On Monday, March 21, 2022, we started experiencing an issue where Drug and Health Screening (D&HS) registration emails are not being sent to candidates during the ordering process. We are urgently working to resolve this issue, and will provide updates as they become available. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
As you may know, Sterling is currently experiencing delays in fulfilling criminal searches in Cook County, Illinois. These delays are due to a change in the information provided through their system that means a higher percentage of searches are requiring additional, in person court research to complete. Turnaround times are being further impacted by strict court-established time limits and appointment requirements. These issues are impacting not only Sterling, but all court researchers and all background screening companies.
While Sterling is actively monitoring Cook County, Illinois on a daily basis in hopes of finding ways to improve our client experience, delays are expected to continue to be a challenge in this jurisdiction. Current turnaround time for Cook County, Illinois is averaging several weeks longer than normal for records that require court research.
We apologize for the inconvenience this is causing, and will continue to keep you up to date on any developments.
As of Friday, February 25, 2022, winter storms impacting eastern U.S. states – including Maine, Massachusetts, and New York – may result in criminal, verification and drug & health screening service delays. Criminal and civil searches as well as verifications with external dependencies may be delayed; Massachusetts courts were confirmed closed on Friday, February 25, 2022, and will be delayed. Additionally, drug and health testing may also be impacted in these areas; it is recommended to contact testing sites in impacted areas to confirm hours of operation before visiting. Further, the severe weather may impact specimen transit times due to flight delays.
We are closely monitoring the situation and will provide updates as they become available.
Sterling is experiencing temporary delays for Motor Vehicle Record (MVR) fulfillment. On Monday, February 21, 2022, Motor Vehicle Record (MVR) searches became unavailable due to an issue with our provider. This issue is now resolved, and search delivery will be back to normal turnaround times by end of business, Tuesday, February 22, 2022. Separately, MVR searches for Oklahoma are temporarily unavailable due to maintenance of the state online resource, which is expected to end today, Tuesday, February 22, 2022. We are monitoring these situations, and will provide updates if there are changes. We apologize for any inconvenience caused by these temporary delays and thank you for your continued partnership.
In observance of Presidents’ Day on Monday, February 21, 2022, some U.S. courthouses, schools in session, and businesses will close. As a result, criminal and civil searches, drug and health testing and verifications with external dependencies are expected to be delayed by 24 to 48 hours. We also recommend candidates and employees scheduled for drug and/or health services call their selected testing site to verify hours of operation as some providers have modified hours. For reference, here’s a list of 2022 U.S. holidays. Thank you for your continued trust in Sterling.
On Wednesday, January 19, 2022 we reported that access to records for county criminal and civil searches requiring in-person research in Santa Clara county, California was limited until Monday, January 31, 2022 due to the sharp rise of Covid-19 cases and its impact on the county court’s staffing. The Santa Clara County Courthouse is now re-opened for in-person research. Criminal and civil services for Santa Clara county are expected to return to an average turnaround time of 2 to 4 weeks. However, since Santa Clara county was already experiencing delays due to the California state removal of public access to full date of birth information and the resulting increased requirement for in-person research, we are unable to provide an estimate of when this average turnaround time will return. Please note that delays associated with the Santa Clara county court closure and in-person research requirements are impacting court researchers and screening companies industry wide. Thank you for your patience.