Continuous Monitoring Background Screening

Many employers understand the value of conducting a background screening on job applicants and contract labor. Screening employees and contractors pre-hire aids in ensuring the worker is qualified for the position they will hold and provides insight into any past criminal behavior that may pose a threat to the organization, its employees, and customers. However, a background screen is a snapshot in time. While it may provide some insight into potential future behavior, it does not reveal future actions as they occur. Recent advances in data mining technology have created opportunities for employers to continuously monitor developing adverse employee and contractor behavior to continue employment risk mitigation goals and provide safer working environments. 

Continuous criminal monitoring programs are real-time, post-hire screening programs affording employers continuous updates on employee and contractor arrests, court status, and conviction activity. When an employee is entered into their company’s monitoring pool, their employer is immediately notified of any matching records, including ongoing case development, enabling the employer to make an informed decision and take immediate action if charges are filed, or a conviction occurs that would render the worker unsuitable for their current role within the organization.  

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) state that employers must obtain written consent to perform any background check, including background re-screening. Further, the California Investigative Consumer Reporting Agencies Act (ICRAA) requires employers to obtain new consent each time they conduct a new background screen on an employee, job applicant, or independent contractor. Employers implementing continuous criminal monitoring programs should either obtain consent and disclosure documents specific to their monitoring program or include a rescreening disclosure as part of the employee’s initial onboarding to avoid violating FCRA and/or state guidelines. AccuSourceHR has extensive industry knowledge and experience assisting clients with continuous criminal monitoring programs and can aid organizations in implementing a program to minimize reputational and financial risk and promote overall workforce safety while remaining FCRA-compliant.  

Continuous criminal monitoring searches utilize proprietary software with direct access to court records across thousands of U.S. jurisdictions. Employers are immediately notified if a participant in their monitoring pool is the subject of new criminal records or conviction activity with matching personal identifying information (PII). This method allows the employer a fair opportunity to make an educated decision based on the nature of the crime and, if warranted, take immediate action while considering the specific employee’s position and company policy. Uber is one of the major companies that recently adopted continuous driver and criminal monitoring, and as of 2020, they reported 998 sexual assault incidents and 141 rape incidents, per a CNN article. Uber’s recent statistics show how essential it is to monitor individuals who serve the public continuously. Many workers today fulfill most, if not all, of their job duties in remote work environments and/or in the field, interacting with the public; hence it is more difficult to track those who work from their personal vehicles. 

Continuous driver monitoring can provide a valuable risk mitigation tool for companies that employ or contract with regulated and non-regulated commercial drivers or have workers who operate a motor vehicle in the course of their work for the organization, including public transportation, driver education courses, and delivery services. Continuous driver monitoring uses data-scraping software to provide employers with real-time updates regarding their worker’s motor vehicle records and violations. Regardless of whether a worker operates their own vehicle for business purposes or a company-owned vehicle, employers can be held liable for their worker’s actions while driving for the benefit of the organization. Continuous driver monitoring affords a means to obtain advanced insight into employees’ driving habits and developing risks.  

Continuous healthcare sanctions monitoring is an efficient way to proactively monitor employees and contractors in the medical field who have either been placed on a federal or state sanctions list that excludes them from working in healthcare organizations receiving government funding or have violated their professional license(s) leading to suspension or revocation of their right to perform functions associated with it. Actions that may impact working in the healthcare field or association with government-funded programs include but are not limited to patient abuse or neglect, negligence in prescribing or dispensing prescription drugs, personal substance abuse, and healthcare insurance fraud. Continuous monitoring of healthcare sanctions, debarment, and licensing databases are extremely important for nurses, doctors, and many other positions involving caring for sick, dependent, and/or vulnerable people to ensure patient populations are protected, and organizations trusted with their care remain compliant with federal and state healthcare funding programs. AccuSourceHR offers both federal (Level 1) and 50 state (Level 3) continuous healthcare sanctions debarment and licensing monitoring programs that include General Services Administration (GSA), the System for Award Management (SAM), and the Office of Inspector General (OIG) List of Excluded Individuals/Entities (LEIE) plus state-specific licensing and sanctions listings to notify organizations of individuals and entities that are currently excluded from Medicare, Medicaid, or any other related healthcare programs.  

Continuous monitoring of workers in any position with heightened risk to the organization, its staff, or the public at large is imperative to protecting your company from financial and/or reputational liability. A worker with a clean criminal background check, motor vehicle record, or healthcare sanctions search when onboarded may not maintain that clean record through their longevity with your organization.  

If you would like to learn more about how AccuSourceHR can support your ongoing organizational risk mitigation goals through continuous monitoring programs, contact us today at marketing@accusourcehr.com for a personalized evaluation.