Jan 10, 2022 @ 7:29 PM EST | United States
As of Monday, January 10, 2022, winter storms from Friday, January 7, 2022 impacting five states – including Kentucky, Massachusetts, Michigan, Tennessee, and West Virginia – have resulted in criminal, verification, and drug & health screening service delays. 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. Additionally, 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 10, 2022 @ 2:11 PM EST | United States
A service provider outage caused Social Security Number (SSN) Trace service to become unavailable to U.S. Sterling clients from 1:22 p.m. ET to 2:03 p.m. ET on Monday, January 10, 2022. Please note the provider outage is now fully resolved. Thank you for your patience.
Jan 10, 2022 @ 1:59 PM EST | United States
Starting on Monday, January 10, 2022 at 1:22 p.m. ET, our Social Security Number (SSN) Trace service is unavailable for all integrated and non-integrated U.S. Sterling clients, due to a provider outage. We are currently in communication with our service provider and working with them to reinstate fulfillment as quickly as possible. We will provide updates as they become available. Thank you for your patience.
Jan 10, 2022 @ 11:04 AM EST | United States
In observance of Martin Luther King Day on Monday, January 17, 2022, some U.S. courthouses, schools in session, businesses and government businesses will close. As a result, criminal 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.
Jan 6, 2022 @ 10:27 AM EST | Global, United States
Recent legislation in New York established cannabis as a legal consumable product by adults, age 21 or older. Consequently, employers testing in New York are restricted from testing for marijuana in many circumstances. We encourage you to consult with qualified legal counsel to ensure compliance before making any changes to current workplace testing policy and practices.
The new legislation in New York prohibits an employer (state/local government or private employer) from testing for marijuana unless the employer does so based on any of the following:
- The employer:
- Is required to test due to state or federal requirement.
- Would be in violation of federal law if testing wasn’t conducted.
- Would lose a federal contract or federal funding if testing wasn’t conducted.
- The employee, while working, manifests specific articulable symptoms of impairment that can:
- Decrease or lessen the employee’s ability to perform work tasks/duties.
- Interfere with the employer’s obligation to provide a safe workplace as required by state and federal workplace safety laws.
The New York legislation also specifies:
- Employers in New York can:
- Prohibit possession of cannabis in the workplace.
- Prohibit cannabis use at work or during work hours, including if the employee leaves the workplace during work hours or is on call to work.
- Employers in New York cannot:
- Require employees to waive their right to use cannabis as a condition of hire or continued employment.
- Prohibit remote employees from using cannabis in their private residence (in New York State) outside of work hours.
- Refuse to hire, employ, license, discharge, or otherwise discriminate against someone due to their use of cannabis. This also applies if the individual uses cannabis prior to or after work hours and off the employer’s premises without the use of the employer’s equipment or other property.
- Use a positive marijuana test result as a basis for establishing employee impairment.
Additional guidance on the new legislation in New York can be found here.
If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact your Sterling Client Success Partner. Thank you for your continued trust in Sterling.
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 5, 2022 @ 9:17 PM EST | United States
On Tuesday, December 14, 2021, we reported that tornadoes had created service disruptions in six states, including Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri and Tennessee. While other services have returned to business as usual, the courthouse in Graves County, Kentucky continues to be unavailable; there is no estimated date of re-opening at this time. As a result of our inability to access court records in Graves County, Sterling is currently marking pending orders in this jurisdiction as unperformable. Thank you for your patience.
