Identified - Dear Valued Client,

San Diego County recently passed a new Fair Chance Ordinance (FCO) that takes effect today, October 10th. The full Ordinance is located here: https://bosagenda.sandiegocounty.gov/cobservice/cosd/cob/content?id=0901127e8110d91d.

Overview

The FCO applies to individuals applying to employment, transfers or promotions whose employment position involves performing at least two (2) hours of work on average each week within the unincorporated areas of San Diego County.

There are several new unlawful employment practices including not inquiring into or using criminal history information until after a conditional offer is extended. We recommend reviewing the FCO in its entirety and consulting with qualified legal counsel as we are limiting this communication to the adverse action impacts.

Adverse Action Impacts

Prior to taking adverse action, employers must make a written individualized assessment analyzing whether the criminal history has a direct and adverse relationship with the specific job duties. Specific factors to consider are outlined in the FCO. The FCO does not appear to require employers provide the written individualized assessment to the individual.

The pre-adverse action notice must include: (i) the specific conviction(s) forming the basis for the preliminary decision, (ii) a copy of the criminal background report, (iii) notice of the individual’s right to file a complaint with the OLSE for violation of the FCO and with the California Civil Rights Department for violation of the Fair Chance Act, and (iv) an explanation of the individual’s right to respond and the deadline to respond. The explanation needs to inform the individual that they may submit evidence challenging the accuracy of the background report, offer evidence of rehabilitation or mitigating circumstances, or both.

Individuals must then have at least 5 business days to respond before final adverse action is taken. If an individual disputes the report’s accuracy, they must receive another 5 business days. Employers must leave the position open during the waiting period.

Action Items

As the majority of the new FCO’s adverse action requirements are in alignment with the California statewide law, Asurint does not believe additional system modifications are necessary at this time. If initiating the pre-adverse action letter in the Asurint system on an individual with a California-based address, you are already prompted to identify the specific conviction(s) that are forming the basis for your decision.

However, there is a need for impacted employers to review their adverse action letters. Asurint has updated our sample pre-adverse action letter. We encourage you to have any letters used reviewed by qualified legal counsel. Please note, we will not be making any automatic updates to adverse action letters you may use in our system. Please contact Asurint if you would like changes made.

Please contact our Compliance team at compliance@asurint.com if you have any questions. We’re happy to answer your emails, hop on a call or provide any educational information to help you navigate this situation.

Sincerely,

Asurint Compliance Department
https://asurint.com
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Oct 10, 2024 - 16:14 EDT
Monitoring - Please expect delays in Hillsborough County, FL as their website is currently down. We will continue to monitor the situation closely and provide updates as they become available.
Oct 10, 2024 - 11:22 EDT
Monitoring - Please expect delays in Manatee County, FL as their website is currently down. We will continue to monitor the situation closely and provide updates as they become available.
Oct 09, 2024 - 16:53 EDT
Update - Currently the following courthouses are confirmed closed.
LEVY
MARION
MIAMI-DADE
MONROE
NASSAU
OKEECHOBEE
PALM BEACH
PASCO
SARASOTA
ST. LUCIE
SUMTER
UNION
VOLUSIA

Oct 09, 2024 - 16:48 EDT
Monitoring - Due to the potential impacts of Hurricane Milton, we anticipate possible delays and court closures. Currently the following courthouses are confirmed closed. We are actively monitoring the situation and will continue to provide updates.
LEVY
MARION
MIAMI-DADE
MONROE
NASSAU
OKEECHOBEE
PALM BEACH
PASCO
SARASOTA
ST. LUCIE
SUMTER
UNION
VOLUSIA

Oct 08, 2024 - 08:46 EDT
Monitoring - At this time, the Smith County, TX website is still down. We will continue to provide updates as they become available.
Oct 08, 2024 - 08:15 EDT
Update - At this time, the Smith County, TX website is still down. We will continue to provide updates.
Oct 01, 2024 - 08:25 EDT
Identified - Please expect delays in Smith County, TX, as their website is currently down. We will continue to monitor the situation closely and provide updates as they become available.
Sep 25, 2024 - 15:36 EDT
Update - We've identified potential delays in the following Georgia counties: Bulloch, Brooks, Coffee, Liberty, Wayne. Please expect extended turnaround times for any clerk assisted searches in these counties.
Oct 03, 2024 - 14:31 EDT
Update - Delays may occur in Georgia, Florida and South Carolina for clerk assisted searches. We will continue to monitor the situation and provide updates.
Oct 02, 2024 - 09:06 EDT
Monitoring - We continue to see delays due to the impact of Hurricane Helene. We will continue to provide updates.
Sep 27, 2024 - 15:21 EDT
Identified - Due to the potential impacts of Hurricane Helene, we anticipate possible delays and court closures. We are actively monitoring the situation and will continue to provide updates.
Sep 26, 2024 - 11:14 EDT
Identified - Effective 10/1/2024, the Social Security Administration (SSA) has increased the CBSV fee from $1.40 to $2.25.
Sep 26, 2024 - 09:13 EDT
Asurint | Background Screening Platform ? Operational
Asurint | Client Integration API ? Operational
Asurint | Tenant Screening Platform ? Operational
Asurint | Tenant Client Integration API ? Operational
Asurint | Data Availability ? Operational
Asurint | Insights ? Operational
Asurint | Customer Service Platform ? Operational
Partnerships | Application Tracking Systems ? Operational
Partnerships | United States Court System ? Operational
Operational
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Scheduled Maintenance
October 2024 System Maintenance Oct 13, 2024 14:00-16:00 EDT
We want to make you aware that this Sunday October 13th from 2:00pm - 4:00pm EST, we will be performing scheduled maintenance to our systems. You may experience intermittent service outages during this time.
Posted on Oct 11, 2024 - 10:59 EDT
We want to make you aware that this October 17th from 9:00 PM - 11:00 PM EDT, the Asurint team will be performing our scheduled maintenance. You may experience intermittent service outages during this time while we make enhancements to our platform to better serve you.
Posted on Oct 09, 2024 - 17:24 EDT
We want to make you aware that this October 24th from 9:00 PM - 11:00 PM EDT, the Asurint team will be performing our scheduled maintenance. You may experience intermittent service outages during this time while we make enhancements to our platform to better serve you.
Posted on Oct 09, 2024 - 17:25 EDT
Past Incidents
Oct 12, 2024

No incidents reported today.

Oct 11, 2024

No incidents reported.

Oct 10, 2024

Unresolved incident: Delays in Hillsborough FL.

Oct 9, 2024

Unresolved incidents: Manatee FL Delays, Anticipated Delays Due To Hurricane Milton.

Oct 8, 2024

Unresolved incident: Delays in Smith County, Texas.

Oct 7, 2024
Completed - The scheduled maintenance has been completed.
Oct 7, 23:00 EDT
In progress - Scheduled maintenance is currently in progress. We will provide updates as necessary.
Oct 7, 21:00 EDT
Scheduled - We want to make you aware that this October 7th from 9:00 PM - 11:00 PM EDT, the Asurint team will be performing maintenance. You may experience intermittent service outages during this time while we make enhancements to our platform to better serve you.
Oct 4, 16:48 EDT
Oct 6, 2024

No incidents reported.

Oct 5, 2024

No incidents reported.

Oct 4, 2024

No incidents reported.

Oct 3, 2024
Completed - The scheduled maintenance has been completed.
Oct 3, 21:30 EDT
In progress - Scheduled maintenance is currently in progress. We will provide updates as necessary.
Oct 3, 21:00 EDT
Scheduled - We want to make you aware that tonight October 3rd from 9:00 PM - 9:30 PM EDT, the Asurint team will be performing maintenance. You may experience intermittent service outages during this time while we make enhancements to our platform to better serve you.
Oct 3, 17:00 EDT
Resolved - This incident has been resolved.
Oct 3, 11:32 EDT
Identified - Please be advised that CBSV services will be down for scheduled maintenance from 9pm EDT Friday, September 27th through 6am EDT Thursday, October 3rd. Orders placed during this time will remain open until maintenance is completed, after which they will be submitted for processing.
Sep 18, 09:22 EDT
Oct 2, 2024
Resolved - This incident has been resolved.
Oct 2, 09:11 EDT
Monitoring - As your partner in compliance, we wanted to alert you to two recently passed laws that may impact your background screening and hiring processes.

Los Angeles County, California
Effective September 3, 2024, Los Angeles County’s new Fair Chance Ordinance (FCO) will require extensive review by impacted employers. The FCO applies to employers with five (5) or more employees regardless of location, including any entity/agent that evaluates criminal history on behalf of an employer, whenever the employee will work within the unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County at least two (2) hours on average each week. Both applicants and employees are covered.

To review the unincorporated areas of Log Angeles County, please visit: https://ceo.lacounty.gov/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Unincorp-Alpha-Web.pdf

At a high-level, the FCO impacts the following areas:
• Specific written notice required – content outlined in the FCO could be incorporated into a conditional offer letter, but we recommend consultation with qualified legal counsel before proceeding.
• Among other items, convictions that arose out of conduct that has since been decriminalized cannot be considered.
• Detailed requirements around pre-adverse and final adverse action notices, along with written individualized assessments. Adverse action notices must be sent by mail and email (if an email address is available).
o Similar to California’s statewide law, the notice period begins following a date of receipt period with one key difference. The waiting period cannot begin until the notice is received based on the mailing time period (ex. 5 calendar days for mail sent to CA addresses).
• Job advertisements language, posting requirements, record retention obligations are all included in the FCO.

Further details may be found here:

Blog – https://www.asurint.com/resource-center/blog/may-2024/los-angeles-county-passes-fair-chance-ordinance

Ban the Box – https://go.asurint.com/ban-the-box-state-guide

50 State Guide – https://go.asurint.com/50-state-guide-background-checks

Department of Economic Opportunity FAQ - https://opportunity.lacounty.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/FCO-FAQ-Final-Updated-with-Recommendations.pdf

Asurint is currently working on sample pre-adverse and final adverse action letters, while also evaluating any system-required changes to accommodate these unique adverse action requirements. We will share more in the coming weeks.

Lehigh County, Pennsylvania
Effective June 1, 2024, employers with any employees in Lehigh County must be aware of a new anti-discrimination ordinance. The ordinance establishes several protected classes and impacts criminal history checks.

Employers cannot ask about criminal history on an employment application or require disclosure of such information until after an initial interview. Employers are prohibited from considering conviction record which do not relate to an applicant’s suitability for employment.

The ordinance also prohibits employers from inquiring into a job applicant’s salary history from any previous or current employment.

For more information, please visit our blog: https://www.asurint.com/resource-center/blog/may-2024/new-lehigh-county-anti-discrimination-ordinance-impacts-employers.

Based on the ordinance’s requirements, Asurint does not plan to change any system functionality or sample letters, but we do encourage you to consult with qualified legal counsel.

May 14, 17:01 EDT
Oct 1, 2024
Resolved - This incident has been resolved.
Oct 1, 08:24 EDT
Identified - You may be experiencing intermittent delays in the Asurint 2.0 platform. Please note that these delays will not impact your ability to place orders. We will continue to provide updates.
Sep 30, 12:58 EDT
Sep 30, 2024
Sep 29, 2024

No incidents reported.

Sep 28, 2024

No incidents reported.