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Remote Hiring Risks And How To Overcome Them

Remote Hiring Risks And How To Overcome Them

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The COVID-19 pandemic may have changed the way we recruit, but the inherent risks of hiring are the same regardless of whether you’re hiring remotely or in-house.

Issues such as applicants lying on their resume, omitting criminal history, or leaving an employer on less than ideal terms are still present. And in some cases, these problems are exacerbated by remote hiring and the state of the job market.

Even though you may not be able to interview in person, there are some simple steps you can take to keep the process personal and keep your workforce safe.

Resume Falsehoods

Due to changes in the job market caused by COVID-19, applicants may be tempted to exaggerate or outright lie on their resume, now more than ever.

According to a recent 2020 study by ResumeLab, a substantial majority (93%) of people know a person who lied on their resume. The most common lies on a resume are about job experience (27%), skills (18%), and job duties (17%). 

With an overwhelming majority of talent acquisition teams (84%) adapting their processes to work remotely, it’s essential to take the right steps to ensure the best possible hiring outcome.

Solution- Employment and Education Verifications & Character References

Employment and education verifications are the first step to finding out if your applicant has been truthful on their application. Do they have the skills required for the job? Did they put in all the time they said they did with their previous employer? Do they have the requisite degree qualifications?

In addition, character references are an excellent tool to get a more in-depth look at your applicant. This is especially helpful in remote hiring situations. Being able to get a full picture of your applicant’s ability to work with others and overall work ethic from a former supervisor is vital.

Employment Eligibility

Under normal circumstances, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) requires that the I-9 form be filled out in person. Employers must physically examine one document from List A or a combination of one document from List B and one document from List C. Unfortunately, hiring remotely makes this part of the process difficult.

Solution- Remote I-9s & E-Verify

If you qualify for the relaxed restrictions on I-9 forms to enable remote hiring, this may be a great option.  

According to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) website, this policy only applies to employers and workplaces that are operating remotely. If there are employees physically present at a work location, no exceptions are being implemented at this time for in-person verification of identity and employment eligibility documentation for Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification.

However, if newly hired employees or existing employees are subject to COVID-19 quarantine or lockdown protocols, DHS will evaluate this on a case-by-case basis. Additionally, employers may designate an authorized representative to act on their behalf to complete Section 2. The employer is liable for any violations in connection with the form or the verification process.

For additional information on remote I-9’s and more, download our Remote Hiring Handbook.

E-Verify The E-Verify system is a great way to instantly verify whether your employee is authorized to work in the United States. While you may have some tentative non-confirmation results that need to be handled by the employee at their local social security office, most verifications will come back verified instantly.

Missing Criminal History

Due to Ban The Box, criminal history questions have been relegated until later in the hiring process, but that shouldn’t stop you from eventually getting that full picture of your applicant’s past. As long as you obtain a release, run criminal background checks consistently, apply the job requirements fairly, and follow proper applicant notification guidelines, criminal history can be legally obtained. For more information on Ban The Box, read our full article.

Solution- County Criminal Reports & National Database Searches

A thorough criminal history report will help keep your workplace safe for employees and customers. We always recommend starting at the county level, because this is the most accurate and up-to-date source for receiving criminal history.  Our most popular report package will run a social security trace report. The system can then automatically run criminal county research in any counties your applicants may have lived. From there, we also recommend running a nationwide database search to find any potential hits across the U.S., in areas that your applicant may not have lived.

In these uncertain times, it pays to have a trusted partner who can provide the data you need and the customer support to answer all of your questions. Our unparalleled support, combined with our nationwide researcher network, makes SELECTiON.COM® a valuable background check partner.

Our five-star customer support team is not only industry experienced, but tenured in their time with our company. Our staff is available to you via phone, email, and chat, Monday through Friday, from 8 am to 8 pm.

SELECTiON.COM® offers employment and education verifications, character reference reports, criminal history reports and our Search America® database is the largest in the industry with other 1 billion records.

Contact us today to develop a fast and accurate background check program to get you through this unpredictable time.

NOTE: This article gives a general overview of the legal matters. However, it is your responsibility to ensure compliance with all the relevant federal, state, and local laws governing this area. SELECTiON.COM® does not provide legal advice, and we always suggest consulting your own legal counsel for all applicant approval matters.

Employee Spotlight: Miranda Bailey

Blog, Employee Spotlight

Miranda Bailey has been a valued member of SELECTiON.COM® since 2017. Here’s a little more about her.

Favorite part of working at SELECTiON.COM®
The friendly office environment.

Favorite Hobby
Hanging out with family.

Favorite Quote
“Just a drop in the ocean.”

Favorite Food
Chips

Fun Fact
My favorite color is turquoise.

Updated Consumer Rights Statement

Updated Consumer Rights Statement

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On September 12, 2018, the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection issued an interim final rule to update the model Summary of Consumer Rights and model Summary of Consumer Identity Theft Rights provided in Appendices I and K to Regulation V, which implement the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

This is effective September 21, 2018.

The interim final rule is driven by the FCRA’s recent amendment by the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act (S. 2155). The Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act mandates that whenever the FCRA requires a consumer to receive either the Summary of Consumer Rights or the Summary of Consumer Identity Theft Rights, a notice regarding the new security freeze right also must be included.

Nationwide consumer reporting agencies must include an initial fraud alert in a consumer’s file a minimum of one year. A fraud alert informs a prospective lender that a consumer may have been a victim of identity theft and requires that the lender take steps to verify the identity of anyone seeking credit in the consumer’s name. Congress set an effective date of Sept. 21, 2018 for the security freeze right, the notice requirement, and the change in duration for initial fraud alerts.

What this means for you
Appropriate language as outlined under the FCRA has been updated in our Summary of Consumer Rights and we are making a consumer version available for distribution to anyone suspecting that they may have been the victim of identity theft.

SELECTiON.COM® has updated versions of these documents available for your use under the “Forms” tab on your Fastrax Select® dashboard.

Please download and update versions of the documents in your permanent files, or according to your specific needs.

Summary of Consumer Rights Statement
A summary of rights to obtain and dispute information in consumer reports and to obtain credit scores.

Summary of Rights For Victims of Identity Theft
A summary of rights for victims of identity theft.

10 FCRA Best Practices to Keep You Out of Court

10 FCRA Best Practices to Keep You Out of Court

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Employers who decide to implement a background screening process for job applicants, or engage the services of a third party to do it for them, will immediately discover an assortment of challenging and involved statutes, laws, and regulations. The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) is an important part of any background check program, and it’s crucial for you to understand how it applies to your company.

What is the FCRA?

The FCRA is a federal law that governs the collection, assembly, and use of consumer information. It provides the framework for the credit reporting system in the United States, including consumer credit information. FCRA regulates the practices of Consumer Reporting Agencies that collect and compile consumer information into reports for use by credit grantors, insurance companies, employers, landlords, and other entities who make eligibility decisions affecting consumers.

FCRA Regulations

  • FCRA applies to background checks performed by outside companies but not to background checks conducted in-house.
  • In general, FCRA prohibits reporting of criminal arrests after a period of seven years, but criminal convictions (including DUIs) may be reported indefinitely.
  • FCRA reporting restrictions only apply to jobs with a yearly salary of $75,000 or less.
  • Most state FCRAs allow employers to refuse employment to anyone with a conviction record, and many states even allow employers to refuse applicants with an arrest record, mainly due to a lack of regulations in this area.

Does This Affect You?

The FCRA impacts Background Check companies and related Consumer Reporting Agencies (CRAs), Banks / Creditors, Credit Bureaus, and Employers.

The FCRA regulates employers in the following manner:

  • FCRA sets rules for what information employers can gather and also sets rules for how gathered information can be used, i.e. the extent to which employers can use background check results in making hiring, promotion, termination and other decisions.
  • Many states also restrict what criminal background and credit information employers may obtain and / or use in making employment decisions.
  • Employers who utilize CRAs to procure criminal background reports must take certain “pre-procurement” steps.

10 Best Practices

  1. Provide notice to the subject that a criminal background check may be obtained for employment purposes.
  2. Make this notice a stand-alone document.
  3. Obtain authorization from the subject of the criminal background report.
  4. If a criminal background report contains negative information which “in whole or in part” may cause you to take any adverse action, including rejecting that candidate for employment / denying a promotion / terminating a current employee, you must provide a copy of the report to the applicant and the FCRA Summary of Rights.
  5. Give the applicant sufficient time to obtain /dispute/ clarify the background check report before making a final decision.
  6. After the appropriate waiting period has passed, if you decide to take adverse action, provide notice of such adverse action to the subject of the background check. Although notice may be provided orally, the more prudent route is to use written or electronic notification.
  7. Move away from broad across-the-board criminal background exclusions.
  8. Refine general exclusion standards to apply to the actual positions sought.
  9. Use individualized assessments when considering applicants with criminal records.
  10. Consider state law restrictions on obtaining and using criminal background information.

SELECTiON.COM® provides the comprehensive and customizable screening solutions needed to navigate the legal aspects of background screening. We stay up-to-date with all EEOC and FCRA regulations and provide you with all of the forms you need on our proprietary system, Fastrax Select®. Our system allows employers to stay compliant and provides clients with the ability to follow the background check process from start to finish. Our Applicant Entry system will obtain accurate information straight from the applicant, as well as an electronic release form. The one-click FCRA notification system makes the FCRA compliance a breeze.

Contact us today to see how SELECTiON.COM® can take your employment background check process to the next level.

NOTE: The contents of this article are not legal advice for your particular situation. You should neither act nor rely upon anything stated in this article without first consulting your own legal counsel.

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