*Designates sessions approved as FCRA Basic Recertification PDCs
Behind the Scenes in Trump's Washington
Jonathan Swan, National Political Reporter, Axios
You’ve seen him on TV. You’ve read his breaking news. You’ve come to trust his byline. But you’ve never heard him quite like this: unfiltered and uncompromising. An award-winning journalist with incomparable access to the halls of power, Jonathan Swan takes you behind the scenes in the Trump White House and on Capitol Hill. He introduces you to the people behind his headlines and explains what you might expect next from one of the least predictable administrations in recent memory. You’ll walk away with an insider’s view of Washington today and exclusive insight into how it will shape America tomorrow.
Advocacy Training
Francine Friedman, Akin Gump; Jamie Tucker, Akin Gump
Advocacy Day training will be open to all conference attendees and mandatory for anyone who is signed up for Advocacy Day on Wednesday, March 27. Francine Friedman and Jamie Tucker will walk attendees through the day, reviewing the schedule, setting expectations and most importantly illustrating the NAPBS messaging to ensure everyone is prepared for our day on Capitol Hill. For anyone who did not sign up for Advocacy Day but is interested in learning what Advocacy Day is all about or simply hearing the NAPBS messaging, please join the session.
Legislative Update
Brent Smoyer, Smoyer Government Affairs; Jamie Tucker, Akin Gump
An update from NAPBS’ contracted partners, Akin Gump and Smoyer Government Affairs, to include current legislative activity affecting the industry at both the federal and state levels. Walk away with an understanding of the current legislative landscape that impacts your business. This is a session you cannot afford to miss.
Federal Trade Commission Update with Maneesha Mithal
Maneesha Mithal, Associate Director, Division of Privacy and Identity Protection, Bureau of Consumer Protection
This is another cannot miss session at the 2019 NAPBS Mid-Year Legislative and Regulatory Conference. During this session Mithal will share with attendees information about the FTC’s priorities for 2019 and how they impact the background screening profession. Mithal will also provide an overview of recent FTC activity related to the screening profession as well as any trends the FTC is seeing.
Foreign Laws and International Agreements: How Do They Affect You?
Kerstin Bagus, NetForce Global; Mark Sward, Sterling Talent Solutions; Kevin Coy, Arnall Golden Gregory LLP
The GDPR doesn’t only apply to European companies, but can extend across borders and oceans in certain circumstances. Additionally, the news has been abuzz with countries entering and leaving international agreements (Nafta/USMCA, Brexit, TPP). This session will review some of the significant international agreements and foreign laws which may affect U.S. screening companies, how they perform services and who they do business with.
Navigating the Canadian Political System and Legislative Review
Mark Sward, Sterling Talent Solutions; Rhonda Fairweather, First Advantage
Canada is a different country with a very different constitution and political structure. Doing business in Canada is one of the first steps outside of the United States for an American screening company, and Canadian customers may need to work with U.S. screeners for their cross-border hiring needs. An understanding of the Canadian political system, the different regulatory players, the different rules governing background checks, and the ways decisions are made is vital for any screener looking to cross the border.
*$$$: What Does Your Consumer Report Look Like to a Plaintiff’s Lawyer?
Courtney Stieber, Seyfarth Shaw LLP; John Drury, Seyfarth Shaw LLP
Your consumer report is your finished product: the document that is sent to your end user, your consumer, and possibly, your consumer’s attorney. While CRAs often make reports per component, are you looking at it through the lens of a plaintiff’s counsel? So what does your consumer’s attorney see when he or she reviews the report? Is it dollar signs? In this session, we will breakdown common mistakes, component by component, that lead to FCRA and other state law claims.
Employers and CRAs as Partners: 5 Tips for Enhancing Compliance and Applicant Experience
William Simmons, Littler Mendelson PC; Chad Kaldor, Littler Mendelson, P.C.
This session, focused on employer end-users, covers the top 5 ways employers can partner with their CRAs to enhance compliance AND the applicant experience. Employers sometimes spend too much time emphasizing "bottom line" price or how to shift “risk” to CRAs. This session flips that paradigm on its head, helping employers realize missed opportunities flowing from that approach. Topics include: understanding CRA operations and reporting restrictions, explaining pain points to CRAs to develop applicant experience solutions, identifying internal system or training improvements, developing best practice forms, and using arbitration agreements to limit background check lawsuits, and how to explain your business and pain points to CRAs to work on mutually beneficial applicant experience solutions.
*FCRA Accuracy: Recent Developments
Kevin Coy, Arnall Golden Gregory LLP, Montserrat Miller Arnall Golden Gregory LLP
This session will examine recent developments involving CRA accuracy obligations under the FCRA. This will include a discussion of the FTC’s recent $3 million settlement with a tenant screening company over alleged FCRA accuracy-related violations; one of the largest civil penalties the FTC has obtained against a background screening company. This session will discuss strategies for CRA record matching policies and procedures. We will also discuss points that CRAs should consider as part of their record matching policies and procedures.
Fine, You Win! Let's Talk About California.
Scott Paler, DeWitt LLP
For most CRAs, California is sort of the "Boogeyman." It has detailed background screening laws, a scary set of potential damages, a pro-plaintiff environment, and a lawsuit-happy culture. Notwithstanding the industry's anxiety about California, many CRAs do not know where to start to address California-related compliance concerns or lower the associated risk. This session – led by attorney and frequent NAPBS speaker Scott Paler – will examine California law in detail, try to make sense of the sometimes conflicting laws, and identify a variety of tips for CRAs to consider in the upcoming years.
*Is That Portion of My Background Screening Covered by the FCRA?
David Anthony, Troutman Sanders LLP; Cindy Hanson, Troutman Sanders LLP
Background screening reports – and the overall background screening process – often contain numerous components, which has led to a debate as to which portions of the report and process are covered by the FCRA. This session discusses the thresholds for being deemed a consumer report, including a discussion about the role of address verifications, header data, fraud verification, and OFAC alerts, among others. It discusses the current state of the law and compliance strategies.
Navigating the Legal Minefield of Using Criminal Histories in Employment Decisions
Robert Szyba, Seyfarth Shaw LLP; Esther Slater McDonald, Seyfarth Shaw LLP; Stacey Blecher, Seyfarth Shaw LLP
Employers operating in multiple jurisdictions sometimes face divergent and even conflicting requirements when performing criminal background checks. This session takes a practical step-by-step journey from the initial job application through the ultimate adverse action requirements that a multi-jurisdictional employer may face when seeking to fill a one-off position as well as when seeking to craft a company-wide policy. This session also discusses the various risks posed by various jurisdictions, potential options based on an employer’s risk-tolerance, as well as pros and cons of various solutions.
*Regulatory Rumblings and Litigation Landslides
Pamela Devata, Seyfarth Shaw, LLP
Learn about the areas that if you aren’t paying attention to can put you in danger’s way.
What to do When Regulators Come Knocking, and How to Avoid Them in the First Place!
Pam Devata, Seyfarth Shaw LLP; Erin Novak, Montgomery McCracken Walker Rhoads LLP; Megan Poonolly, Uber Technologies Inc.
The background screening industry has long been a target of federal and state regulators. While there have been some positive recent developments, regulators continue their aggressive oversight of the industry. How do we navigate these troubled waters? On this panel, in-house counsel, defense counsel, and (former) plaintiff’s counsel discuss who the regulators are, recent developments in the industry, and basic pointers for responding when state or federal regulators come knocking with lawsuits, investigations, inquiries, and subpoenas.
5 Data Gaps Common in Health Care Provider Background Screening
Jennifer Gillespie, Verisys
Health care is a different animal when it comes to initial employment screening as well as continuous screening of dynamic data points. Liability plays a large part in choosing a screening protocol, but regulatory compliance regulations vary state by state and standard-setting bodies add an additional layer. This session will provide a framework of understanding health care provider screening.
Client in Crisis: Communication Tips and Techniques
Liza Crawford Jønler, JDA Frontline; Ralph Posner, JDA Frontline
A crisis can happen to any organization, and when it does, the need to respond is immediate. Long gone are the days when an organization could bury its head in the sand and wait for the storm to blow over. A business must be able to respond promptly, accurately and confidently, which requires preparation. Consumer reporting agencies must also be prepared and communicate effectively when their clients are facing a crisis that could have implications for their business or the industry as a whole, such as workplace violence, fraud or theft. The wrong response to a crisis could lead to more than lost business and a damaged reputation. For industries like professional background screening, you could be looking at increased regulation, industry-wide mistrust, Congressional hearings and more. You’ll walk away from this session with a better grasp on crisis communications, from how identify when you or a client is in crisis to techniques for effective communications across multiple channels.
What To Do When Your Client Says Jump! How to Decide Which Decision Is Best For Your Company
Kevin Bachman, The CRA Doctor
Accommodate the request? Negotiate a middle ground solution? Impose your standard process? These are the choices every CRA must make when presented with a demanding or unique client request. Is the request truly unreasonable or just unpopular with your team? Will it increase your risks? Your costs? Your profits? Learn the strategies to determine which decision is the right one for you, your client and your organization.
Grow Your Screening Business: Differentiating Your Occupational Health Services
Nina French, The Current Consulting Group, LLC
They say if you fail to plan you plan to fail. Being in the know when it comes to changing state laws, the progress of marijuana legalization, regulatory changes at OSHA, DHHS, and DOT, and how effective workplace strategies can be used to successfully engage and retain clients isn’t only good for business, but also leads to profits for you and your clients. This session will review state legislation, structure and design, comprehensive drug testing product offering, and Occupational Health services for screeners.
The Workplace in the Age of Legal Marijuana: Legislation, Case Law, and What to Expect
Katherine Miller, The Current Consulting Group, LLC
Two-thirds of the United States now has some form of legal marijuana, and workplaces nationwide are impacted. With constantly progressing legislation, ballot initiatives, and state-specific case laws, it can be confusing to figure out what does and doesn’t apply in your workplace. This session will cover progressing and recently passed legislation, pertinent case law, and how CRAs and employers can prepare for the impacts of legal marijuana.
The Use of Criminal Record Information in Tenant Screening
Jennifer Sarvadi, Hudson Cook LLP; Webb McArthur, Hudson Cook LLP
States and localities are more active in regulating the tenant screening industry. In 2016, HUD reinforced its disparate impact approach to fair housing matters, and solicited new comments in 2018 about its criminal records guidance. The FTC's recent enforcement case brings matching public records back into focus again. Where do things stand today with regard to reporting criminal records in tenant screening? This session will examine recent developments in the laws affecting tenant screening services and criminal records in particular.