On January 23rd, 2017 Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney signed The Wage Equity Ordinance, stating that employers are no longer allowed to inquire potential employees of their salary history or view it on their background checks. This new law, which took effect in May of 2017 makes Philadelphia the first city to start this trend.

(Bill No. 160840)
AN ORDINANCE

“Amending Title 9 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled “Regulation of Businesses, Trades
and Professions,” by adding a new Chapter on wage equity prohibiting employers from
inquiring about salary history, including definitions, duties, penalties, posting
requirements, a private right of action and other related items regarding wage equity; all
under certain terms and conditions.”

The Wage Equity Ordinance

Citing a 2015 U.S. Census Bureau report, the wage equity ordinance says women on average, 79 cents for every dollar made by men, and the disparity is greater for women of color. The law, first of its kind passed by a U.S. city, is intended to close the pay gap between men and women. Some argue this wage gap starts early in women’s careers and is perpetuated when they are asked to state their salaries going forward.

The wage equity ordinance will become a part of the Philadelphia Fair Practices Ordinance, which is the local law that governs unlawful discrimination.

Federal Government has not provided much clarity or set guidelines in these areas of law, which leaves it to the state and local levels of government to set clear guidelines.

In 2018, a Massachusetts ban on salary history questions will take effect. New York State has recently prohibited state agencies from asking about prior pay. Many other large cities and states are following Phillidolpia’s lead, such as California.

Multistate employers should be aware that these cities have legislation in the works in regards to banning salary history questions during the pre-employment or application processes.

• California has banned private and public employers from asking about a candidate’s pay history. The law will take effect in January 2018, according to HRDive.com.
• Delaware banned all employers from asking candidates about their salary history. The law will take effect in December 2017, according to Duane Morris.
• Massachusetts prohibited all employers from inquiring about a candidate’s pay history. This law will go into effect in July 2018, according to Mass.gov.
• New Orleans banned inquiries about all city departments and employees of contractors who work for the city. The rule is already in effect, but, in this case, it only impacts individuals who are interviewing to work for the city of New Orleans, according to WDSU.
• New York City has banned public and private employees from asking about a candidate’s pay history. The law goes into effect October 31, 2017, Business Insider previously reported.
• Oregon has banned all employers for inquiring about a candidate’s salary history. The law goes into effect January 2019, according to Jackson Lewis.
• Philadelphia banned the salary history question for all employers. The rule was supposed to take effect May 23, but a judge halted it temporarily due to a lawsuit from the Chamber of Commerce, according to NBC.
• Pittsburgh banned city agencies from asking about candidates’ pay history. The rule is effective immediately, but only effects city employees, SHRM reported.
• Puerto Rico banned employers from inquiring about a candidate’s pay history. The law will go into effect March 2018, according to Jackson Lewis.

According to recent statistics, about 53% of resumes and job applications contain falsifications. When applicants apply for a job, employment history can be one of the most important factors to human resource professionals. With the current competitive landscape of the job market, it’s common for candidates to embellish their accomplishments or outright lie on their resume regarding work or academic history. So how can employers separate the truth from the lies? Read on to learn 3 Ways To Spot Dishonest Candidates.

Most Common Lies on a Resume

There are many reasons applicants falsify their credentials when seeking employment. Confirming
prior employment history helps determine the validity of the resume and if the applicant’s qualifications
fit the job requirements. So what are the most common lies found on a resume?

How to Spot a Dishonest Candidate

So you know the most common lies found on an application and resume. But what are some ways to spot dishonesty? Many recruiters are skilled enough to do simple social media searches to determine if a candidate’s resume is accurate. But even if dishonest candidates slip through the initial screening process, here’s how recruiters spot a liar before they hire:

1. Interview Techniques

If employers asked detailed questions about a candidate’s work experience, recruiters can tell by the depth of the response if the person is lying. With this technique, recruiters are looking for quality in the responses. As an example, if the candidate claims to have 10 years of experience in management, the recruiter can ask for examples of how the candidate hired, trained or fired employees. The quality of the candidate’s example should be a good indication if he/she is lying about their experience.

2. Conducting a Background Check

Detailed reports can be purchased to validate past work experience, degrees acquired, wages earned, criminal records, whether certifications are current, and much more. Companies would rather pay to find out now if a candidate is lying than to have something bad happen on the job.

3. Reference Checks

For this tip on How to Spot a Dishonest Candidate, we advise going beyond your typical reference check during the hiring process. References submitted by job applicants may be coached into saying only good things and provide an accurate representation of the candidate. Instead, recruiters may contact another former co-worker of the candidate to inquire about his or her performance. This technique catches the unassuming colleague off-guard and provides the recruiter with a way to validate what the candidate claims to have done on past jobs.

No Need To Lie!

For would-be job candidates out there, we understand that the job market can be highly competitive especially depending on your specific industry. However, we do advise you to stay away from fibbing your resume and job application. It doesn’t do you any good in that the rate of being caught with lies on your resume is high. You can be refused work and also fired when an HR manager finds out.

Instead, we recommend the oldest trick in the book, network! Studies show that over 80% of jobs have been obtained via referral. Many companies offer their employees hefty referral bonuses as incentives for referring good candidates to their jobs. By making friends with employees through networking sites such as LinkedIn, or at job fairs and local networking events, job seekers can show how their personalities and aptitude are a match for employers. This makes not having an exact match in experience on your resume less of an issue.

At Accredited Background Checks, we pride ourselves in providing reliable, confidential employment screenings and background checks. Call us today if you have any questions about conducting employment background checks for your employees.

A Florida State Representative is calling upon Congress to draft legislation that would expand the process for screening hosts and host families for foreign exchange students. The representative wants the government to start FBI fingerprint background checks on all potential hosts.

Democratic representative Daisy Baez is seeking more in depth background screenings due to a recent incident in Florida. The incident began when a Florida man named Dale Leary and his wife applied to host a Spanish foreign exchange student. The student, Marta San Jose, was 16 when she arrived at the Leary residence in Cutler Bay. Shortly after San Jose turned 18, Dale Leary divorced his wife and married San Jose.

Later on, Leary and San Jose were arrested because they lured San Jose’s 14-year-old sister to the home and sexually abused her. Both were charged with multiple crimes including lewd and lascivious conduct with a child under the age of 16 and possession of child pornography. Dale Leary soon committed suicide while out on bail. According to Daisy Baez, Dale Leary should have never been able to host foreign exchange students due to his past criminal behavior.

In 1985,  Leary was arrested for breaking into a woman’s home, tying her up, and sexually assaulting her. In 1986, he pleaded guilty to multiple crimes including lewd and lascivious behavior, armed robbery, armed burglary, and kidnapping. He spent 60 days in jail and 13 years on probation.

Proposal for More Extensive Background Checks

Baez believes that adding FBI fingerprint checks to the screening process for foreign exchange hosts and host families would help to prevent incidents like this from happening in the future. Currently, the United States State Department uses a multi-step process to screen host families including criminal background checks, interviews, and reference checks. The checks don’t include FBI fingerprint searches, which Baez stated could widen the scope.

Leary is not the only American foreign exchange host to be accused of abusing a foreign exchange student. In June, the Miami-Dade School Board hired a lobbyist to take several foreign student host-related concerns to Congress. One of the priorities on the School Board’s list was enhancing background checks for foreign exchange hosts.

Searching for candidates to fill crucial positions at a company can be very stressful and time consuming. Hiring managers must comb through possibly hundreds of resumes, making calls and conducting interviews to find the right person for the job. So what happens when you find the perfect candidate but then they fail a background check? Let’s dive into a step-by-step process that all hiring managers should follow.

Confirmation

So you found the perfect candidate. This person had a wonderful resume, did great during the interview, and seems like they would fit well within the company. However, they failed the background check. Before you can continue with any action, the first thing every employer must do is confirm that the background check is 100% accurate and belongs to the candidate in question. Inaccurate data entry and inconsistencies tend to happen during the application process. Internet database records could also be outdated or incomplete. You need to make sure your background check company performs a quality inspection of the record to ensure accuracy.

Review Your Policy

This step is where having a background check policy and decision matrix are helpful. The background check policy will have guidelines and general direction for screening when hiring for certain positions within your organization. A decision matrix is a reference tool to review when a background check reveals a criminal record. The background check policy and decision matrix should be reviewed and updated regularly according to current regulations. When your candidate fails the background check, refer to each of these to see if the negative item is within your hiring criteria.

Pre-Adverse Action

Before making the decision to retract a job offer, the job candidate must be given an opportunity to explain and/or dispute the accuracy of the background check. The Fair Credit Reporting Act specifies that candidate must be notified with a Pre-Adverse Action notice. They should also receive a copy of their background report, a copy of their rights under the FCRA and a reasonable period of time to dispute the results.

Decision

After the candidate receives their pre-adverse action notice, the employer must allow a reasonable amount of time for them to review the results of their background check. If your new hire is able to properly explain and/or dispute the results, and their record is updated and removed, they are approved and can move forward in the hiring process. If they cannot explain, or do not dispute the results, the next step is to send an Adverse Action notice.

Adverse Action/Job Offer Retracted

Adverse action may be taken only after following the required pre-adverse action process. The adverse action notice must be in writing and state that the job offer is retracted due to failing the background check and that the results were not disputed. The candidate must also be provided with a copy of the report and the background check company used to run the report.

Making hiring decisions should be a documented, multi-step process to ensure candidate’s rights are being protected. FCRA claims are on the rise with more companies being subjected to legislation for not following the correct hiring procedures. This is why it is important for employers to review their hiring and background check process regularly and keep their background check policies up to date.