Each new year brings forth an abundance of change in every industry, and background screening trends are no different. A company’s success depends on its ability to modify its approach and understand newer forces at play when it comes to employment screening and background checks.
Our experienced team at Barada Associates decided to put together a guide of background screening trends your company needs to look out for as you move through the rest of this year and into future markets and legal landscapes.
As experts in the industry, we’ve tracked decades of employment screening trends and know the most important signs to look out for when preparing your company for the background screening process.
If you’re looking to improve the overall performance of your team or get peace of mind when screening new hires, choose Barada Associates for all your background check needs, from alcohol and drug screening to criminal background reports.
The Top 4 Background Screening Trends for 2023
Trend #1: The Prominence of Clean Slate Laws
In the last decade, “fair chance” hiring laws have become increasingly popular at the city, county, and state levels. These laws are focused on limiting the influence of a candidate’s criminal history on their employment chances.
In other words, the law encourages employers to treat all candidates with a “clean slate” mind frame. Combined with an increase in privacy laws across the country, clean slate laws are coming to the forefront to combat hiring discrimination for candidates with criminal records. The goal is to help these individuals obtain automatic expungement or seal their records after a specific period of time to give them better access to quality job opportunities.
As of 2023, 10 states have passed clean slate laws and several more have active plans in place to pass similar legislation. It’s critical that your company stays up to date on the fair hiring laws in your area so that you can optimize your hiring process and take advantage of our comprehensive background screening solutions without causing harm to your business.
Trend #2: The Job Market Continues to be Candidate-Friendly, Making Background Screening Steps More Important Than Ever
In a post-COVID-19, hybrid work environment, the power is in the hands of the candidates. They feel confident in their negotiating power and have highly-specific wish lists when scanning job openings. Giving every candidate a fair chance at employment and finding the highest quality candidate for your company’s open role must be carefully balanced with strong background checks, criminal record reports, and other pre-employment testing.
Without a proper background check process, your company could fall victim to unqualified, dishonest candidates. Or, a delayed, inaccurate report could cause perfectly matched candidates to walk away from your business in favor of a company with a more streamlined hiring or onboarding process.
This is why working with longstanding professionals with proven screening services, such as our team at Barada Associates is crucial to the growth and success of your company.
We can accommodate all your testing preferences and needs, but your business must adhere to the guidelines for information reported in criminal history checks outlined by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. We recommend routinely consulting with licensed legal counsel that specializes in employment law.
Trend #3: The Spread of Marijuana Legalization
Under federal law, marijuana possession is still illegal. However, most states have passed laws legalizing marijuana for both medical and recreational purposes over the last several years. Employers in those areas are now faced with a tough decision – remove marijuana use and related criminal records from their pre-employment background checks and drug-testing panels, or not?
While these new laws clearly outline the rules for marijuana possession – adults 21 years old and older may possess the drug and some prior marijuana convictions are expunged – how it will affect the modern workplace is still unclear. One thing is certain – marijuana use that affects an employee’s performance or safety at work is not widely protected.
If your company is located in a state that recently legalized marijuana, you’ll have to rethink your pre-employment screening policies and consequences. A professional background screening association can help you navigate this delicate issue with highly accurate marijuana testing results.
Trend #4: The Implementation of Background Check Monitoring
The modern world is becoming increasingly more fast-paced with innovations in technology thrusting us forward in time. Trends come and go at a much faster rate than ever before, just as, the personal data and information of your employees, including their criminal records, changes from day to day. The background check report you received when hiring a new employee could be completely outdated and inaccurate in as little as one week.
As a result, more and more companies are taking advantage of background check monitoring services. At Barada Associates, we provide continuous monitoring of your employee’s information and criminal records to maximize your company’s defense against risks to your brand, workplace, and internal and external relationships.
Continuous monitoring is FCRA-compliant and enables you to make informed decisions about your employees with real-time criminal record reports. We’ll frequently run your employees’ information through nationwide databases to provide immediate alerts if an employee is arrested. We also take our monitoring a step further by providing guidance and data on if the information is actionable or not.
Contact Barada Associates for Background Screening Services
There are many changing regulations and trends in 2023 that will impact the employment background screening industry for years to come. Barada Associates will continue to keep you updated on the latest topics affecting the industry and we look forward to sharing them with you here on our blog.
In the meantime, when you need immediate background check services to avoid negligent hiring or to ensure the health and wellness of your existing team, choose our expert services. We’re one of the top background check providers in the industry thanks to our commitment to fast, reliable results.
Contact Barada Associates to schedule your consultation today.