Employee Background Check Blog

On March 31, 2021, the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act (MRTA) went into effect in the state of New York. The Act legalizes the use of recreational marijuana in individuals who are 21 or older. Since then, the New York State Department of Labor ...

Good Egg fields many questions regarding instant drug tests vs. lab-based testing. Below, our drug screening experts give our readers the scoop.

Today's Candidates Crave Straightforward Mobile Applications and Acknowledgement (Even if the Answer is No) Taking time to create better candidate experiences is good for candidates and the company doing the hiring. You'll generate goodwill with ...

Here's a Good Background Check Primer for Candidates—and Reminders for Hiring Managers What a pre-employment background check contains is very much in the eye of the beholder—or, in this case, the eye of the employer. Several factors will influence ...

Ongoing Monitoring Can Also Help Manage a Remote Workforce Over the Long Term

You'll Get Cost Savings & Better Outcomes if You Use One Background Check Vendor

Use Text Messaging to Create Better Candidate Experiences AND Reduce Turnaround Time

Weed Out Candidates Who Lie About Their Credentials Before They Work for You

You Can't Afford NOT to Screen Your Volunteers & Workers

Pre-Hire Social Media Screening + Ongoing Monitoring Can Flag Toxic Behavior

The Right Program Could Make a Difference & Improve the Overall Workplace Culture

Let These Serve as Cautionary Tales as to Why You Should Always Run Pre-Employment Screenings

The Best Background Check Company Never Skimps on These Three Things

Take a Deeper Look at Common Pre-Employment Screenings

Get a Solid Overview of Common Pre-Employment Screenings

Many Pre-Employment Screening Vendors Fail to Deliver on These Key Elements

How a person represents their education and employment history says a lot about their character. The calendar might say February, but we're still feeling the new-year glow at Good Egg. In fact, since everyone's settled into 2023, now's an excellent ...

Why Running Your Own Social Media Background Checks Could Violate EEOC Laws

The company you choose to manage your background check process matters just as much as the packages you buy.

How a person represents their education and employment history says a lot about their character. When it comes to pre-employment background checks, some companies consider only criminal checks and maybe drug testing, depending on the job. But ...

Going beyond basic driver compliance will give clients and their loved ones peace of mind. As seniors age, many must rely on others for rides to doctors' appointments, the grocery store, the library, and the like. Often, older adults will turn to ...

Effective employee monitoring can protect workers, clients, and your brand. When it comes to maintaining a productive and professional workforce, home healthcare agencies face a unique challenge: How do you keep tabs on workers who are out and about ...

When hiring home healthcare workers, it's easy to think you should focus only on popular pre-employment checks, like education verification and drug testing. Don't get us wrong—those things absolutely matter. But another background check exists ...

The statistics on elder abuse are startling. The National Council on Aging (NCOA) reports that 1 in 10 Americans aged 60 or older has experienced some form of elder abuse. This results in five million older Americans being abused each year.

Pre-employment background checks are all about understanding behavior. For example, does the person use illegal drugs? Does the person drive recklessly? Does the person steal—or worse?

In a 5-0 decision on Friday, June 17, the North Carolina Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Keiths, an elderly couple who survived a home invasion robbery plotted against them by an employee of the home health care agency they hired. The jury ...

As a home health care provider, you have the best intentions in mind when it comes to your clients and their loved ones’ care. Sadly, that isn’t always the case with every provider.

Taking time to create better candidate experiences is not only good for candidates—it's also good for the company doing the hiring. Why? Well, you'll generate goodwill with people (even if they don't become employees), and you'll gain a hiring ...

The simple fact: Accidents can be very costly. To prevent them—and other high-ticket fines and violations—you want to ensure that you have the very best drivers operating for your company. This is why Motor Vehicle Record (MVR) Monitoring is so ...

Let's face it: Toxic workplaces don't happen overnight. They fester over months—even years—if left unchecked. The toxicity tends to lurk in the shadows at first, beginning with an inappropriate joke by the water cooler or an off-color text exchanged ...

Have you been waiting longer than usual for your drug testing results? From natural disasters to staffing shortages and supply chain issues, laboratories throughout the country have been dealing with a “perfect storm” that is creating lengthy ...

It never fails to amaze us that people don't realize that their inappropriate social media posts will come back to haunt them someday. It also never fails to amaze us that many brands don't have a formal social media screening policy in place. Or ...

If you want to create an effective employee screening program, you need a clear background check policy. But what should go in it? Below, we're providing an overview of what should go into a background screening policy. We've also created a ...

If you’re a DOT-regulated business, you are required to perform pre-employment motor vehicle report (MVR) checks and annual MVR reviews for all of your active drivers. Having this required compliance program in place is essential and important. But ...

Are your motor vehicle reports compliant? If you hire drivers, then it’s likely that you’re running motor vehicle reports at various intervals during their employment: at the time they’re hired and every year thereafter. This is especially true if ...

Today, we're going to shine the spotlight on healthcare background checks, an apt choice, given the pandemic. Hiring qualified healthcare workers is incredibly important, and background checks can go a long way in making sure you do exactly that.

From a global pandemic to social unrest, the country has gone through a lot of changes in the last 12 months. At Good Egg & Foley, one thing we’ve noticed during this time as well, is an increase in demand for social media screening.

We're big fans of social media screening. This shouldn't surprise anyone. But we're also big fans of objectivity. So let's take a deeper dive into the social media background check—pros and cons.

People sometimes use the terms "background check" and "criminal record check" interchangeably. But they are two different things. Let's dig in and clarify what we mean.

At Good Egg, we work closely with human resource departments large and small. Here's our take on three HR trends to watch in 2021, particularly as they relate to recruitment, culture management, and background checks.

In case you've been distracted in 2020 (who hasn't?), here's a roundup of our most viewed blog posts from the last 12 months. (Not all were published this year, but all are still relevant.) Happy reading!

When it comes to the people you hire, character matters. After all, you want a safe and productive workforce filled with people who reflect your company's values, right? But here's the thing: A person’s character is not a single data point. Instead, ...

At the beginning of 2020, which feels like 100 years ago, we made a bold declaration that we wanted to be the best reviewed background check company in the galaxy. Why? Well, real reviews from real people (customers and candidates alike) can provide ...

According to this article, one of the top challenges facing human resources this decade is HR culture management. But what is HR culture management? And what does it have to do with employee screening anyway? Let's dig in...

While 2020 has been a wild ride for everyone—a ride that continues to influence the holiday season—one thing that hasn't changed is this: You should always background check your seasonal workers. Back in May of 2019, we did a deep dive into all the ...

As more employers embrace remote workforces thanks to the pandemic, more recruitment efforts will take place remotely as well. Here are four hiring mistakes to avoid as you recruit new people to work from home.

COVID-19 caused many companies to shift to remote workforces. But then something interesting happened along the way: Many companies realized their employees could still be productive, even if they weren't in the office. As a result, more and more of ...

We recently wrote an article about the Professional Background Screening Association and its accreditation process. In short, it's smart to work with a PBSA-accredited background check company (like Good Egg). The article brought up a question, ...

Delivering an amazing candidate experience is incredibly important for a variety of reasons. For one thing, the experience will give prospective employees a taste of what it might be like to work for your company. First impressions matter. Even if ...

When evaluating background screening services, one piece of advice you'll often hear is this: Choose a vendor that's been accredited by the Professional Background Screening Association (PBSA). But what does accreditation even mean? And why should ...

Many prospects and customers ask us the following question: Is social media screening ethical? Often, what they're really asking is whether social media screening is legal. Legal and ethical are very different things. So let's unpack both questions ...

The background check industry is super competitive. (No doubt, you already know this.) While we do believe Good Egg is one of your best options (if not the very best!), we'd be remiss if we didn't acknowledge that there are other quality background ...

No doubt, you're already familiar with the concept of a company "brand," which involves how customers perceive your company and its products or services. But did you know that you also need to think about your brand from your employees' perspectives ...

Why does the Department of Transportation (DOT) require such vigorous background checks? The bottom line is safety—the safety of your drivers, passengers, and other people on the road. For the purpose of this article, we're going to give a ...

Searching for a new employee screening company? Keep our background check vendor checklist handy and see how many companies meet the criteria outlined below.

One of the most common questions we hear from prospective clients is this: Why is pre-employment background screening important? Let's dig into four compelling reasons...

At Good Egg, we talk a lot about candidate experience, and for good reason. Surveys show that 60% of job candidates have had poor experiences during the hiring process. Not only that, but bad experiences can result in tough consequences for the ...

Thanks to the gig economy as well as Millennials and Gen Z workers who don't stay at jobs for longer than a handful of years, it might be easy to wonder why you should bother using employment reference check services in the first place. Aren't they ...

Do you work in HR? Do you ever struggle when it comes to hiring? Below, you'll find strategies for overcoming three common HR challenges in recruitment.

If you’ve noticed that your background screening and drug testing results are taking longer – you’re not alone.

You need reliable background screening services for your organization. But let's back up a second. What does "reliable," in this context, even mean? And how can you evaluate background check companies for reliability anyway? So glad you asked! Keep ...

Companies with remote workforces—especially those that had to make the move suddenly due to COVID-19—should consider ongoing social media monitoring of employees. Here are three reasons why.

We often say that a solid employee screening program will help protect employees, customers, and the business itself. Today, let's discuss exactly how certain types of background checks accomplish this.

If you landed here, it's probably because your head is spinning regarding marijuana drug testing, and no wonder. As of right now, 33 states in the U.S. and the District of Columbia have legalized the use of marijuana either for medicinal or ...

Those who come out against ongoing monitoring are often quick to liken it to spying and "Big Brother"—the concept made famous in George Orwell's novel 1984. Wikipedia explains, "In modern culture, the term 'Big Brother' has entered the lexicon as a ...

If you conduct pre-employment drug tests, you might think that's enough, but the problem with pre-hire drug screenings is they capture only one point in time.

Drug test positivity rates increased by 43 percent in April 2020 compared to the month prior. This is according to data collected by Good Egg from their workplace drug testing results. “This is a very significant increase,” said Scott Mogensen, ...

From a global pandemic to social unrest, the country has gone through a lot of changes in the last few months. At Good Egg, one thing we’ve noticed during this time as well, is an increase in demand for social media screening.

Integrating your applicant tracking system (ATS) with your background check vendor can be one of the smartest moves you make (provided it's done right—more on that in a bit).

Creating great candidate experiences is an excellent way to make a positive first impression on your prospective employees. On the flip side, a poor experience might sour someone's perception of your company—even if only subliminally—before they ...

Here’s a secret: you probably have more employees driving on behalf of your company than you might think. The problem? This creates additional liability for your organization. The good news? MVR background checks and ongoing MVR monitoring can help ...

The pandemic has plunged everyone into uncertainty, small businesses in particular. Many are looking for ways to save money by cutting expenses. While it might sound self-serving for us to say "don't cut back on your background check orders," ...

One way to get the best candidates to say "YES" to your job offer is by making sure they have a great experience throughout every stage of the hiring process—and this most certainly includes background checks. Think about it: If a competitor's ...

As the country reopens from pandemic lockdown and more and more companies relax their hiring freezes, one background check in particular will be a must on a go-forward basis: the social media background check. Why? Here are three reasons:

People don't always know what they don't know, right? This is especially true for background checks. If you've been doing background checks the same way for years, or you "inherited" an existing process, and/or the process doesn't appear to be ...

Want to up your game when it comes to creating an effective employee screening program? Follow these best practices of employer background checks.

At Good Egg, we guide our clients on what to include in their pre-employment background checks. Here's a question we sometimes get: should the employer obtain workers' compensation records? We're presenting this question to Melissa Snyder, Good ...

One of the most common employee screening questions we get is this one: are social media background checks REALLY necessary? The short answer is YES. Social media background checks are absolutely critical when hiring today.

You might have heard about Walgreens having to pay a 7.5 million-dollar settlement because it employed an unlicensed pharmacist for over a decade. While we can only speculate how something like this happened, the case does highlight several points ...

You've likely heard this statement many times over the last several weeks, but these are, indeed, unprecedented times. Our hearts go out to everyone affected by COVID-19, including those who are suffering from illness, grieving the loss of a loved ...

We get many questions regarding background check lookback periods, and like so many things in life, the answer is "it depends." It can depend on the type of background check you're ordering, the state you're operating in, as well as other ...

We've all heard sensational news reports about people who've shared something so horrendous online, the content goes viral and the resulting backlash has big consequences, like job termination. One recent example involves an EMT who made racist ...

If you have employees driving on behalf of your company, this creates risk, such as rising insurance premiums, negligent entrustment liability, and pricey lawsuits. At Good Egg, we recommend a three-prong background check solution to mitigate these ...

Let's face it: the U.S. labor market remains incredibly competitive, thanks to a low unemployment rate. As a result, recruiting quality workers has become increasingly challenging. CNN reported in 2018 that the job market was so good that some ...

When it comes to background checks, fairness and accuracy are essential. Here's how to make sure your employee screening process is exactly that.

At the writing of this article, 33 states in the United States and the District of Columbia have legalized the use of marijuana either for medicinal or recreational purposes (or both). Other jurisdictions at the municipal level are also legalizing ...

As CFO, you're constantly looking for ways to rein in wasteful spending and lower operational expenses. One area that's easy to overlook is employee screening, since the day-to-day tasks associated with background checks typically fall under HR's ...

We get lots of questions regarding the 7-year "lookback" rule for reporting adverse information. We're turning over this incredibly important question to Melissa Snyder, Good Egg's attorney and compliance manager. Melissa is FCRA-Advanced Certified ...

Because so many states in the U.S. have legalized the use of marijuana (either for medicinal purposes, recreational purposes, or both), creating drug testing policies that include marijuana has become challenging. After all, if so many states are ...

At the start of a new year and new decade, many companies embark on bold missions, and at Good Egg, we're no different. If you've been following us at all over the last twelve months, you've probably heard us mention our desire to be the ...

We've written a lot about motor vehicle record (MVR) checks. If you want to read deeply about various aspects of MVRs, check out the following... What's an MVR Report and Why Should More Companies Care? 5 Benefits of MVR Monitoring Ask the Attorney: ...

We recently wrote an in-depth article about why background checks can sometimes take so long. There are many reasons for delays—and most are beyond a background check vendor's control. The good news? There are ways to boost background check ...

Here's a secret: you likely have many more people driving on behalf of your company than you realize. Think sales reps, customer service folks, lawyers, accountants, consultants, and so forth. Even if these workers use their own vehicles, if they're ...

In our latest installment of "Ask the Attorney," we answer questions concerning the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), which went into effect in California on January 1, 2020. Melissa Snyder, FCRA-Advanced Certified from the Professional ...

When it comes to evaluating the cost of background check services, people often grapple with certain pervasive myths. Here are four of the most common: Basic screenings are sufficient. Ongoing monitoring is a pricey extra. Online "instant" ...

Not all background check service partners are created equal, something you likely already know. If you're auditing your current background check vendor and/or vetting potential partners, this blog post will help. In it, you'll find 10 questions to ...

At the writing of this article, 33 states in the United States have legalized the use of marijuana either for medicinal or for recreational purposes (or both). Other jurisdictions at the municipal level are also legalizing marijuana. The federal ...

We've been writing a series of blog posts about criminal record checks. Here are links in case you missed our earlier installments: What is a criminal background check? Understanding the criminal background check process The argument for ongoing ...

This is the second installment in our new feature "Ask the Attorney." (Read the first issue on salary history bans—and what this means for background check procedures.) Melissa Snyder, FCRA-Advanced Certified from the Professional Background ...