Feb 7, 2022 @ 11:18 AM EST | United States
As an update to our post on Thursday, February 3, 2022, winter storm Landon’s impact in central and eastern U.S. states starting Wednesday, February 2 through Friday, February 4, 2022 has expanded across additional states, and now includes: Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas, and Vermont. Please anticipate possible service delays of 48-72 hours for criminal, civil, verification, and drug & health screening services in areas impacted by the storm. Criminal and civil searches as well as verifications with external dependencies may 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 continue to monitor the situation and will provide screening impact updates as they become available.
Feb 3, 2022 @ 3:04 PM EST | United States
Winter storm Landon’s impact in central and eastern U.S. states starting Wednesday, February 2 through Friday, February 4, 2022 – including Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Oklahoma, and Texas – may result in criminal, civil, verification, and drug & health screening service delays of up to 48 – 72 hours. Criminal and civil searches as well as verifications with external dependencies may 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 monitoring the situation and will provide screening impact updates as they become available.
Jan 31, 2022 @ 1:51 PM EST | United States
As of Monday, January 31, 2022, winter storms from Friday, January 28 through Saturday, January 29, 2022 impacting ten states – Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, and Virginia – may result in criminal, verification and drug & health screening service delays of up to 48 hours. Criminal and civil searches as well as verifications with external dependencies may 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.
Jan 21, 2022 @ 6:36 PM EST | Global, United States
On December 11, 2021, New York City enacted a new law to amend the administrative code of New York City which will regulate employer’s use of automated employment decision tools for hiring or promotion purposes within the city limits. Local Law Int. No. 1894-A which takes effect on January 1, 2023 applies to employers and employment agencies.
The new law makes it unlawful for an employer or an employment agency to use and automated employment decision tool to screen a candidate or employee for an employment decision unless; 1) such tool had been subject a bias audit no more than one year prior to it use and 2) make publicly available a summary of the bias audit on the employer’s website.
The law also requires employer provide specific notices which:
- Notify candidates or employees that an such a tool will be used in connection with the assessment of the candidate or employee no less than ten business days before its use;
- Allow a candidate/employee to request an alternative selection process;
- List the job qualifications and characteristics used by the tool;
- If not disclosed on employer’s website, provide upon written request, information about the type of data collected for the automated employment decision tool, the source of such data and the employers’ data retention policy.
The law defines “automated employment decision tools” as any computational process, derived from machine learning, statistical modeling, data analytics, or artificial intelligence, that issues simplified output, including a score, classification, or recommendation, that is used to substantially assist or replace discretionary decision making for making employment decisions that impact natural persons.
The term does not include a tool that does not automate, support, substantially assist or replace discretionary decision-making processes and that does not materially impact natural persons, including, but not limited to, a junk email filter, firewall, antivirus software, calculator, spreadsheet, database, data set, or other compilation of data.
It should be noted that Sterling’s tools such as Client Matrix Adjudication for example are not by definition “automated employment decision tools”. Sterling does not make hiring decisions nor does Sterling provide automated tools to assist employers in making hiring decisions.
The law defines “bias audit” to mean an impartial evaluation by an independent auditor. Such bias audit shall include but not be limited to the testing of an automated employment decision tool to assess the tool’s disparate impact on persons of any component 1 category required to be reported by employers pursuant to subsection (c) of section 2000e-8 of title 42 of the United States code as specified in part 1602.7 of title 29 of the code of federal regulations.
Violations of the law may result in civil penalties of $500 to $1,500 for each violation of any of these requirements. The law also provides applicants and employees a private right of action to enforce its provisions.
New York City employers should review their hiring policies and programs in light of the new law. Employers should also consult with their legal counsel when considering updating their background screening and hiring policies and programs.
The full text of Int 1894-A can be found HERE
The Information contained herein is for informational purposes only. Sterling is not a law firm, and none of the information contained in this notice is intended as legal advice. Clients are encouraged to consult with their legal counsel about the impacts of any requirements. This and other important legislative updates can be found on the Sterling website: https://www.sterlingcheck.com/resources/compliance-updates/
Sterling is not a law firm. This publication is for informational purposes only and nothing contained in it should be construed as legal advice. We expressly disclaim any warranty or responsibility for damages arising out this information. We encourage you to consult with legal counsel regarding your specific needs. We do not undertake any duty to update previously posted materials.
Jan 19, 2022 @ 1:20 PM EST | United States
Starting Wednesday, January 12, 2022, access to records for county criminal and civil searches requiring in-person research in Santa Clara County, California will be limited through Monday, January 31, 2022 due to the sharp rise of Covid-19 cases and its impact. We are monitoring the situation, but turnaround time delays are expected for searches that require in-person research until the court re-opens. We will provide updates as they become available. Thank you for your patience.
Jan 13, 2022 @ 1:26 PM EST | Global, United States
Starting on Monday, January 10, 2022, our E-Verify provider – the U.S. government website that allows employers to determine the work eligibility of their employees – is intermittently available due to technical issues. You may have experienced error messages, such as “System Unavailable”, “Case Queued” or “Pending”. If you receive any error messages, Sterling’s I-9 systems will capture new cases, and will queue them for processing once E-Verify services have stabilized. No action on your part is necessary at this time.
In addition, if you are outside of the three federal government working day window for creating cases for new employees because of this technical issue, you will not be held accountable for a three-day violation.
Our E-Verify provider is working diligently to resolve the issue. We apologize for the inconvenience, and will share updates as they become available.
