News
News
Reporting on the U.S. background screening industry, the federal and state laws and regulators that shape it, and the practices that decide whether a screening program holds up.
Every piece is written by Marko Ivanov and links to the reference material it depends on. Coverage is U.S.-only: federal law, state and local rules, and the industry developments that change what a U.S. employer or screening company has to do. For the rules themselves, start with Resources and Compliance.
The EEOC rescinds its 2012 criminal history guidance
On 28 October 2026 the EEOC voted 2-1 to withdraw the 2012 enforcement guidance that had shaped how employers assessed criminal history under Title VII. The guidance is gone; Title VII, the FCRA and state and local fair chance laws are not. This is what changed, what did not, and what to check before changing a screening program.
Read the article6 min
New York City’s amended Fair Chance Act rules are in effect
The New York City Commission on Human Rights’ amended Fair Chance Act rules took effect on 30 October 2026. The five-business-day response period is now codified, the per se violations are easier to identify, and the process reaches current employees and promotions as well as applicants. This is the operational checklist.
Read the article7 min
Virginia’s Clean Slate law is now sealing records
Virginia’s sealing statute took effect on 1 July 2026. Sealed arrests, charges and convictions are now off-limits in hiring, applications that ask about criminal history need a notice, and background screening companies must not report sealed records. A recent courthouse report shows the transparency trade-off the law creates.
Read the article6 min
A California court says Fair Chance Act assessments are not privileged
In Civil Rights Department v. City of Torrance, a California appeals court ordered the city to produce the assessment templates and records behind 23 criminal-history hiring decisions. The holding is about discovery, not liability, but the practical lesson is direct: an assessment you cannot show is an assessment you cannot defend.
Read the article6 min
How this section works
The section is U.S.-only. It covers federal law and regulation and the state and local rules that add to them. A screening development in another country is out of scope unless it directly changes what a U.S. employer or consumer reporting agency has to do.
Stories are selected because they change something an employer has to do, or because they change the facts a screening program is built on. A regulatory settlement, a new state statute, a court decision and a material shift in how reports are produced all qualify. Vendor announcements do not, unless the change alters what a buyer can rely on.
Each article says what happened, names the primary document where one exists, and links to the reference page that explains the underlying rule. News moves faster than the reference pages, so where the two disagree the dated piece is the update and the reference page is the context.
This is reporting, not legal advice. A news piece describes what a source said as at its publication date. It is not a substitute for advice from counsel on your own process. See the terms of use.