Category Archives: Press Releases

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New York

State of New York Issues “Emergency Regulation” Regarding Consumer Protection

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Recently, the State of New York has issued an “emergency regulation” regarding consumer protection following a data breach in consumer credit reporting. Labeling new rules as an “emergency” means they may take effect immediately with no hearings or previous notice.

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today directed the New York Department of State to issue new regulations holding consumer credit reporting agencies accountable to the public. The regulations, adopted on an emergency basis and effective immediately, require consumer credit reporting agencies to respond within 10 days to requests made by the Department of State’s Division of Consumer Protection on behalf of consumers.

The new regulations to protect consumers

  • Specifically, the regulations defines “consumer credit reporting agency” as a consumer reporting agency that regularly engages in the practice of assembling or evaluating and maintaining, for the purpose of furnishing consumer credit reports to third parties bearing on a consumer’s creditworthiness, credit standing, or credit capacity, public record information and credit account information from persons who furnish that information regularly and in the ordinary course of business.
  • Require consumer credit reporting agencies to identify dedicated points of contact for the Division of Consumer Protection so the Division can obtain vital information necessary to assist New York consumers;
  • Require a timely response—within 10 days—by consumer credit reporting agencies to information requests made on behalf of consumers by the Division of Consumer Protection;
  • Require consumer credit reporting agencies to file with the Division of Consumer Protection, and to plainly disclose to consumers all fees associated with the purchase or use of products and services marketed as identity theft protection products, including when those products are originally offered for “free”; and
  • Require consumer credit reporting agencies to file with the Division of Consumer Protection a list and description of all business affiliations and contractual relationships they have with companies marketing credit monitoring and related products.

The regulations are available online here.

The Division of Consumer Protection will also issue a demand letter to Equifax for vital information necessary to help the Division properly assess the damage and risk of identity theft to New York State consumers resulting from the data breach.

For questions on credit reports please contact Accredited Background Checks at 800-221-4291.

 

DOT Announces It Is Amending Its Drug-Testing Regulations

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Importance Notice!

Effective January 1, 2018, The Department of Transportation is amending its drug-testing program regulation to add hydrocodone, hydromorphone, oxymorphone, and oxycodone to its drug-testing panel; add methylenedioxyamphetamine as an initial test analyte; and remove methylenedioxyethylamphetamine as a confirmatory test analyte. The revision of the drug-testing panel harmonizes DOT regulations with the revised HHS Mandatory Guidelines established by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for Federal drug-testing programs for urine testing. This final rule clarifies certain existing drug-testing program provisions and definitions, makes technical amendments and removes the requirement for employers and Consortium/Third Party Administrators to submit blind specimens.

 

On November 10th 2017, The United States Department Of Transporation (DOT)  announced they will be amending the mandatory 5-panel drug screen to include expanded opiates, and expanding on CFR 49 Part 40.

Effective January 1st, 2018, the mandatory urine drug screening for all safety sensitive positions guided under CFR 49 Part 40 will include hydrocodone, hydromorphone, oxymorphone, and oxycodone.

This new revision of HS Mandatory Guidelines with which the NPRM
proposed to harmonize Part 40, comes in two parts.

Part 1

Previous to this newly added regulation, the mandatory drug screening was a 5-panel urine which consisted of testing for the 5 most common street drugs.

A  5-Panel Urine Analysis consists of :

Amphetamines (Meth)
Cocaine
Marijuana
Opiates
Phencyclidine (PCP)

As of January 1st, 2018, under the new revisions of CFR 49 Part 40, a DOT drug screening will test for four semi-synthetic opioids (i.e., hydrocodone, oxycodone, hydromorphone, oxymorphone).  Some common names for these semi-synthetic opioids include OxyContin®, Percodan®, Percocet®, Vicodin®, Lortab®, Norco®, Dilaudid®, Exalgo®.

A 5-panel expanded opiates urine analysis consists of:

Amphetamines (Meth)
Cocaine
Marijuana
Opiates
Hydrocodone
Hydromorphone
Oxymorphone
Oxycodone
Phencyclidine (PCP)

What has caused this new DOT Part 40 Amendment?

Since President Donald Trumps declaration of the Opioid Crisis, America has become much more aware of the rapidly progressing problem of drug addiction.trump opioid crisisOn October 26th, 2017, President Trump directed the Department of Health and Human Services to declare the opioid crisis a public health emergency, striving to take action on this salient soar effecting the lives of American citizens today.

Opioid Addiction Statistics

A governmental account of drug overdose statistics shows that from the year 2015 to 2016 the death toll due to drug overdose rose 22 percent.

opioid statistics

This upwards trend of overdose has been on a steady incline since the year 2000 and was likely to continue until President Trump declared the opioid crisis.

opioid overdose

Knowing the disease of addiction himself through the actions of his brother, President Trump can understand the difficulties those who suffer from addiction face, making it known and urging Americans to remember the phrase “prevention not punishment”.

opioid overdose

Since the Opioid Crisis Americans have been made queenly aware of the consequences and statistics of drug abuse. How the opioid crisis has affected the American economy, the American workplace, and just America as a whole. Many now know that you don’t have to be an addict yourself to feel the effects of addiction.

Policy makers have quickly taken notice of these growing trends and decided to take swift action.

Saftey Sensitive Positions

A safety-sensitive position refers to a job in which the employee is responsible for his or her own or other people’s safety. It also refers to jobs that would be particularly dangerous if performed under the influence of drugs or alcohol. For this reason, Safety-sensitive positions are often the focus of drug and alcohol testing.

Generally, DOT regulations cover safety-sensitive transportation employers and employees. Each DOT agency (e.g. FRA, FMCSA, FTA, FAA, and PHMSA) and the USCG have specific drug and alcohol testing regulations that outline who is subject to their testing regulations.

DOT Office of Drug and Alcohol Policy and Compliance

The Director of the DOT Office of Drug and Alcohol Policy and Compliance, Patrice Kelley, has been creating government substance abuse policies for many years. Under her jurisdiction, the new amendment to CFR 49 will help serve to uphold the ODAPC mission statement. ODAPC

“Ensure that the drug and alcohol testing policies and goals of the Secretary of Transportation are developed and carried out in a consistent, efficient, and effective manner within the transportation industries for the ultimate safety and protection of the traveling public. This is accomplished through program review, compliance evaluation, and the issuance of consistent guidance material for DOT Operating Administrations (OAs) and for their regulated industries.”

Part 2

HHS Mandatory Guidelines remove
methylenedioxyethylamphetamine (MDEA) as a confirmatory test analyte from the existing drug-testing panel and add methylenedioxyamphetamine (MDA) as an initial test analyte.

What does this mean?

An analyte is by definition a substance whose chemical constituents are being identified and measured. For example, morphine is the target analyte for codeine/morphine testing.  The DOT will now focus on the MDA analyte for its testing analysis, rather than the previous MDEA. This could lead to a test confirming positive due to the difference in the initial test analyte.

Initial test analyte Initial test cutoff concentration Confirmatory test analyte Confirmatory test cutoff concentration
Marijuana metabolites 50 ng/mL THCA 1 15 ng/mL.
Cocaine metabolites 150 ng/mL Benzoylecgonine 100 ng/mL.
Opiate metabolites
Codeine/Morphine 2 2000 ng/mL Codeine 2000 ng/mL.
Morphine 2000 ng/mL.
6-Acetylmorphine 10 ng/mL 6-Acetylmorphine 10 ng/mL.
Phencyclidine 25 ng/mL Phencyclidine 25 ng/mL.
Amphetamines 3
AMP/MAMP 4 500 ng/mL Amphetamine 250 ng/mL.
Methamphetamine 5 250 ng/mL.
MDMA 6 500 ng/mL MDMA 250 ng/mL.
MDA 7 250 ng/mL.
MDEA 8 250 ng/mL

Other recognizable CFR 49 Part 40 revisions 

Creating a name change from the word opiates to opioids now expands the drug testing panel to 6 commonly abused illicit and licit drugs  (Heroin); Codeine; Morphine, Hydrocodone; Hydromorphone; Oxymorphone; and Oxycodone.

  1. The DOT added a new section reiterating that, in the DOT testing program, only urine specimens can be collected and analyzed.
  2. The DOT added language further emphasizing the existing DOT prohibition on the use of DNA testing on DOT drug-testing specimens.
  3. The final rule made minor modifications to certain section headings.
  4. The final rule moved the list of Substance Abuse Professional certification organizations from the rule text to ODAPC’s website.
  5. The final rule moved the MIS instructions from Appendix H to ODAPC’s website.
  6. Outdated compliance dates were removed and links were updated.
  7. Appendices B, C, D, and H were updated.

The revision of the drug testing panel harmonizes DOT regulations with the revised HHS Mandatory Guidelines established by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for Federal drug-testing programs for urine testing.

For any questions regarding DOT Drug Testing or DOT compliance please visit us at www.accreditedbackgroundchecks.com or call (800)221-4291.

Accredited Background Checks, Inc.

Accredited Background Checks, Inc. Launches Nationwide Background Screening Service

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ORLANDO, FLORIDA (JUNE 12, 2017)

Accredited Background Checks, Inc. is a nationwide firm based out of Winter Park, Florida that provides background screening services for companies seeking information for job applicants or current employees. In addition to employment background checks, Accredited Background Checks, Inc. also offers screenings for individuals wishing to search records pertaining to themselves.

The staff at Accredited Background Checks, Inc. has several years experience in the background screening industry and are certified by the National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS). “Our mission is to help alleviate staffing risks by providing businesses with the necessary tools to hire the right person for the job,” said James Greer, CEO, Accredited Background Checks, Inc. “We pride ourselves in providing easy-to-use, safe, secure, confidential and FCRA compliant background screening solutions.”

Whether you’re a small trucking company in rural America or a large global enterprise, Accredited Background Checks provides employment and personal background check solutions and exceptional customer service throughout the United States that supports increased efficiency.

The types of nationwide searches offered by Accredited Background Checks, Inc. can include but are not limited to:

  •     Criminal History Search (Local, State, National)
  •     Social Security Verification
  •     Professional License Verification
  •     Motor Vehicle Reports
  •     Credit Reports
  •     Sexual Offender Registry
  •     County of Residence Search
  •     Civil/Lawsuits/Bankruptcy

Accredited Background Checks, Inc. provides quality pre-employment and personal background screenings that are accurate, secure and confidential. For more information, request a background screening or become a client, please contact us at 800-441-2728 or contact us online.