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April is Second Chance Month – Are You Doing Your Part?
As we observe Second Chance Month in April in the United States, it’s an opportune time for employers to consider the benefits of hiring and advancing individuals with a criminal background. This initiative is not just about giving a second chance to the formerly...
Los Angeles Has a New & Improved Fair Chance Ordinance
Employers hiring in Los Angeles must prepare for the new Los Angeles Fair Chance Ordinance, scheduled to take effect September 3, 2024. This new law was introduced by the LA County Board of Supervisors and expands on the already existing protections afforded...
New NY Social Media Prohibitions: Employers Beware
New York Governor Kathy Hochul recently signed legislation that significantly restricts employer’s access to and use of personal social media accounts. If you are currently including a social media search as part of your recruiting or employment screening or...
Los Angeles County Criminal Court Update
As a reminder, on Friday, February 23, 2024, the Superior Court of California, Los Angeles, Criminal Division, removed access to Date of Birth from all public facing index systems. Date of Birth is used to ensure criminal convictions provided in a consumer report for...
Important Alert: Los Angeles County Criminal Delays
The Los Angeles Superior Court announced this week that effective 5:00 pm this Friday (February 23, 2024), they will be removing the month and year of birth from the court index search engine (day of birth was previously redacted). This change applies to both the...
Navigating CA’s New Cannabis Employment Laws & Drug Testing Rules
Just a Reminder on Recent CA Background & Drug Testing Laws CA Cannabis Testing Prohibitions Effective January 1, 2024, California joined a number of other states who have passed laws making it unlawful to discriminate against an applicant or employee based on...
Streamline Your Onboarding and Guarantee Compliance with Electronic I-9s and E-Verify
In today's competitive landscape, finding qualified talent is crucial, but ensuring a compliant and efficient onboarding process is equally important. Two key tools in your arsenal are the Form I-9 and E-Verify, both aiming to verify employee work eligibility and...
California Cannabis Testing Prohibitions
Off-Duty Cannabis Use and Employment Law: A Game Changer for California For employers with California job seekers or employees, last year’s AB 2188 was a shot across the bow, letting employers know they needed to review and update their drug testing policies. In case...
California Employers Have New Legal Obligations on Criminal Backgrounds
California employers have been subject to the California Fair Chance Act since 2018, which currently requires, among other things, that employers not inquire into an applicant’s criminal history until after a condition job offer is made; use an individual assessment...
New Form I-9 & Approved Remote Examination Process of Form I-9 Documents
New Form I-9 On July 25, 2023, USCIS introduced a new version of the Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification in the Federal Register. The revised Form I-9 will be officially published at https://www.uscis.gov/i-9 starting on August 1. Employers can begin use of...
Minnesota Updates Drug Testing Laws – Cannabis Restricted on August 1, 2023
Minnesota has joined the growing ranks of states that are passing new, or updating existing, drug testing laws around cannabis. Minnesota has provided applicants and employees protections for the legal use of cannabis for medicinal purposes since 2014. Starting August...
DHS Ends Form I-9 Requirement Flexibility
COVID-19 temporary flexibilities for Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, will end on July 31, 2023. U. S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) recently announced that employers must complete in-person physical document inspections for...
Transportation Regulators Move One Step Closer to Oral Fluid Testing for Regulated Employees
On May 2, 2023, the Office of the Secretary of Transportation (OST), Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), and Federal Transit Administration (FTA); U.S. Department of...
CFPB Updates Federal Summary of Rights Required for Background Checks
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) recently issued an updated version of the important document titled, “A Summary of Your Rights Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act.” You must provide this document to your applicant/employee at various points during the...
E-Verify Records Disposal
On June 24, 2023, USCIS will dispose of E Verify records that are more than 10 years old, which are those last updated on or before Dec. 31, 2012. E Verify employers have until June 23, 2023, to download case information from the Historic Records Report if they want...
The Vending Machine has Gatorade, Twinkies and… Weed?
Noelle Harling, SVP - 02/17/2023 Imagine your surprise when you’re feeling a little peck-ish and head to your local vending machine only to find… weed! Yes, that’s right, Terrapin Care Station dispensary in Aurora, Colorado, has debuted the first Automated Cannabis...
E-Verify Employers: Information for SSA TNC Mismatches
Reminder: We recommend employees whose E Verify SSA Tentative Non-confirmation mismatch cases were referred between March 2, 2020, to July 14, 2022, visit their local SSA offices according to the preferred timeframes below: If the date on the employee's Referral Date...
Permanent Resident Card and Employment Authorization Document Redesign Webinar
Please find below information from USCIS on an upcoming webinar you may be interested in. USCIS will host a webinar on Monday, Feb. 27, 1-2 p.m. Eastern. During this webinar, USCIS representatives will provide updates and answer questions about the new designs...
USCIS Redesigns Permanent Resident Cards and Employment Authorization Documents
On February 3, 2023, USCIS announced new designs for tamper-resistant Form I 551, Permanent Resident Cards (also known as Green Cards), and Form I 766, Employment Authorization Documents (EADs). USCIS began issuing the redesigned cards on Jan. 30, 2023. Some Permanent...
California Tightens Restrictions on Employment Testing for Marijuana
On September 18, 2022, Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law AB 2188, which expands the protections of the California Fair Employment and Housing Act to include a person’s off duty use of cannabis. The bill becomes effective January 1, 2024, so employers have a full...
E-Verify Releases New Case Enhancements
The E-Verify system is improving its user experience by providing more case processing options. Client users may now close a case from the document upload page in the E-Verify system by selecting one of these options: The information entered was not correct; The...
DHS Ends COVID-19 Temporary Policy for Expired List B Identity Documents
The DHS (Department of Homeland Security) is ending its temporary policy related to expired List B Identity documents. Therefore, employers will no longer be able to accept expired List B Documents starting May 1, 2022. The temporary relief was in response to the...
HR.com HR Legal & Compliance Law Advisory Board
The new year is here! For HR that means a whole set of new compliance requirements. HR is faced with many compliance requirements whether it be COVID protocols, EEOC regulations, equal pay, wage and hour laws, workers compensation, managing employee classification,...
Philly to Ban Use of Positive Marijuana Test for Employment Decisions
Effective January 1, 2022, Philadelphia will follow New York City, and the State of Nevada in not allowing employers to take adverse action against job applicants who test positive for Marijuana. Specifically, the state of Nevada prohibits employers from taking...
National Drug-Free Work Week Starts October 11th
With National Drug-Free Work Week coming up from October 11th to the 16th, Frasco® Profiles takes the opportunity to educate our clients on the importance of a drug-free workplace. According to SHRM and the National Safety Council: Employee Drug testing positivity...
Next Generation US Passport Includes a Letter Followed by 8 Digits
The Form I-9 application has been updated to accommodate document formats for employees presenting newly issued "next generation" USA Passports which come with an alphanumeric document number such as E123456789. The new software update now accepts this alphanumeric...
ICE Announces Another Extension to New Employee Guidance to I-9 Compliance Flexibility
WASHINGTON – U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) today announced an extension of the flexibilities in rules related to Form I-9 compliance that was initially granted last year. Due to the continued precautions related to COVID-19, the Department of Homeland...
Frasco® Profiles’ VP Appointed to HR.com Advisory Board
On August 13, 2021, HR.com announced this year’s State of Legal, Compliance & Employment Law Advisory Board, appointing Frasco® Profiles’ very own Vice President, Noelle Harling. Along with a select number of industry thought leaders and HR.com’s HR Research...
Understanding Fair Chance Hiring
Did you know that nearly 70 million Americans have a criminal record, as stated by CNN, in April 2021? Recently, Walmart, Inc. has made headlines, as the retail conglomerate faces a nationwide class action lawsuit claiming discrimination against African Americans and...
Tips on Recruiting Strategies from HR Professionals
On July 28, 2021, Frasco® Profiles conducted an hour-long webinar with a panel of HR professionals to discuss recruiting challenges and strategies in 2021. Due to the pandemic, the landscape of hiring has drastically changed, and we gathered this group to unpack their...
NYC Fair Chance Act Amendments Become Effective July 29, 2021
If you hire in New York City, you have probably seen our prior legal updates on the NYC Fair Chance Act’s amendments, which were signed into law on January 29, 2021, and become effective July 29, 2021. The NYC FCA generally only applies when the position sought is...
Updates to the Illinois Human Rights Act Impact Background Checks and Adverse Action Process
On March 23, 2021, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker signed into law Senate Bill 1480 (SB 1480), amending the Illinois Human Rights Act (IHRA). The new law, which went into effect immediately upon the governor’s signature, places additional requirements on employers’...
E-Verify Updates the SSA TNC Process
On March 4, 2021, E-Verify updated the Social Security Administration (SSA) Tentative Non-Confirmation (TNC) process. Now, employees who receive an SSA TNC with a citizenship mismatch have the option to call DHS to resolve their cases instead of visiting an SSA field...
FMCSA Issues Extension on CDL & Medical Certificate Renewals due to COVID-19 Pandemic
Do you have commercial drivers on staff trying to renew their expired, or soon to be expiring, commercial driver's license (CDL) and/or medical certifications? Well, you aren't alone. In addition to various state and local stay at home orders, the pandemic has forced...
USCIS Advises to Download the E-Verify Records You Need to Keep
USCIS Announces E-Verify Records Disposal On May 14, 2021, USCIS will dispose of E-Verify records that are more than 10 years old, which are those dated on or before Dec. 31, 2010. E-Verify employers have until May 14, 2021, to download case information from the...
CDC Issues Guidance Regarding Potential COVID-19 Vaccination Impact on TB Test Results
On January 7, 2021, The CDC (Centers for Disease Control) provided guidance to healthcare personnel who require both TB testing and COVID-19 vaccination due to a possible false negative TB result. According to the ACIP (Advisory Committee on Immunizations Practices)...
COMPLIANCE ALERT: USCIS Notice to Replace Sticker That Extends Validity of Permanent Resident Card
USCIS is replacing the currently issued sticker that extends the validity of a Form I-551, Permanent Resident Card (PRC), or Green Card, with a revised Form I-797, Notice of Action, receipt notice of Form I-90, Application to Replace Permanent Resident Card. The...
Employers Turn to Social Media Before Hiring in Tumultuous Times
As employers balance protecting their employees and protecting their company brand, pre-employment social media screening can be a valuable resource in the hiring process. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic and political turmoil of 2020, an increasing amount of...
NYC Approves Rules Explaining Exception of Pre-Employment Marijuana Tests
As of May 10, 2020, the city of New York has prohibited employers, labor organizations, and employment agencies from requiring job applicants to submit to a marijuana drug test as a condition for employment. The new law is in response to an increasing trend by states...
FMCSA Issues Waiver to Certain Pre-Employment Testing Requirements
On June 5, 2020, in an effort to provide relief to employers of CMV drivers during the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) granted a three-month waiver from certain pre-employment testing requirements. Due to the...
Facial Coverings Required by Occupational Health Clinics
As COVID-19 restrictions evolve and retract across the United States, Frasco Profiles has been made aware that many clinics are now refusing to treat patients that come to the clinic without a face mask or facial covering. Concentra has formally instituted this policy...
Are you ready for the new I-9 Form requirements starting May 1st?
The USCIS has announced that as of Jan. 31, 2020, employers should begin using the Form I-9 posted here (edition 10/21/19). If you have not started using the new form yet, you must do so no later than May 1, 2020. That deadline is coming up quickly and employers who...
How to Deal with Form I-9 “List B” Expired Documents During COVID-19
In an ongoing effort to keep our clients aware of the latest developments revolving around the COVID-19 Pandemic, the following guidance was provided by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). If an employee’s state issued I.D. or drivers’...
United Kingdom Criminal Background Update: DBS Temporarily Allows Video ID Verification for all Checks
Due to the current COVID-19 Pandemic the UK Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) has permitted a temporary relief in their identity verification requirements. DBS is now allowing candidate identity verification to be conducted via video link, or having the...
DOT Guidance on Compliance with Drug and Alcohol Testing During Pandemic
The Department of Transportation (DOT) has released its guidance on how employers can comply with DOT regulations during the Coronavirus outbreak. DOT is committed to maintaining public safety while providing maximum flexibility to allow transportation industries to...
E-Verify Allows Employers Additional Time to Resolve Tentative Nonconfirmations
Due to the Coronavirus Pandemic the E-Verify system is allowing employers additional time to resolve the Social Security Administration (SSA) Tentative Nonconfirmations (TNC’s) due to SSA public office closures. Additionally, the timeframe has been extended to...
Drug Testing/Health Screening Update Regarding COVID-19
As healthcare facilities respond to the COVID-19 crisis, we are beginning to see some impact to employers who rely on pre and post employment drug testing and other health screens. Below is an update to help you plan for potential delays and service interruptions....