Polygraph Testing/Assessment Testing

Lie Detector Tests

The Employee Polygraph Protection Act prohibits most private employers from using lie detector tests, either for pre-employment screening or during the course of employment.
There are a list of exceptions that apply to certain businesses and governmental positions where security or fiduciary responsibility is part of the job.
Polygraphs are not admissible in a court of law due to their unreliability.

As of this writing there appears to be no federal law specifically prohibiting you from using a written honesty test or personality test on job applicants.
The reliability of the tests have come into question as some applicants have scored low on a test but later performed at a high level.

Drug Testing

Drug testing a home employee is commonly used. We recommend going through a company that uses lab one or Quest Diagnostics.
They have certified collection sites all over the country and have an audit process should there be a false positive result.
We do not recommend using any of the do it yourself screening tests sold on the internet. This could create legal problems down the road.

National/International Watch Lists: An OFAC Patriot Act Search

The OFAC Search confirms whether your applicant is on the criminals and terrorists watch lists of collected from databases around the world.

What is OFAC?

OFAC is the Office of Foreign Asset Control, which is part of the U.S. Department of Treasury. OFAC is responsible for administering and enforcing economic and trade sanctions against
certain nations, entities and individuals. It maintains a listing of these restricted counter parties in a document called the “Specially Designated Nationals List” (SDN).
They make this list available on their website.

When Should I Do An OFAC Search?

An OFAC Search should always be requested regardless if you are granting credit or if you are currently in the process of performing a pre-employment background check.
In response to the Patriot Act, an OFAC Search is required by law for all businesses who are hiring and for loan originations applicants.

It is illegal to conduct business with any individual or company listed on the results of an OFAC Search.

What Data Sources Does OFAC Search?

• Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT)
• Bank of England Consolidated List of Financial Sanctions
• Bureau of Industry and Security
• OSFI Terrorism Financing
• DTC Debarred parties
• European Union Consolidated List
• FBI Hijack Suspects
• FBI Most Wanted
• FBI Most Wanted Terrorists
• FBI Seeking Information
• FBI Top Ten Most Wanted
• HKMA
• Interpol Most Wanted
• United Nations Consolidated List
• Terrorist Exclusion List
• Unauthorized Banks
• MAS
• Non-cooperative Countries and Territories
• Non-proliferation
• OFAC Sanctions Programs and Countries
• OFAC’s Specially Designated Nationals & Blocked Persons
• Politically Exposed Persons
• Primary Money Laundering Concern (PMLC)
• World Bank Debarred Parties

Employment Eligibility (Post Employment):

Agency owners may be able to check their applicants’ employment eligibility through E-Verify.

To sign up for the E-Verify businesses must pass an online test and agree to the terms and conditions.
If agency owners want to outsource this post –employment verification, you may sign up with an authorized DHS “designated agent.
” A memorandum of understanding must be completed with DHS.

FAQ’s:
E-Verify is currently the best means available for employers to electronically verify the employment eligibility of their newly hired employees.
E-Verify virtually eliminates Social Security Mismatches, improves the accuracy of wage and tax reporting, protects jobs for authorized U.S. workers,
and helps U.S. employers maintain a legal workforce

Q: Can I verify the immigration status of a new hire that is not a U.S. citizen?

No. E-Verify verifies a new hire’s employment eligibility, not his or her immigration status.

Q: What information is required to conduct an E-Verify initial verification?

After hiring a new employee and completing the Employment Eligibility Verification form (Form I-9), required for all new hires (regardless of E-Verify participation),
the employer or agent must submit a query that includes information from sections 1 and 2 of the Form I-9, including:

• Employee’s name and date of birth,
• Social Security Number (SSN),
• Citizenship status he or she attests to,
• A number or I-94 number, if applicable,
• Type of document provided on the Form I-9 to establish work authorization status, and
• Proof of identity and its expiration date, if applicable.

Response to the initial query is sent within seconds of submitting the query. Documents presented for Form I-9 identification only purposes (documents from “List B”) to E-Verify
employers must have a photograph.

Q: When may an employer initiate a query under E-Verify?

The earliest the employer may initiate a query is after an individual accepts an offer of employment and after the employee and employer complete the Form I-9. The employer must initiate the query no later than the end of three business days after the new hire’s actual start date.

Although an employer may initiate the query before a new hire’s actual start date, it may not pre-screen applicants and may not delay training or an actual start date based upon a tentative non-confirmation or a delay in the receipt of a confirmation of employment authorization. In short, an employee should not face any adverse employment consequences based upon an employer’s use of E-Verify unless a query results in a final non confirmation.

For this reason, if the query returns an employment authorization response, an employer cannot speed up the employee’s agreed upon start-date, as that would be disparate treatment based upon E-Verify results of this employee compared to another who may have received a tentative non-confirmation. For example, Company X always assigns a start-date to new employees that are two weeks after the employee has submitted an approved drug test. After the employee has accepted a job with Company X, and after the employee and Company X complete the Form I-9, the company can initiate the E-Verify query. However, the company cannot speed up or delay the employee’s start-date based upon the results of the query (unless the program issues a final non-confirmation, in which case the employee should not be further employed).

Employers must verify employees in a non-discriminatory manner, and may not schedule the timing of queries based upon the new hire’s national origin, citizenship status, race, or other prohibited characteristic.

Q: What is the required time frame for conducting an employment eligibility check on a newly hired employee?

The earliest the employer may initiate a query is after an individual accepts an offer of employment and after the employee and employer complete the Form I-9. The employer must initiate the query no later than the end of three business days after the new hire’s actual start date.

An employer may initiate the query before a new hire’s actual start date; however, it may not pre-screen applicants and may not delay training or an actual start date based upon a tentative non-confirmation or a delay in the receipt of a confirmation of employment authorization. An employee should not face any adverse employment consequences based upon an employer’s use of E-Verify unless a query results in a final non-confirmation. In addition, an employer cannot use an employment authorization response to speed up an employee’s start date. This would be unfair treatment to use E-Verify results to accelerate employment for this employee compared to another who may have received a tentative non-confirmation.

For example, Company X always assigns a start-date to new employees that are two weeks after the employee has completed an approved drug test. After the employee has accepted a job with Company X and after the employee and Company X completes the Form I-9, the company can initiate the E-Verify query. However, the company cannot speed up or delay the employee’s start date based upon the results of the query (unless the program issues a final non-confirmation, in which case the employee should not be further employed).

Employers must verify employees in a non-discriminatory manner and may not schedule the timing of queries based upon the new hire’s national origin, citizenship status, race, or other characteristic that is prohibited by U.S. law.

Q: Which employees should be verified through the system?

As a participant in E-Verify, employers are required to verify all newly hired employees, both U.S. citizens and non-citizens. Employers may not verify selectively, and must verify all new hires while participating in the program. The program may not be used to prescreen applicants for employment, go back and check employees hired before the company signed the MOU, or re-verify employees who have temporary work authorization.

Q: If I am an employer who would like to run an employee’s Form I-9 information through E-Verify, but that employee does not yet have a Social Security Number, what should I do?

Employees who do not yet have a Social Security Number may not have their information run through E-Verify. If you are an employer with such an employee, you should complete the Form I-9 process with him/her and wait to run an E-Verify query on that individual until you have received his/her Social Security Number. You should note on the Form I-9 why you did not run an E-Verify query yet. Your employee should get his/her number to you quickly, and then you may run a query on that individual. In the mean time, you will have completed the Form I-9 Employment Eligibility process with your employee and verified his/her work authorization, so your employee will be allowed to work temporarily without a Social Security Number.

Q: How can I improve the chances that my employee who holds a foreign passport will be instantly verified?

• Providing as much information as possible may increase the likelihood that an employee will be verified instantly. This includes entering information in optional fields such as the visa number.
• The best time to get an employee’s visa number is when completing the Form I-9. If the employee presents a foreign passport and Form I-94 as a List A document, the passport may also contain a U.S. visa label with his or her visa number. If you find a U.S. visa label, make a note of the visa number when filling out the Form I-9 and then enter this in the employee information page in E-Verify. Remember, you cannot ask your employee to provide you a specific document at any time during the Form I-9 process, except for List B documents which, for E-Verify, must contain a photo.
• You should also ensure that you entered the employee’s information accurately. If you do not receive an immediate response, E-Verify will provide a page that allows you to review the information you entered and correct any errors. Please pay particular attention to dates, particularly the date of birth. Foreign passports often list the date of birth as day/month/year (e.g., 9 June 2008 = 09/06/2008). E-Verify uses a month/day/year format. (e.g., June 9, 2008 = 06/09/2008)

Cite: e verify

Employers may not use E-Verify to pre-screen job applicants or re-verify current employees and may not limit or influence the choice of documents presented for use on the Form I-9. In order to determine whether Form I-9 documentation is valid, this employer uses E-Verify’s photo screening tool to match the photograph appearing on some permanent resident and employment authorization cards with the official U.S.Citizenship and Immigration Services’ (USCIS) photograph.

All employers should fill out form I-9 to remain compliant with USICS. The form outlines what forms of ID are acceptable for determining employment eligibility.

Form I-9 Link