Auditing Your Screening Process During COVID-19

Unfortunately, with COVID-19 many businesses are dealing with reductions in staff or seeing a lag in sales or services. During this time other projects like internal audits can be a great way to continue to be productive. Below are a few processes to assess and audit within your HR department. Reviewing these processes will help maintain your compliance under Federal, State and local law.

· If you use an ATS or HRIS make sure the language and authorizations are up to date. Be sure to review your entire application process and keep individual state or local laws/restrictions in mind, if you are a global or national employer.

· If you are obtaining consent outside of an ATS or HRIS, be sure you are acquiring the correct authorizations for your background and/or investigative consumer report.

· Do you have proper language in your authorizations?

· Are you providing appropriate notices, including Federal, State and locality based?

· Are your screening packages still adequate based on your positions and company requirements? For example, many states have restrictions on credit reports. Ensure you are following state guidance and only screening legally what you are allowed. In addition, make sure you don’t have any areas where your company is lacking.

· Review your policy regarding criminal convictions, and make sure you are applying individual assessments before your team determines your next step or outcome.

· Are you providing Pre-Adverse and Adverse Action, and abiding by Federal guidelines regarding timelines and notices? Again, do not forget to include those locality-based notices.

This list is not all inclusive but is a great start. There are many areas and processes within HR that we can focus on improvements.

We hope everyone is staying well and healthy! As always, this article is to provide guidance and should not replace your company’s legal counsel.

Jolene Johnston

Vice President/Chief Operating Officer

Note: This article is intended to provide general information and should be not be interpreted as legal advice.