Conduct Background Checks in Oklahoma? You Might Want to Lend a Hand
by Nick Fishman
We posted a legislative update on employeescreen University last week, detailing a ruling by the State of Oklahoma Supreme Court which would remove identifiers such as dates of birth off conviction records. This is being done to protect the privacy of those who have records, however an unintended consequence of this ruling will leave those who conduct background checks in the state of Oklahoma with no way to confirm that the criminal records they have found actually belong to their candidates. This measure would effectively kill the ability of employers (and anyone else who searches public records) to conduct background checks.
Interested in getting involved? The National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS) has developed an advocacy letter for its members to send to the court detailing our concerns. employeescreenIQ as well as hundreds of other Consumer Reporting Agencies have already sent this letter.
NAPBS was kind enough to let me adapt their letter for any employer that was interested in participating as well. I have attached that letter below. All you have to do is insert your name and company name where appropriate, put it in an envelope with a stamp and mail it to the address included on the letter.
Not sure you want to waste the effort? Trust me, I’m the eternal pessimist when it comes to stuff like this. But it actually works. NAPBS alone has positively influenced decisions such as these in states throughout the country. This does work and you can help with very little effort.
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