January 1st 2026: Navigating new challenges for Background Screening
THE WORK NUMBER
The Work Number remains a dominant and valuable resource in employment verification. But their recent price increase can cause us to search for change and other solutions. There are many other options available and we can customize our searches to fit your needs.
What is it?
The Work Number (Equifax) is a third party service provider we can use with millions of contributing employers. They can provide instant employment information to verify applicant provided data. A TWN report will pull from their list of contributing employers to find any employment history from an applicant’s past. The report can include details such as employer name, job title, dates of employment and current employment status.
How we plan to keep your cost down
Our verifications team can offer some options to help avoid higher fees:
Our Verification team maintains an internal directory of sources listing their best verification methods. This saves us time and effort in knowing the best way to approach a specific employer. We have thousands of listings from many enterprise-size businesses and common employers that our clients recruit from and we are always adding more.
Argyle is an additional third-party service that uses applicant-provided credentials to access payroll accounts, giving us the data stored there. We've found that many of the same employers that can be found on The Work Number can also be located using Argyle for a much cheaper pass-thru fee. If you already approve Third Party Fees there is nothing you need to do to include Argyle as we check that site for each order.
Third-Party fee approval choices - We can set up notes for your account to ask for fee approval for any third-party fees, or to deny all third-party fees to suit your needs. Contact us to change that setting.
New Year, New Laws
2026 is Hitting the Ground Running
As we head into the new year of 2026, the entire industry from end-users, to employers, to consumer reporting agencies, all the way to consumers themselves are about to embark on a year of new labor and employment law that could potentially alter workplace compliance, employee rights, and business operations. Highlighted below are some laws & regulations effective in January of 2026.
Washington D.C. Clean Slate Law Code of the District of Columbia
§ 16–802. Effective 01/01/2026 - Enacted in 2023, is set to begin automatic expungement processes in January.
Pennsylvania: Philadelphia Ordinance No. 250373 Effective 01/06/2026 - Amends the Fair Criminal Record Screening Standards Ordinance to clarify and expand the required procedures for individualized assessments and adverse action notices regarding criminal records in hiring decisions.
Maryland MD SB432 Effective 01/31/2026 - Expunge criminal records after completing their sentences. The measure will also require the state to automatically shield from public view records for roughly 175,000 people who were pardoned by Governor Moore last year for minor cannabis convictions.
As always the industry is always evolving. An additional resource for more new employment laws is being provided for reference. If some laws/regulations included are cause for question or concern please contact your account manager for more information.
Resource - Littler New Year, New Employment Laws
DISCLAIMER
The information and opinions expressed are for educational purposes only and are based on current practice, industry-related knowledge and business expertise. The information provided shall not be construed as legal advice, express or implied.