Employers and their background screening partners were optimistic a Supreme Court ruling in Spokeo v. Robins would establish an actual injury requirement for FCRA-based class action cases to advance through the courts. The Spokeo ruling was expected to settle the controversy created by divided lower court decisions on whether “no-injury” cases have legal standing based upon statutory violation alone or if specific injury must occur. The sudden passing of Justice Antonin Scalia on February 13, 2016 deprives the Court of a highly respected Justice and a prominent, frequently decisive vote. MORE >>

Without access to the right information, even the most thorough background check can fall short. Unfortunately, there are states out there that are really dropping the ball and making things harder for everyone. The latest is Georgia. An investigation by WSB-TV found that the outcomes for millions of criminal charges are missing from the state’s database. Here’s how it happened. In 2013 a law was passed that ordered the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to seal records for charges that were never prosecuted. Let’s say you were arrested for an armed robbery you didn’t commit. Problem solved? MORE >>

Opioid abuse has reached startling proportions in the United States. Millions of Americans are addicted, and the death rate has tripled in the last 5 years. The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Dr. Tom Frieden, has said abuse of these drugs -- including prescription painkillers -- is “a growing epidemic that is gripping our country.” In fact, the CDC says non-medical use of these drugs is costing insurance companies up to $72.5 billion dollars a year. It’s not just the insurance companies paying the price. The testing itself is not very expensive. Drug Testing MORE >>

We talk a lot on this blog about fake universities getting shut down by the government for selling worthless degrees. This time, the Feds were actually the ones running the fraud - but with good reason. The “University of Northern New Jersey,” or UNNJ, did not have a single professor on staff. There was no curriculum to speak of, which means classes were never held. But, they had plenty of “administrators” waiting for brokers, recruiters and even employers to come to them to enroll foreign nationals so they could stay in the country on student visas. Sarah R. Saldaña, the Director of U.S. MORE >>

Earlier this year we told you about the mess Ohio’s computerized background check system has become. The state has been trying to fix the aged system, but the price tag for that solution is outrageous. According to the Ohio Times Reporter, the state’s Attorney General’s office has received five bids to replace both the hardware and software that make up the Bureau of Criminal Investigation’s (BCI) system. The bids range from just under $6 million to $17.72 million, and that doesn’t even include the annual maintenance fees! For a cash-strapped government, the numbers might be disheartening. MORE >>