santoni background screening

California Legislative ALERT

California again proves to be a challenging state for background screening industry as evident from the most recent legislative session. We are still early in the legislative calendar for 2023 but information I want to share is CRITICAL because employers and background screeners need to be prepared to engage and take action.

CA SB 647– Is a bill to restore access to full dates of birth in California. You might recall that last year this BILL made it through both houses before BEING vetoed by Governor Newsom. This year efforts are again being made to restore access.  

CA SB 460– a bill effectively banning TENANT screening unless you have a legal requirement to conduct a background check for tenancy. It mirrors recent actions by Alameda County and cities of Oakland and Berkley. While this bill was recently dropped from the 2023 legislative calendar, it is expected to be reintroduced in 2024 so efforts defeat the bill and work alongside our allies is necessary.

CA SB 809– a bill effectively banning employment screening unless there is a legal requirement to background check for employment purposes. This bill remains active and PBSA has information to suggest that it is undergoing amendments. This is bill is will be discussed in a committee hearing on April 11th. The expectation is that this bill continues forward it will pass out of committee because the author of the bill is also the chair of the committee where its first hearing will take place.

Contact directly with any questions. https://www.timsantoni.com

The PBSA 2022 annual conference was held at the Gaylord Rockies Resort in Aurora, Colorado

On this episode of the PODCAST I share some insights, favorite sessions, event recap and much more.

Tom Pilkington
ROLE: Strategic Customer Success Executive at MeridianLink

Tom has vast experience and knowledge of the background screening industry.

1) Industry experience & current role at Tazworks/MeridianLink
2) Tom shares insights into the transition of Tazworks being acquired by MeridianLink and what that means to Tazworks clients
3) What's new at Tazworks? New advancements in the products, tools, analytics and resources
4) Industry trends
5) Highlights why partnering with a software platform as opposed to building your own is beneficial

Connect with Tom on LinkedIn

On this episode I talk about the issues that the social security number trace / person search / address history can cause as part of a background screening report.

Generally speaking the SSN trace is bad data. The true source of the data cannot be confirmed and it cannot be verified.

The legal guidance suggests that the SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER TRACE should no longer be part of a background screening report (client facing report or consumer facing report).

It should be used by background screeners to develop address history and potential alias names.

The date of birth redaction changes in Michigan and California are causing issues. On this episode of background screening tips & tech we dive into the current state of affairs and provide some updates.

It is no surprise that the DOB Redaction changes in Michigan and California are impacting criminal case research.  The turnaround times are up and the ability to verify records is challenging.

 Listen in to see what PBSA and their attorney are doing to fight the battle.

PBSA Bulletins

https://myemail.constantcontact.com/PBSA-Member-Advisory--California-Redaction-Update---Merced-and-Sonoma-Intervention-Updates.html?soid=1101484724288&aid=q-cpn8vtwFU

https://myemail.constantcontact.com/PBSA-Member-Advisory--Continuing-Positive-Developments-in-Michigan-DOB-and-Identifier-Access.html?soid=1101484724288&aid=fn_l2eCps4o


Melissa Sorenson
Melissa.Sorenon@thepbsa.org

Staffing Shortages, Supply Shortages & Updated CCF = DELAYS

Staffing shortages, Supply Shortages, and the new Federal Chain of Custody form are causing delays with regard to substance abuse, drug testing and occupational health screening.

According to i3 Screen the delays are costing employers approximately 3-6 additional days. 

COVID Testing scheduling from i3Screen & eScreen is not an option at this time.

What can be done?  Expect client inquiries.

California Criminal Record Change Complicates Background Screening (UPDATE)

The court case impacting the changes was not heard by the appeals court so now the courts are making changes that impact all of us.

Here is a summary of the case in question...

In All of Us or None v. Hamrick, the plaintiffs, including a civil and human rights organization supporting ex-offenders, alleged that Riverside County and its executive officer and clerk allowed users of the Riverside Superior Court’s public website to search the court’s electronic criminal case index by inputting a defendant’s known date of birth and driver’s license number, in violation Rule 2.507.  Rule 2.507 specifies the information to be included in and excluded from court calendars, indexes, and registers of actions. 

The courts throughout California are removing the full dates of birth from their public access terminals and from the computer systems of the clerks.

Searches by full name and partial date of birth (MM/??/YYYY) are still possible.  If the subject you are searching is clear of hits then all is good. If you have a possible hit now a case docket must be requested.

In Los Angeles County the clerks are returning docket requests in approximately 5-business days, which is pretty good. The challenging thing is that each courthouse in Los Angeles County has different rules on how many dockets can be requested per day. Some clerks are limiting researchers to five (5) cases per day while others are not limiting requests.

In San Luis Obispo County the courthouse is closed to the public, so even searches must be sent in via email, fax or mail. Once those come back with hits then dockets must be requested.

The impact to employers is slower turnaround time and potentially increased costs. This is tough especially when employers are staffing up and trying to get people to work so quickly.