The EEOC Issues Updated Guidance on Employer Use of Arrest and Conviction Records
By James Hays, Jonathan Sokolowski, Ashley Hirano, and Gregg Fisch
On April 25, 2012, the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) issued updated enforcement guidance on employers’ use of arrest and conviction records when making employment decisions under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (“Title VII”). The EEOC’s guidance (the “Guidance”) is intended to codify and build on its prior policies concerning employers’ use of criminal records. Nevertheless, the Guidance, which is effective immediately, supersedes the EEOC’s prior policies on this issue.
Continue ReadingPassword Protected - Proposed Social Media Privacy Legislation
By Rebecca Hirschklau and James Hays
The job market appears to be on an upswing, and with this upswing, and the advent of new technology, comes new challenges for employers and applicants alike. Potential employees may have online identities that many employers deem useful when investigating a job applicant. However, privacy settings on many social media sites allow an applicant to hide his/her online persona from these potential employers. As a result, a new trend in applicant background investigating has surfaced: asking an applicant for his/her username and password to social media sites during the interview process.
Continue ReadingLegal Issues Surrounding Social Media Background Checks
By Michelle Sherman
Agatha Christie had a novel take on invention being the mother of necessity. She disagreed and said, “[I]nvention, in my opinion, arises directly from idleness, possibly also from laziness. To save oneself trouble.” She may have been onto something when you think about businesses that are turning to outside vendors to research employees and job candidates for them. Whether or not these outside vendors are the best solution, however, remains to be seen.
The New Federal "Disposal Rule": Requirements For Destruction of Consumer Information
Effective June 1, 2005, a new federal rule requires employers to take appropriate measures to dispose of sensitive information derived from consumer reports. The purpose of this new "Disposal Rule" is to reduce the risk of consumer fraud and identity theft created by the improper disposal of consumer information.
Continue ReadingEmployers Must Provide Public Records Uncovered During Investigations Into Employee's Wrongdoing Or Misconduct Within Reasonable Time
On January 31, 2005, a California Court of Appeal decided in the case of Gene Moran v. Murtaugh, Miller, Meyer & Nelson, LLP, et al. that, pursuant to California's Investigative Consumer Reporting Agencies Act (the "Act"), employers must provide employees copies of public records uncovered in the context of an investigation into the employee's wrongdoing or misconduct within a reasonable time after the investigation is complete.
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