Month: October 2019

To Test…or Not to Test…for Marijuana

As you might imagine, A-Check gets a lot of questions from our clients regarding marijuana legalization and new drug testing trends we’re seeing as a result. We love fielding questions like these, mainly because it shows our clients take evolving legislation seriously when developing or enhancing employment screening programs.

We thought this might be a good opportunity to very quickly share some helpful information on the topic, especially for those who are wondering whether or not to continue testing for marijuana in their drug screens.

First, with a growing number of states legalizing recreational marijuana, it stands to reason—and research supports—drug test positivity across the majority of industries is also on the rise. It is also shown that marijuana continues to be among the most commonly detected substances.

A-Check closely tracks overall drug screening activity across our own clients, and we can report that even with widening recreational and medical marijuana legalization, clients are still testing for marijuana 98% of the time. Of course, pre-employment testing can vary by screening package, state, or job position (safety-sensitive for example). And for post-employment testing (either for post-accident or for reasonable suspicion) we continue to test for marijuana 100% of the time.

Taking this one step further, Quest Diagnostics—our drug screening partner—shares insight with us regarding marijuana testing. They report that across all Quest national testing (pre-employment, random, post-accident, reasonable suspicion, etc.) approximately 98-99% of all urine tests include marijuana. As a separate group, testing for marijuana in recreational use states is still nearly 95%. That does not represent a significant declining trend due to increasing legalization.

Finally, let’s take a quick look at a very recent position paper from the National Safety Council (NSC), stating that while the amount of THC detectable in a person’s body does not directly correlate with a level of impairment, NSC believes it is unsafe to be under the influence of cannabis while working in a safety-sensitive position. Further evidence that perhaps we will not see a significant decline in marijuana testing for some time.

We hope insight like this is helpful to you, and welcome the opportunity to answer any questions you might have regarding your drug screening needs.

Mid-Month Compliance Clip

CONSUMER COMPLIANCE

There has been a surge in workplace enforcement actions by U.S. Immigration and Customs

Enforcement. This surge in investigations and penalties against employers signals a new enforcement environment which employers must carefully navigate to ensure compliance with employment eligibility verification provisions under the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, while avoiding discrimination violations. READ MORE

Effective October 6, 2020: Pennsylvania Law Requiring Mandatory E-Verify in Construction Industry
Pennsylvania House Bill 1170, known as the Construction Industry Employee Verification Act was recently passed which will require all construction-industry employers, both public and private, to use E-Verify to determine the eligibility of their employees to work in the United States. Construction companies with state contracts in Pennsylvania were already required to E-Verify new hires. The Act now makes the law statewide for the entire industry and will take effect October 6, 2020. READ MORE

SUBSTANCE ABUSE TESTING

IN PENNSYLVANIA DISCUSSION: Senators File Marijuana Legalization Bill
Two Pennsylvania senators—Daylin Leach (D) and Sharif Street (D)—recently introduced a comprehensive marijuana legalization bill (SB 350) which would allow adults 21 and older to possess, cultivate and purchase cannabis from licensed retailers. It also contains social justice provisions aimed at promoting equity in the industry, including automatically expunging prior marijuana convictions and providing interest-free loans to low-income individuals who want to participate in the market.
READ MORE

IN ILLINOIS DISCUSSION: Consider Adjusting Your Drug Policies Now, Not Later
When considering marijuana use, employers may want to rely less on drug testing, and more on documenting potential impaired behavior on the job to build a case for termination. Under the new Illinois law, people are allowed to possess and consume cannabis products on their own time. Employers can still regulate usage and possession in the workplace. The recommendation may be to regulate cannabis in the workplace much like alcohol. That means while active impairment or possession won’t be tolerated, usage on one’s own time probably won’t be viewed as so problematic. READ MORE

New Jersey has joined a growing number of states, including Connecticut, Massachusetts and New York, in providing employment protections for users of medical marijuana. The Compassionate Use Medical Cannabis Act (CUMCA) impacts New Jersey employers in two significant ways:  READ MORE

AS A REMINDER: At A-Check, we’re happy to help implement a drug screening program that meets your evolving needs—or make adjustments to the program you’re already running with us. Just give us a call at 877-345-2021 and ask to speak with someone on your Client Relations team.

A-Check Global Partners with Cornerstone—Background Screening Integration Now Available in Cornerstone’s EDGE Marketplace

Riverside, CA, October 8, 2019 — Today, A-Check Global announced the availability of its background screening solutions within Cornerstone OnDemand (NASDAQ: CSOD), a global leader in the cloud-based learning, talent management and emerging talent experience market. Now integrated as a partner within Cornerstone’s EDGE marketplace, A-Check Global’s background screening integration provides an enhanced resource to help organizations make well-informed hiring decisions, with quicker turnaround, and within the convenience of Cornerstone’s talent management system.

A-Check Global background screening integration with Cornerstone improves the efficiency of the hiring process by offering easy and secure online transfer of employment candidate information and reporting between A-Check Global’s background screening integration and the Cornerstone system platform.

“In today’s world of ever-expanding, technology driven recruitment solutions, we are honored to partner with Cornerstone, and we look forward to providing an enhanced workflow experience to employers and candidates,” said Donald Shimizu, Executive Vice President at A-Check Global. “A-Check shares Cornerstone’s focus on customer care through innovation, and we are excited to serve our mutual customers now and in the future.”

About A-Check Global
A-Check Global is the nation’s most successful woman-minority owned employment screening company, providing superior customer care and support, customized background screening solutions, and advanced, online interface technology to meet the unique requirements of employers and employment candidates worldwide. A-Check is an authorized E-Verify Third Party Agent, holds ISO 9001:2015 Certification, and is accredited with the Professional Background Screening Association (PBSA). The company’s global headquarters is in Riverside, California. For more information, visit www.acheckglobal.com or phone toll free, 877-345-2021.

About Cornerstone OnDemand
Cornerstone was founded with a passion for empowering people through learning and a conviction that people should be your organization’s greatest competitive advantage. Cornerstone is a global human capital management leader with a core belief that companies thrive when they help their employees to realize their potential. Putting this belief into practice, Cornerstone offers solutions to help companies strategically manage and continuously develop their talent throughout the entire employee lifecycle. Featuring comprehensive recruiting, personalized learning, development-driven performance management, and holistic HR planning, Cornerstone’s human capital management platform is successfully used by more than 3,600 global clients of all sizes, spanning more than 40 million users across 190+ countries and 40+ languages. Learn more at www.cornerstoneondemand.com.

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A-Check Global Offers Background Screening Services for Your Interns & Volunteers

While organizations often host additional “non-staff” personnel—interns, volunteers, students, independent contractors, and others—many may think performing background screening on these groups is either too complex or too expensive. Well, let’s just say we’re here to help by offering a screening program tailored to meet this exact need.

• Take advantage of comprehensive, budget-conscious screening options
• Shift data submission/payment responsibility from your HR team to the “candidate”
• Options available for securely accessing final reports

We can work with you to build and implement a package that works for your needs. For example, here’s a quick look at a “standardized” package of services many of our clients use currently:

Sample Screening Package: Additional Services:
• Social Security Trace • Education Verification
• National Criminal Locator (NATCRIM) • Employment Verification
• County Criminal Record • Motor Vehicle Report
• Federal District Record • Substance Abuse Screening
• Global Direct Search  

It’s all about finding what works best for you, then efficiently implementing these additional services into your existing employment program to make life just a little easier. We welcome your call or email to learn more about our intern program: 1-877-345-2021 or email clientsupport@acheckglobal.com.

Compliance Clip October 2019

CONSUMER REPORTING

Conducting Background Checks on Current Employees
Most employers run background checks on prospective employees when hiring. Many employers have policies in place that allow them to conduct background checks on current employees. Your organization may choose to do so for reasons including belief of arrest, security threats, insurance confirmation, etc.
READ MORE

Electronic Acknowledgement of Arbitration Agreements
Do You Require Your Employees to Electronically Acknowledge Arbitration Agreements? Make Sure Your Process Is Effective. An automatic generation of acknowledgment to a provision available within the online employee handbook may not be enough, as affirmed by the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals.
READ MORE

DRUG TESTING

The Illinois Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act (CRTA)
The so-called “Recreational Marijuana Law,” takes effect Jan. 1, 2020. Under the CRTA, Illinois residents 21 years of age and older will be able to possess 30 grams of marijuana flower and five grams of marijuana concentrate for their personal use.
READ MORE

AS A REMINDER: At A-Check, we’re happy to help implement a drug screening program that meets your evolving needs—or make adjustments to the program you’re already running with us. Just give us a call at 877-345-2021 and ask to speak with someone on your Client Relations team.

BAN-THE-BOX

Current Ban-the-Box Laws by State and Municipality
With Colorado among the most recent legislation enacted (September 1, 2019) at state and local levels to protect employment candidates convicted of a crime from automatic disqualification, we wanted to provide you with a good resource that provides an overview of all Ban-the-Box laws in effect.
READ MORE

SALARY HISTORY BAN

Illinois Salary History Ban
As a reminder, Illinois’ new wage history law is now in effect as of September 29, 2019, which bars employers from screening job candidates based on current or past wages. We mentioned this last month’s “Compliance Clips,” but here’s another close look at this legislation.
READ MORE

New Jersey Salary History Ban
New Jersey recently enacted a new law prohibiting employers from seeking or relying on a job applicant’s salary history. The law, which will take effect on January 1, 2020.
READ MORE

DATA PRIVACY

New York’s SHIELD Act Expands Breach Notice Requirements
Following Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), many states in the US are in the process of enacting or expanding their privacy laws. New York’s new SHIELD Act contains key changes to New York’s existing breach notification obligations. These changes become effective October 23, 2019. Trends like this provide opportunity for us to remind our clients that A-Check (as a CRA who collects personal data on your behalf) gives significant attention to data security and the system processes and procedures we employ to protect information.
READ MORE

Questions? We’re here to help!