American supermarket chain Publix Super Markets, Inc. has agreed to pay $6.8 million in a class action lawsuit over its hiring practices. The plaintiffs allege that Publix violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), which requires employers to notify job applicants when background checks are performed. The lawsuit's lead plaintiff Erin Knights applied for a job at his local Publix store in … [Read more...]
Uber To Strengthen Background Checks With Biometrics
The San Francisco-based transportation and taxi company Uber is planning to implement to biometrics and voice verification in its background screening process to promote a safer service. News of this policy change comes in the wake of several incidents, including sexual assault cases in India and Boston. Founded by entrepreneurs Travis Kalanick and Garrett Camp under the name "UberCab" in 2009, … [Read more...]
Rejecting a Candidate with a Criminal Background Could be Foolish
Everyone makes mistakes. Sure, some are more serious than others are—failing to return a DVD to Netflix is hardly as serious as driving under the influence, after all. But routinely eliminating all job applicants with prior arrests or convictions from your candidate pool is doing your company a disservice for several reasons. First, you may be missing out on qualified workers; according to the … [Read more...]
The Cost of High Employee Turnover Rates
The cost of replacing workers can hurt an employer's wallet in more ways than just one. Some of these costs include paying overtime to existing workers, conducting interviews with prospective job candidates, lost productivity, lower morale throughout the workplace, training candidates, employee background checks, and remuneration packages. But just how much exactly does it cost to replace a … [Read more...]
Does Your Employment Screening Process Have Holes?
Eighty-seven percent of employers use background checks as part of their pre-employment screening process according to the Society for Human Resource Management. If you’re doing business in the U.S., you’re probably among them. You also probably believe that the employment background checks you’re conducting are protecting your employees, customers, business and bottom line from potentially … [Read more...]
Five Employment Trends Affecting Your Business
The economy, the Affordable Care Act, ever-evolving EEOC regulations… it’s not surprising that most business owners have a great deal on their mind in addition to keeping their customers happy and their balance sheet in the black. Hiring top-quality staff is often a significant concern so we’ve identified five related employment trends affecting your business right now. 1. Despite a vast … [Read more...]