NCS - National Credit and Screening

10 Reasons to Implement a Workplace Drug Testing Program

Post author By
Post date October 25, 2018

Both employers and employees have a responsibility to contribute to not only a productive, positive, and comfortable work environment, but also to a safe workplace. Instituting a drug testing program can help to accomplish these outcomes. The following list details the most common reasons employers implement and sustain workplace drug testing programs.

Improve company image. Drug testing can help to boost consumer confidence around product quality, safety, reputation, and employment best practices.
Provide a safe workplace for employees. Implementing a drug testing program can help to reduce on-the-job accidents and crime involving drugs.
Comply with state laws and Federal regulations. Employers are responsible for understanding and adhering to their local and Federal laws. For some safety-sensitive industries, drug testing is a requirement.
Manage healthcare and insurance costs. An enforced drug testing program can aid in avoiding costs related to alcohol and drug-related injuries and illness, while helping to lower worker’s compensation exposure.
Improve company morale. Drug testing can help promote a safer work environment, playing a role in fostering a positive corporate culture.
Enhance employee productivity. A drug testing program can help to reduce unscheduled leave, absences, tardiness, and employee turnover.
Deter drug use and rehabilitate employees. Effective drug testing programs can help to deter drug use among employees; further, testing can help to identify those who may need employee assistance or rehabilitation services for a substance use disorder.
Protect employees, customers, and the public. Drug testing protects employees, customers, and the public from employees using drugs; it can also help to keep employees safe from harm and employers safe from liability.
Prevent hiring candidates who use drugs. Pre-employment drug testing helps to prevent hiring individuals who use illicit drugs.
Keep employers and employees educated. A well-run drug testing program provides tools employees need to participate and benefit from a drug-free workplace, as well as information about the physical effects of drug use and the nature of addiction.

Employers should consider their unique business needs, and select elements of a drug testing program that will be most beneficial to their job roles and environment. An effective workplace drug testing policy, combined with proper education, can help employers benefit from a number of both tangible and intangible advantages.

For more information please contact us at sales@nationalcreditandscreening.com.

Tags drug testing, employee, employer, workplace

Salary

Salary History Bans Attempt to End Pay Discrimination

Post author By
Post date September 4, 2018

In the past we reported about the restrictions placed on employers from asking job applicants for salary history. We are again reminding you that employers must know the laws in each and every jurisdiction where they do business, where their applicants and employees reside, and even where they are interviewed.

Salary history bans attempt to end pay discrimination. Different jurisdictions have outlawed pay history questions in one form or another. There have been 11 state-wide bans and 9 local bans. It’s the law and we want to help you avoid the penalties. Below is a list of the jurisdictions with a salary history ban.

				SALARY HISTORY BAN		EMPLOYERS AFFECTED
				STATE-WIDE	LOCAL	PRIVATE	GOV’T.
CALIFORNIA				●		●	●
CALIFORNIA –
		SAN FRANCISCO			●	●	●
CONNECTICUT				●		●	●
	effective 1/1/2019
DELAWARE				●		●
HAWAII				●		●
	effective 1/1/2019
ILLINOIS –
		CHICAGO			●		●
KENTUCKY –
		LOUISVILLE			●		●
LOUISIANA –
		NEW ORLEANS			●		●
MASSACHUSETTS				●		●	●
MISSOURI –
		KANSAS CITY			●		●
NEW JERSEY				●			●
NEW YORK				●			●
NEW YORK –
		NEW YORK CITY			●	●
		ALBANY COUNTY			●	●
		WESTCHESTER COUNTY			●	●
OREGON				●		●	●
PENNSYLVANIA				●			●
	effective pending
PENNSYLVANIA –
		PHILADELPHIA			●	●	●
			effective pending
PENNSYLVANIA –
		PITTSBURGH			●		●
PUERTO RICO				●		●
VERMONT				●		●

Helpful Tips:

This development continues to follow the trend of the pay-equity movement taking place in cities and states nationwide. As we’ve suggested in the past, because there is a new national focus on prior salary history information, employers should be mindful of these new restrictions and evaluate how new legislation may impact them. For additional information, please contact NCS.

Employment counsel should be consulted. Information including sample documents should NOT be construed as legal advice, guidance or counsel. It is for educational purposes only. Employers should consult their own attorney about their compliance responsibilities under the FCRA and applicable state and local laws. National Credit and Screening Co., LLC expressly disclaims any warranties or responsibility or damages associated with or arising out of information provided.

Salary

Salary History Ban Updates That You Need to Know About

Post author By
Post date August 8, 2018

Two weeks ago, we reminded you of the restrictions regarding the use of credit checks by employers on applicants and employees. This week we are reminding you of the restrictions placed on an employer from asking job applicants for salary history. Again, we remind you that employers must know the laws in each and every jurisdiction where they do business, where their applicants and employees reside and even where they are interviewed.

As we reported in November 2017, on January 1, 2018 the California Salary History Disclosure law went into effect. California joins Delaware, Puerto Rico, Oregon, Massachusetts, New York counties of Albany and Westchester, New York City, Philadelphia (pending legal challenge), and its own city of San Francisco, in prohibiting employers from asking job applicants for salary history information. Also, effective July 1, 2018, Vermont, and effective January 1, 2019, Connecticut and Hawaii, passed their respective laws prohibiting employers from obtaining and using past salary history. Finally, please be aware that many city and state offices and agencies cannot ask about past salary history.

The new California law also makes California the first jurisdiction in the country to require that employers provide applicants with the pay scale for a position, upon “reasonable request.”

This development follows the trend of the pay-equity movement taking place in cities and states nationwide. As we’ve suggested in the past, because there is a new national focus on prior salary history information, employers should be mindful of these new restrictions and evaluate how new legislation may impact them.

Employment counsel should be consulted. Information including sample documents should NOT be construed as legal advice, guidance or counsel. Employers should consult their own attorney about their compliance responsibilities under the FCRA and applicable state and local laws. National Credit and Screening Co., LLC expressly disclaims any warranties or responsibility or damages associated with or arising out of information provided.

Background Check Credit Report

You Can’t Always Use Credit History in Employment Decisions

Post author By
Post date July 30, 2018

Does your state or municipality restrict you from using credit history reports in your hiring decisions? As an employer, you must know the laws in each and every jurisdiction where you do business, where your applicants and employees reside and even where they are interviewed.

Credit checks are useful, especially for certain employment positions such as jobs working with company finances and confidential information. However, employers are becoming increasingly restricted in their ability to pull credit reports on applicants and employees. Ten states (CA; CO; CT; HI; IL; MD; NV; OR; VT; and WA), the District of Columbia, and three cities (New York City, Chicago, and Philadelphia) have passed laws restricting the use of credit reports used by employers for employment purposes. More certainly will follow.

The laws impose serious monetary penalties and there has been a surge of private litigation which must be defended. Therefore, employers should not request credit information including running credit reports unless either required or allowed by law. Employers throughout the United States, and particularly multi-state employers, should continue to monitor developments in this and related areas of the law, particularly laws restricting the use of credit history information.

Employment counsel should be consulted. Information including sample documents should NOT be construed as legal advice, guidance or counsel. Employers should consult their own attorney about their compliance responsibilities under the FCRA and applicable state and local laws. National Credit and Screening Co., LLC expressly disclaims any warranties or responsibility, or damages associated with or arising out of information provided.

Salary

Does your State allow you to ask for salary history?

Post author By
Post date July 30, 2018

On January 1, 2018 the California Salary History Disclosure law went into effect. California joins Delaware, Puerto Rico, Oregon, Massachusetts, New York City, Philadelphia (pending legal challenge) and its own city of San Francisco in prohibiting employers from asking job applicants for salary history information. Also, effective July 1, 2018, Vermont passed their law prohibiting employers from obtaining and using past salary history.

The new California law also makes California the first jurisdiction in the country to require that employers provide applicants with the pay scale for a position, upon “reasonable request.”

This development follows the trend of the pay-equity movement taking place in cities and states nationwide. Given the new national focus on prior salary history information, employers must be mindful of your state’s restrictions and evaluate how new legislation may impact them.

Employers must know the laws in each and every jurisdiction where they do business, where their applicants and employees reside and even where they are interviewed. Visit your your state’s employment commission website for additional resources.

Employment counsel should be consulted. Information including sample documents should NOT be construed as legal advice, guidance or counsel. Employers should consult their own attorney about their compliance responsibilities under the FCRA and applicable state and local laws. National Credit and Screening Co., LLC expressly disclaims any warranties or responsibility, or damages associated with or arising out of information provided.

Salary

New York City Passes Salary History Ban

Post author By
Post date August 22, 2017

A Quick Memo…

On May 4, 2017, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio signed into law the legislation that bans New York City employers from inquiring about or seeking the salary history of job applicants (see our A QUICK MEMO… dated April 8, 2017). The law will go into effect on Halloween, October 31, 2017. While the wording of the law may suggest that the City Commission on Human Rights must issue regulations before the law can take effect, both the Mayor and the Commission issued statements indicating that the effective date will be 180 days from the Mayor’s signature.

It remains to be seen whether the New York City law will face the same legal challenges as its Philadelphia counterpart. Last month, the Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia filed a federal lawsuit against Philadelphia’s pay equity Ordinance, which similarly prohibits inquiries into salary history. See our A QUICK MEMO… dated April 27, 2017.

Helpful Tips:

With the impending city and state law bans not only in NYC and Philadelphia, and but also in Massachusetts and Puerto Rico that will forbid or limit an employer’s inquiry into prior salary, the California Fair Pay Act prohibition on using prior salary as the sole justification for pay differences , and even splits within the federal Circuits on the use of prior salary , all employers who consider prior salary in setting initial compensation – not just those with operations in NYC – are wise to carefully consider the above and consult legal counsel as they approach what to pay.

Background Check Screening

Background Checks

Post author By
Post date August 8, 2017

Let us investigate a candidate’s background…

NATIONAL CREDIT AND SCREENING CO., LLC…We care about your business. NCS associates are hands-on and work in close collaboration with our clients. Our services will help you to minimize risk, promote growth, decrease cost, and keep you protected. Hire the right employees. Accept the right tenants. Sell to the right customers. Lend to the right borrowers. Buy from the right vendors. Customized and FCRA compliant reports, usually returned within 24 hours, including credit reports and drug testing, for all your national and international needs.

Relevant. Accurate. Reliable. Excellence.

THE HUMAN DIFFERENCE™…Get information that is handled with care, and not processed by computers. Many background screening companies use processes that are automated so there’s no real person reviewing the documents except you, their customer. We will never offer a “push the button” option to our customers. Every request we receive and every report from NCS, is reviewed by a real person, your expert…an NCS associate. This insures the information returned is accurate, reliable, and compliant with all relevant laws. THAT IS THE “THE HUMAN DIFFERENCE” ™.

Background Check Credit Report Screening

Before You Hire…

Post author By
Post date July 19, 2017

An informed decision from relevant information before you hire…

Background screening is arguably one of the most essential steps in human resource management and staff recruitment today. Speak with an expert…NATIONAL CREDIT AND SCREENING CO., LLC.

NCS can assist with improving transparency and disclosure, ensuring that informed decisions can be made regarding one of the most important assets of your company – your employees. NCS’ background checks can assist with red flagging criminal behavior, unverified qualifications, fabricated experience, drug issues, and other relevant information BEFORE you make what could be a very expensive mistake.

NCS is the quickest, simplest and often cheapest way of making sure you know exactly who it is you are employing without taking either unnecessary risks, or unnecessary time and resources.

Relevant. Accurate. Reliable. Excellence.

Many background screening companies use processes that are all automated so there’s no real person who’s reviewing the documents except you, the potential employer. We will never offer a “push the button” option to our customers. Every request we receive and every report from NCS, is reviewed by a real person, your expert…an NCS associate. This insures the information returned is accurate, reliable, and compliant with all relevant laws.

THAT IS THE “THE HUMAN DIFFERENCE” .

Employment Screening

How Much Do You Need?

Post author By
Post date July 7, 2017

What is the hardest aspect of pre-employment (and tenant) screening?

As a Consumer Reporting Agency, we take on the responsibility from our customers to provide pre-employment screening. Wanting to make our customers’ lives as simple as possible, we wondered what is the hardest aspect of pre-employment screening? In talking with a number of owners and officers of small, medium, and large-sized businesses, it seems that the hardest aspect of background screening is not the screening itself because they are grateful we do it for them, but the determination of depth to which any background screening needs to go. You may recall not long ago we sent an email saying “you do not need to run the same type of background check on every employee”.

Clearly if one is employing somebody in a relatively minor position such as a maintenance worker, it will not be necessary to carry such in-depth pre-employment screening as you would if you were employing a new chief executive. That background screening to some extent is necessary regardless of the position being applied for is obvious, but clearly it needs to be appropriate to the position and the relative risks. But how do you decide exactly what those risks are, and how the level of those risks translates to an appropriate depth of screening?

The easiest and most reliable method is to approach NCS because we specialize in carrying out pre-employment screening and background checks. In addition to carrying out these checks on our customers’ behalf using sophisticated systems and services, we provide our customers with accurate, reliable, and timely recommendations as far as exactly how deep those background checks need to go. As we said in our last email, implementing an employment background screening policy is the most economic business insurance you can buy; they are inexpensive…most of them run less than $100. It is the quickest, simplest and often cheapest way of making sure you know exactly who it is you are employing without taking either unnecessary risks, or unnecessary time and resources. Hiring the wrong person is a very expensive mistake!!

Relevant. Accurate. Reliable. Excellence.

THAT IS THE “THE HUMAN DIFFERENCE” .