GENERAL CONSUMER REPORTING INFORMATION

Class Action Litigation
Class action suits over alleged, unlawful use of consumer reports are ongoing, and increasing. Let’s work together to focus on your employment program compliance. Unfortunately, FDCPA, FCRA, and TCPA lawsuit filings are higher in January 2022 than January 2021. What’s more, of the approximately 1,053 lawsuits litigants have filed this year, 524 seek a judgement based on FCRA guidelines—representing a nearly 14% increase compared to the same time period one year ago. A sign of things to come, and certainly a reminder to see that your employment recruiting program is compliant. Got questions about background screening? We invite you to ask A-Check! We’re here to help.
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New York’s Fair Chance Act
New employment laws impacting New York employers, including a Fair Chance Act amendment now requiring that criminal conviction history inquiries happen after a conditional offer of employment. That is, after all non-criminal background checks have been completed, and a conditional offer of employment has been extended, a company can conduct a criminal record review regarding the candidate. With any criminal history information reported during this process, the company cannot then withdraw an employment offer unless it is determined that 1) there’s a direct relationship between the candidate’s conviction history or pending charges on the job position, or 2) the company can show that hiring this candidate would introduce unreasonable risk to the safety or welfare of the workforce or general public.
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Wisconsin
A Wisconsin Supreme Court ruling will ease the burden on Wisconsin employers during the employment process, while assessing whether an employee’s or applicant’s crimes are substantially related to a job. The Wisconsin Fair Employment Act (WFEA) prohibits employers from discriminating against applicants and employees on the basis of their arrest and conviction records. In this ruling, while Wisconsin employers must still engage in assessment of an applicant’s or employee’s pending charges or convictions, they no longer need to consider treating domestic violence any differently than other types of charges or convictions.
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I-9 AND E-VERIFY

List B Document Update
The DHS announced that because document-issuing authorities have reopened and/or have provided alternatives to in-person renewals, starting May 1, 2022, employers must only accept unexpired List B documents when completing Form I-9. What’s more, employers should audit all Form I-9s completed between May 1, 2020 and April 30, 2022 to determine if any of them need to be updated with a current (unexpired) identity document.
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Form I-9 Document Inspection
ICE has extended its temporary policy allowing employers to inspect Form I-9 documents virtually through April 30, 2022. ICE is also planning a proposed regulation to be published by summer 2022 to set forth guidance for a permanent remote document inspection. This is welcome news as many trend toward permanent hybrid work solutions, and is encouraging that the government is closely following workplace trends and is willing to take a look at updating the Form I-9 process. We will keep a close eye on this developing story.
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SUBSTANCE ABUSE TESTING

Nationwide Legislation
With increasing public and legislative support for marijuana acceptance, 2022 could easily be another busy year for legalization. In fact, more than a half-dozen states are poised to enact legislation in this year to potentially legalize medical or recreational marijuana: Rhode Island, South Carolina, Delaware, North Carolina, Kansas, Minnesota, New Hampshire, and Pennsylvania.

Please keep in mind that A-Check Global is always here to help as you determine the course of your own employment drug testing.
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DATA PRIVACY

Utah
Utah legislature recently passed the Utah Consumer Privacy Act (UCPA). UCPA is a comprehensive privacy bill that shares similarities to the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). If the Governor signs the bill into law, Utah will become the fourth state to pass consumer privacy legislation. This means that businesses with connections to Utah who qualify as an entity covered by the UCPA should prepare to be compliant with the law preferably before but no later than the legislation’s December 31, 2023 effective date.
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Questions? We’re here to help!