rights Act prohibits employers from considering an employee’s arrest history, for example. In recent years, Illinois’ “Ban the Box” law disallows employers from asking about criminal convictions prior to a job offer or before a candidate is selected for an interview and, therefore, assumed to be otherwise qualified for the position in question. Now, Illinois is poised to go a step further in banning the use of criminal history in employment decisions.

Read more: https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/illinois-set-to-enact-new-law-limiting-8832497/

Illinois, New York City, And Philadelphia Revise Background Screening Laws

by Alonzo Martinez - Forbes

Lawmakers in three jurisdictions recently passed legislation that impacts employers’ screening programs. Laws restricting consideration of an individual's criminal history have advanced in Illinois, New York City, and Philadelphia; additionally, Philadelphia's law concerning the use of credit history in employment decisions was recently amended.

Read more: https://www.forbes.com/sites/alonzomartinez/2021/02/05/illinois-new-york-city-and-philadelphia-revise-background-screening-laws/?sh=68f9e44c41cc

Consent Standards under the Proposed Consumer Privacy Protection Act

by Dana Siddle, Daniel G.C. Glover, Colton Dennis - McCarthy Tetrault

As part of our blog series on the proposed changes to Canada’s private sector privacy laws, this post examines the proposed consent rules under the new regime for processing personal information.

As noted previously, Canada’s private sector privacy laws will change with the introduction of Bill C-11. Named the Digital Charter Implementation Act, 2020, Bill C-11 seeks to modernize Canadian privacy legislation through the introduction of two acts: the Consumer Privacy Protection Act (“CPPA”) and the Personal Information and Data Protection Tribunal Act, which would create a new enforcement tribunal.

Read more: https://www.mccarthy.ca/en/insights/blogs/techlex/consent-standards-under-proposed-consumer-privacy-protection-act

Illinois Poised To Bar Criminal Conviction Discrimination

by Alexander Reich, Jason Tremblay, Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr LLP - JD Supra

In 2015, Illinois became one of the first states to enact a “ban the box” law, preventing employers from inquiring about criminal histories on employment applications. The “ban the box” law followed a general prohibition in Illinois under the Illinois Human Rights Act (IHRA) on basing any employment decisions on an applicant’s or employee’s arrest history. Now, Illinois is set to go one step further and ban the use of criminal convictions in employment actions, with limited exceptions.

Read more: https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/illinois-poised-to-bar-criminal-1774361/

NYC Adds Protections For Employees With Criminal Arrests Or Convictions During Employment

by Scott Horton, Horton Law PLLC - JDSupra

New York City joined the ranks of municipalities with a “ban-the-box” law in 2015. The original law prohibited employers with 4 or more employees from asking about an applicant’s pending arrest or criminal conviction record until after making a conditional job offer. Recent amendments to the New York City Fair Chance Act will add new protections for employees with arrests or convictions during employment.

Read more: https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/nyc-adds-protections-for-employees-with-2650371/

New York City Enacts Amendments to New York City Fair Chance Act

by Richard Greenberg, Daniel J. Jacobs, Susan M. Corcoran, Anna Broccolo - The National Law Review

Following Mayor Bill de Blasio’s non-action on the bill passed by the New York City Council in December expanding the scope of New York City’s Fair Chance Act (FCA), the amendments have become law. The amendments, which go into effect in late-July, significantly expand employment protections for applicants and employees with criminal charges or arrests.

Read more: https://www.natlawreview.com/article/new-york-city-enacts-amendments-to-new-york-city-fair-chance-act