Member Advisories
You must be a current member to access these advisories. If you have questions or to join, contact info@thepbsa.org.
- September 9, 2019
- NAPBS is now PBSA
- Announcement to Members that NAPBS is now PBSA.
- August 16, 2019
- Arkansas Litigation Update - NAPBS Wins Summary Judgment Motion
- Earlier this week Judge Piazza ruled that Bentonville, AR District Clerk, Jennifer Jones, violated the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) when she withheld court records and refused to release them to professional background screeners. After multiple attempts to legally obtain public record information for background screening purposes, NAPBS pursued litigation against the District Court of Benton County - Bentonville Division in July of 2018.
- August 12, 2019
- Bylaws and/or Articles changes
- As with any association, a change to the Bylaws and/or Articles requires a vote of the membership to support those changes. With that, we ask all members to attend the NAPBS Annual Meeting where members will vote on the proposed changes to the Association Bylaws.
- August 1, 2019
- NAPBS Overview of Recent FCRA Activity
- Over the course of a mark-up that extended over two days, the House Financial Services Committee reported more than a dozen pending bills, including five that would amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). Many of the bills reflect strong input from consumer protection groups and contain amendments to the FCRA that would fundamentally alter that statute and the consumer reporting industries. The FCRA-related bills passed by party-line votes and Republican efforts to modify the bills were also each defeated on a party-line basis.
- July 31, 2019
- FCRA-related bills 2019
- Over the course of a mark-up that extended over two days, the House Financial Services Committee reported more than a dozen pending bills, including five that would amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). Many of the bills reflect strong input from consumer protection groups and contain amendments to the FCRA that would fundamentally alter that statute and the consumer reporting industries. The FCRA-related bills passed by party-line votes and Republican efforts to modify the bills were also each defeated on a party-line basis.
- July 29, 2019
- Economic Growth, regulatory Relief and Consumer Protection Act of 2018
- On July 16, the General Accounting Office submitted a report to Congress after concluding a yearlong study required under the Economic Growth, regulatory Relief and Consumer Protection Act of 2018. The study encompassed a range of issues related to the consumer reporting market, including the current legal and regulatory structure, inaccuracies in consumer reports, and data security. NAPBS was able to meet with the GAO in early 2019 to provide the perspective of its members as GAO reviewed the entirety of businesses comprising the consumer reporting profession.
- June 17, 2019
- Social Security Administration Announces Initial Roll Out of New Electronic Consent Based Social Security Number ("SSN") Verification Service for Financial Institutions or Their Service Providers
- Social Security Administration Announces Initial Roll Out of New Electronic Consent Based Social Security Number ("SSN") Verification Service for Financial Institutions or Their Service Providers
- May 21, 2019
- Ninth Circuit Weighs In on Calculating the FCRA's Seven-Year Reporting Rule
- Ninth Circuit Weighs In on Calculating the FCRA's Seven-Year Reporting Rule
- May 14, 2019
- NAPBS Globalization and Arkansas Records Access Litigation Update
- NAPBS Globalization and Arkansas Records Access Litigation Update
- April 25, 2019
- NAPBS Updates Accreditation Policies & Procedures
- The Background Screening Agency Accreditation Program (BSAAP) Policies & Procedures is undergoing a thorough review as we prepare the accreditation program for expansion. There has, however, been an immediate change which opens the program up to more firms. This update allows all firms who are currently acting as a consumer reporting agency, providing consumer reports for employment purposes directly to end-users, to apply for accreditation. Previously the program was limited to only those consumer reporting agencies where 50% or more of their business revenue resulted from the sale of employment screening reports to end-users. Effective immediately any firm acting as a consumer reporting agency and providing consumer reports for employment purposes directly to end-users, regardless of whether this is the firm's primary source of revenue, is eligible to apply for accreditation under the BSAAP.
- April 12, 2019
- Update on NY OCA Fee Increase
- NAPBS has just received word that Governor Cuomo of New York has signed the 2019-2020 New York State budget into law today, Friday, April 12, 2019. With his signature, New York Office of Court Administration record searches will now be increased from $65 to $95, effective immediately.
- April 3, 2019
- New York Budget Included Drastic Increase to OCA Search Fees
- On Monday, April 1st, after prolonged negotiations the New York Legislature passed their 2019-2020 State Budget. The budget as passed includes a dramatic increase to Office of Court Administration (OCA) searches from $65 to $95.
- April 2, 2019
- Recent GAO Report and Fair Housing Act Ruling
- On March 26, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report to Congressional requesters on actions that could strengthen oversight of Consumer Reporting Agencies. In the report, the GAO recommended that the Federal Trade Commission be given stronger civil penalty authority to enforce laws that protect consumer data and that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) "reassess its prioritization of examinations to address" consumer reporting company security. | On March 25, the United States District Court for the District Court of Connecticut denied the defendants motion to dismiss, holding that consumer reporting agencies (CRAs) must comply with the Fair Housing Act (FHA) when their services include automated scoring or grading criteria for property managers. In the case, the defendant's services included the ability for clients/property managers to select criteria which would deem an applicant ineligible for housing. The reports prepared using the automated scoring then indicate whether the applicant meets or does not meet the criteria established by client - the underlying results that were used to determine whether the applicant meets or does not meet the criteria were not included in the report.
- January 31, 2019
- GAO Interview Follow-up
- As per a previous announcement, NAPBS met with a team from GAO earlier this month in response to their request for an interview with NAPBS as they prepare a report on CRAs as required by SB 2155.
- December 18, 2018
- Industry Survey & GAO Interview
- Member Advisory Regarding NAPBS Industry Survey & GAO Interview
- December 14, 2018
- Smith v. Mutual of Omaha
- Prepared by Troutman Sanders | A court in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa recently ruled the protections applicable when consumer reports are obtained for "employment purposes" under the Fair Credit Reporting Act ("FCRA") do not extend to reports obtained for independent contractors. This issue has been unsettled and both employers and background screening companies alike have lacked clear guidance with respect to background reports for independent contractors. The decision becomes part of a small but growing body of law providing clarity on this recurring issue of importance.
- November 26, 2018
- NAPBS Joins CDIA In Filing Amicus Brief In the Matter of Rental Housing Assoc. of Washington vs. City of Seattle
- Last week CDIA and NAPBS filed a joint amicus brief in support of the Rental Housing of Washington Association in its litigation against the City of Seattle. In August of 2017, the city of Seattle passed an ordinance which effectively prohibits background screening for tenancy purposes in the city of Seattle.
- October 25, 2018
- NAPBS Canada Granted Exemption for Background Screening Firms Under Bill 113
- The Ontario government has confirmed the exemption to Section 12 of Bill 113 The Police Records Checks Reform Act, 2015, has been granted. This exemption covers third party agents, like our NAPBS members, and eliminates the need for sharing of the criminal record result with the applicant and obtaining consent from the applicant before sharing the information with a designated end user.
- October 16, 2018
- NAPBS Canada Chapter Seeks Exemption for Background Screening Firms Under Bill 113
- On December 1, 2015, the Ontario government passed Bill 113, the Police Record Checks Reform Act, 2015 (the "Act"), which limits the types of information that can be released by police record checks and aims to standardize disclosure procedures as it relates to search results. The Canada Chapter has been lobbying the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services ("Ministry") since April of 2015 to advocate for our profession. We are pleased to announce that as of Friday, October 5, 2018, the Ministry is actively drafting exemption language for both the criminal record check search and the criminal record check and judicial matters check.
ALL MATERIALS ARE COPYRIGHT OF THE AUTHORS AND/OR PBSA AND MAY NOT BE USED FOR ANY PURPOSE OTHER THAN MEMBER EDUCATION WITHOUT PERMISSION FROM THE PBSA IN ADDITION, THE MATERIALS, MAY NOT BE COPIED OR DISTRIBUTED, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, WITHOUT PRIOR WRITTEN PERMISSION.
Disclaimer: PBSA materials are often provided by industry subject matter experts. The information and opinions expressed are for educational purposes only and are based on current practice, industry related knowledge and business expertise. The practices may not have been independently vetted and are neither approved nor endorsed by PBSA.
