As of August 1st, 2023, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) officially launched its new Form I-9.  This update replaced the older Form I-9 (Rev. 10/21/19) in favor of what the agency stated was a more streamlined and shortened version of the I-9. What portions of Form I-9 have been updated? USCIS made...Read More

As of January 2023, European data regulators have issued a record €2.92 billion in fines for 2022. This is a 168% increase from 2021, which is only expected to rise throughout 2023. Professional recruiters face financial risks due to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). This regulation modernizes data privacy and protection for companies with...Read More

Webinar recap: San Diego SHRM provides an update on State employment laws, and new legislation and offers tips and strategies for regulatory compliance.  On Wednesday, October 14, SmartSearch co-sponsored a virtual event hosted by the San Diego chapter of the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM) featuring its annual Employment Law Update. The program kicked...Read More

You may have the most beautifully designed, robust, well written and lightning-fast website in your market. It may perform very well on mobile, drive conversions and generate a ton of orders and qualified applications for your staffing agency. But is your website ADA-compliant? If not, you could be: alienating job seekers and other potential site...Read More

All companies want to make a good hire, so using a resource such as a background screening service is pretty commonplace, but this comes with preparation and planning. One item that is a must for any employer is in knowing the background screening service they are using will keep them within compliance and mitigate the...Read More

On February 19, I helped organize a learning event with the SHRM Educational Foundation, Hawaii Island District, to present an informative program and interactive discussion on best practices in Diversity & Inclusion, emphasizing hiring people with disabilities. The event occurred at the W.M. Keck Observatory in its Jerry Nelson Conference Center, in Kamuela. Margarete Hester,...Read More

When I think about the words “inclusion” and “tolerance,” I envision two words that are polar opposites of each other. In today’s workforce, diversity and inclusion mean seeking, accepting and wanting people from different walks of life. Tolerance does not denote acceptance. It’s a hostile attitude of being faced with something you must accept but...Read More

Over the past few years, litigation has tripled in employment background screening, due to increased regulations and scrutiny of the background screening process by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and other federal/state and industry-specific auditing agencies.  Recently, employee/candidates have filed a significant number of class-action lawsuits, causing companies to pay...Read More

On May 25, 2018, a new privacy law called the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) took effect in the European Union (EU). GDPR expands the privacy rights of EU individuals and places new obligations on all organizations that market, track, or handle EU citizens’ personal data. As we all know, there are legal requirements to...Read More

With modern technology linking us humans closer together, the world seems to be shrinking. This affects employers a variety of ways. The good news is they have gained access to a larger pool of job candidates since many positions are no longer bound by geography. However, with more people living abroad to work or study,...Read More