New Jeans

You grew up wearing Levi jeans. You love Levi jeans. The last time you needed new jeans you went and tried on a number of different Levi brand models. And you purchased one. The other day you received your trunk club trunk. There was a pair jeans in there from a manufacture you were not aware of. They fit like a glove. Way better than the Levi’s you just bought. So you bought them.

The guy in the airplane row next to me.

When it comes to background investigations you may not have heard of Commercial Investigations LLC, you may still be hanging out with the Levis of the industry. However, there’s a new kid on the block. Actually not so new, Commercial Investigations LLC is 15 years old.

Isn’t it time you considered a new brand? One that fits you like a glove. One that is customizable and right for you. When it comes to your background investigations Commercial Investigations LLC is that company for you.

Isn’t it time for a better fit? Get the right fit today by calling us at 800-284-0906 or email us at info@commercialinvestigationsllc.com.

New FCRA Notice of Rights for Consumers

Today, September 21, 2018, is the effective date for using the new FCRA (Fair Credit Reporting Act) Notice of Rights for Consumers.  The new notice now has information about obtaining credit freezes from the three large credit bureaus: Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion.  What does this mean?

For Employers – every time you give an applicant or employee the notice of rights obligated by the Fair Credit Reporting Act that notice now has to have in it the credit freeze provisions as provided and governed by the CFPB (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau).

For Consumers – job applicants affected by the FCRA – you are now made more aware of your right to place a credit freeze on your credit report.  Which means employers and credit granting entities cannot access your credit report unless you give then a specific code.  Be aware, this has been known to delay employers from getting your credit report for employment purposes.  Sometimes the delay has been as much as two weeks.  You need to timely obtain the code required and relay that to the background check company in a timely fashion.  This process can be confusing for consumers.

For CRAs – that’s Consumer Reporting Agencies (NOT Crazy Rich Asians) – aka, background screening companies – every time we (Commercial Investigations LLC is a consumer reporting agency) provide our client’s applicants and employees with the FCRA Notice of Rights it now has to have the credit freeze language in it.  We do not put credit freezes on individuals credit reports.  Only the three large credit reporting bureaus do.  They are Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion.  This is because we do not gather credit report element and create credit reports.  We simply obtain the credit report from TransUnion.

More about the notice – the notice needs to be similar to that as provided by the CFPB.  It does not have to be exact.  At Commercial Investigations LLC, we chose to make it another page as an add-on to the already existing form.  We also choose to include more helpful information for consumers than the minimum required.

For more information and a detailed understanding simply give us a call at 800-284-0906 and ask for our compliance department.

 

Redemption – Is it possible . . .

“Is it possible to determine empirically when it is no longer necessary for an employer to be concerned about a criminal offense in a prospective employee’s past?”

Click to access Redemption_Blumstein_Nakamura_2009Criminology.pdf

Yes, I read Criminology from 2009.  Actually, a mentor of mine and I were talking about recidivism, and he mentioned this article.

I think the business world may finally be ready for what academia was into almost ten years ago.  However, it would be neat to see some updated statistics.  I did a quick Google search and did not find any.  With the labor pool getting tight employers are looking at candidates with a criminal past differently.  But they still need to weigh the risks to their businesses.

As an employer, would you be comfortable with using such statistics?  Would you be more likely to if there was protection under the law if you did and something went bad after you hired the person?

In one sense, the New York State Office of Court Administration took it upon themselves to not pass along misdemeanor records older than ten years if the person was not convict of a subsequent offense.  Do employers want to not see that information?  Are employers not able to make wise decisions themselves when paying $65 plus per name searched?  Why should they not get all the records?

I find myself in a bit of a quandary today.

 

 

Click to access Redemption_Blumstein_Nakamura_2009Criminology.pdf

Happy 14th Birthday Commercial Investigations LLC!

Thank you to our loyal clients and supporters for making this happen for us. I am so excited for our fourteenth year in business. Fourteen is my favorite number and has been ever since I realized you’re supposed to have a favorite number. This takes me back to the beginning and an article I wrote for our tenth birthday – The CI Fairytale

Click to access 2014-Vol_11_Issue_2_March_2014-Final.pdf

Super Bowl Commercial 2018

We had fun doing a ‘what if’ we could afford a commercial.  How would you highlight your company in a Super Bowl commercial?

Enjoy!

 

CIware 2.0 Highlighted Services

Commercial Investigations offers Drug Testing services that are now fully integrated and have tracking details right in CIware 2.0!  This means you don’t need to log into another application to schedule a drug test and you can easily determine if a subject went for a scheduled drug test.

Our Electronic I-9 and E-Verify services are now also fully integrated and do not require separate logins.  Clients are also using the CBSV (Consent Based Social Security Number Verification) service.   Our Vigilant services (continuous monitoring) are also easily ordered and tracked in CIware 2.0.

CIware 2.0 is everything we hoped it would be for our clients!  If you are one of our few clients who have yet to convert, please contact us now to start enjoying these improvements and avoid getting caught in the sunsetting of our old software.

Email or call us at info@commercialinvestigationsllc.com or 800-284-0906 with a date and time that works for you to get a customized webinar overview of CIware 2.0 and a conversion scheduled date before the sun sets.

CIware 2.0 Reporting and Communication

Account administrators have virtually unlimited reporting options in CIware 2.0! Our staff at Commercial Investigations see that some of the most popular reports are the Invoice Report, Turnaround Time Reports and Department Allocation Reports.

CIware 2.0 allows for improved interactions with CI staff regarding your background investigations. Whether it be a group of backgrounds or an individual background investigation, users can communicate directly within CIware 2.0.
As always, you can use email if it is your preferred communication tool, but this option can help you avoid switching to an email application to ask a question or follow up on something. We are confident you will love it as much as we do! We’re always be happy to hear from clients via phone as well.

Email or call us at info@commercialinvestigationsllc.com or 800-284-0906 with a date and time that works for you to get a customized webinar overview of CIware 2.0 and a conversion scheduled date before the sun sets.

More on CIware 2.0

Commercial Investigations has been busy converting clients over to our enhanced software, CIware 2.0. Our new software platform works on all devices, from cell phones and tablets, to MACs and PCs. CIware 2.0 users also enjoy the improved quick and easy online password reset feature, which eliminates the need to contact a CI staff member to have your password reset!

There are many customizable email notification options within CIware 2.0, e.g. immediate notification when derogatory information is identified and verified. This draws your attention to adverse information sooner rather than later, so you don’t waste valuable time during the recruiting process. Users can also be notified by email when a report is complete, or when each portion of the report is complete. The options are endless!

Email or call us at info@commercialinvestigationsllc.com or 800-284-0906 with a date and time that works for you to get a customized webinar overview of CIware 2.0 and a conversion scheduled date before the sun sets.

CIware 2.0 – Applicant Quick Invite

The staff at Commercial Investigations continues to amaze clients while demonstrating the many customizable features of our CIware 2.0 software platform for conducting background investigations. It offers many customizable features, that business owners and human resource departments are raving about!

Our president, Michelle Pyan, especially likes the Applicant Quick Invite feature. With only first name, last name, and email address, an applicant is invited to complete the online electronic consent form. Subjects are guided through a quick and easy application process by using a computer, tablet or cell phone. To save recruiters the hassle, invitations are automatically resent each day for 5 days if an applicant hasn’t completed their background consent form.

If you choose, applicants can also include their employment history, education details, and reference contact information. Since applicants enter this information themselves, many are enjoying reduced data entry errors and a significant time savings.

After we receive the information from the subject, you can either opt to have the background investigation begin immediately, or you can have it save to a draft format and be choosier as to which investigations to move forward with.

We are converting all of our clients over to CIware 2.0, one at a time. Let us get you started today – you’ll find it painless and efficient, we promise! Watch for more exciting features explained soon.

National Reentry Week 2016

 

If you’re like most employers you missed that this past week was National Reentry Week. And if you knew that, you may not have really understood the meaning of reentry. Here are some more details to help you better understand the concept behind this past week.

Many job applications contain a checkbox that asks about criminal history. Often, qualified applicants are rejected at this step prior to obtaining an interview. The stigma of a record negatively contributes to recidivism, and unproductive reentry of citizens into society. President Obama met with members of the business community to encourage them to participate in “The Fair Chance Business Pledge”. In this voluntary initiative, the Department of Justice has spelled out measures that will ultimately reduce recidivism and help formerly incarcerated individuals meaningfully integrate back into their communities.

To date, there are 23 states and over 100 cities and counties nationwide that have adopted “fair chance” policies to help limit hiring hurdles. Seven states, and many cities and counties, have removed the box from private employers’ job applications, which advocates hail as an important step in policy reform. Removing the checkbox that asks about an applicant’s criminal history on a job application, and requesting this information later in the process, after the applicant has had a chance to get through the door, is one of several actions “The Fair Chance Business Pledge” outlines. Suggested ways to promote fair hiring practices include:

• “Ban the Box” and ask questions about criminal history later in the process
• Train human resources staff how to make fair decisions for applicants with a criminal history
• Ensure accuracy by utilizing the services of reliable background investigation provider
• Host a Fair Chance Job Fair

Will you take a chance?