RELIABLE BACKGROUND SCREENING INDUSTRY NEWS AND ARTICLES

On February 25, 2020, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) released its final joint employer rule that favorably defines joint employer conditions, so that entities such as franchisees and their franchisor will generally not be considered to be joint employers going forward. This NLRB ruling follows the Department of Labor similarly issuing its final joint employer rule in January. The NLRB rule states: “Under this final rule, an entity may be considered a joint employer of a separate employer’s employees only if the two share or codetermine the employees’ essential terms and conditions of employment, which are exclusively defined as wages, benefits, [...]

Every year about three hundred new franchise brands are launched in the United States alone. The franchisee applicant pays the franchisor a franchise fee, and must also have sufficient liquidity and net worth, in order to be considered for approval of being granted a franchise. However, too often the franchisor pays for the franchisee screening report, when in fact it can be passed through to the franchisee applicant. In fact, most franchisee applicants will actually appreciate paying for their own thorough franchisee vetting. Really, but why? The typical franchisee applicant is investing a substantial amount of their personal wealth, often approaching $500,000 [...]

On January 12, 2020, the Department of Labor (DOL) released its final rule that defines joint employer situations in a manner, so that entities such as franchisees and their franchisor will likely not be considered to be joint employers going forward. The ruling utilizes a four-factor test that analyzes if the respective company: Hires or fires the employee Supervises and controls the employee’s work schedule or conditions of employment to a substantial degree Determines the employee’s rate and method of pay, and Maintains the employee’s personnel records. Possibly more important are the factors that will be disregarded when determining whether a joint [...]

Businesses utilize background checks for a variety of permissible business purposes. Listed below are just a few: Employee/Independent Contractor Screening Resident/Tenant Screening Franchisee Screening Membership Screening Client Screening Board of Director Screening Vendor Screening Volunteer Screening. Most often background checks are performed to protect against negligence liability in the hiring or selection of applicants, and the accompanying harm or injury that an applicant may inflict upon employees and/or customers of the organization. Injurious actions by applicants need not be physical in nature. They can take the form of financial, identity theft, and emotional harm as well. However, too often, businesses overlook the [...]