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Articles Posted in Background Checks

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Congress blocks proposed ban on requests for employee social media passwords

Last week, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act, better known as CISPA. CISPA provides for the sharing of certain cyber threat intelligence and cyber threat information between the intelligence community and cybersecurity entities, and for other purposes. However, the majority vote was not…

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New federal bill would ban credit checks on employees and applicants

Yesterday, I discussed some pending federal legislation that would expand the FMLA to cover part-time employees. Now, I hear that another bill introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives, known as the Equal Employment for All Act, would amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act to prohibit the use of consumer…

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My 5 best posts of 2012, as selected by the world’s best readers*

*Do I need a disclaimer? Do I? What a year for The Employer Handbook in 2012! I’m most pleased that, in our second year of existence, readership more than doubled. Although, sadly, the one 2011 reader I had from Papua New Guinea never returned in 2012. I hope she is…

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Employment Law Blog Carnival: Hollywood Casting Call Edition

Welcome everyone to the Employment Law Blog Carnival: Hollywood Casting Call Edition. [Editor’s Note: The original theme for this post was the “Employment Law Blog Carnival: Sex, Drugs, and Rock & Roll Edition.” I had this bright idea to begin by cutting and pasting the lyrics to Guns N’ Roses’ “My…

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U.S. Senate now has its own FB password bill; NJ nears similar ban

Well, that didn’t take long. Late last month, I reported on a bill that had been introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives, known as the Social Networking Online Protection Act (SNOPA), that would prohibit employers, schools, and universities from requiring someone to provide a username, password or other access…

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Report: Employees share WAY more Facebook info than they think

Maryland has a new law forbidding employers from demanding that job applicants and employees divulge online passwords. Two weeks ago, the federal government proposed similar legislation. And, last week, news surfaced that Delaware may be placing the same restrictions on employers. But who needs to demand online passwords, when, according…

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Relax! Businesses don’t want employee Facebook passwords.

But, if you think they do — maybe you read this article last week — then I have a bridge in Brooklyn to sell you, sucker. Come on! The sky isn’t falling. Demanding social media access from employees and potential hires and is most definitely the exception and not the rule. And I’ll…

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Pepsi and Criminal Background Checks: Beyond the Buzz

Today we have a guest blogger at The Employer Handbook. It’s Janette Levey Frisch. Janette is In-House Counsel at Joule, Inc. where she provides comprehensive legal representation and support to a staffing company with five subsidiaries throughout the East Coast. You can connect with Janette on Twitter here and on…

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Crime & Punishment: Beware what you ask Philly job applicants

Last year, here and here, I discussed legislation that would prohibit Philadelphia employers from asking job applicants about certain arrests and making any personnel decisions based on records of an arrest that does not result in a conviction. That legislation is now the law. That law is the Philadelphia Fair Criminal…

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3 tips to guide a social-media check on your potential new hire

According to this recent SHRM survey, only 18% of companies have used social media to screen job candidates. Most cite the legal risks of screening candidates as the reason for not implementing a social-media background check. While a social-media background check may not be useful in certain instances, I can…