by Jason Morris

This week I attended the National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS) annual Mid-Year Meeting in Fountain Hills, Arizona.  The mid-year meeting started several years ago as a way for committee members to get together and meet.  It has evolved into a full conference with board meetings, vendor booths, educational sessions and many opportunities for the ever popular “meetings of the minds.”

This year I attended many different sessions.  In addition to refresher courses on FCRA and State Laws, I was blown away by some of the privacy initiatives First Amendement Attorney Michael Klipper discussed in his session.  I usually speak at NAPBS conferences and was happy to sit on a panel this year regarding RFP’s.  Other sessions I attended included integrating ATS solutions into the background screening process, international records and a few more regarding technology.

NAPBS is going to be making a huge push to launch the NAPBS Accredidation Program by April 2009.  Look for more information in the coming months about this program.  As a past Chairman of NAPBS, longtime board member and active particpant I look forward to this program being launched.  It has been a priority for many of us since the beginning and we are excited to see it take off!  For more information on NAPBS visit their website at www.napbs.com

by Jason Morris

The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) did a nice job recapping issues they covered at this years Democratic and Republican National Conventions.  According to SHRM Chief Operating Officer (COO) China Miner Gorman; “This election tees up HR issues like maybe no other election.”

One of SHRM’s hotbed issues continues to be the pending immigration reform and the extension of the E-Verify program.  E-Verify was officially extended last month but there still remains a plethora of immigration reform issues.  Gorman said “all are in play and will end up on the desks of our members.”

There are no significant federal issues in regard to background checks but the National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS) remains engaged on all issues.

For more information read: “In the Twin Cities, the Action Isn’t All in the Center“

by Jason Morris