In the last week, I’ve come across two situations that involve redaction and how it is impacting the hiring process. The first was an RFI for the State of California Department of Human Resources (CalHR) in consultation with the Office of Data and Innovation (ODI) focused on gathering information to create an anonymous hiring system. The goal is to eliminate bias in the hiring process by redacting Personally Identifiable Information (PII) from employment applications, resumes, and cover letters. The second was a blog, Employers Face Increasing Challenges Dealing With PII Redaction - Accurate, focused on the challenges of hiring companies to perform background checks because they are unable to verify information that has been redacted from court records.
Deciding what, and when, to redact is a fine line. You certainly want to protect an individual’s data privacy and security, but you don’t want it to impact the ability for other organizations to properly do their job. Extract has seen it firsthand with our property records partners. In some instances, over redaction has made it difficult for title companies to prove chain of title for home purchases.
Back to the challenge for companies during the hiring process. A 2021 court decision in California said background check companies could no longer verify certain PII for criminal defendants. Full date of birth was now considered private and no longer available in the state court index search used for background checks. Without being able to confirm a record relating to a specific candidate, employers are forced to make decisions about hiring, or not hiring, individuals without key information.
California isn’t the only state facing the challenge of balancing a person’s privacy while allowing companies to perform background checks. Michigan passed the Clean Slate Act which considers date of birth, Social Security or national identification number, driver’s license numbers, and financial account numbers as PII. See more information about the legislation in California and Michigan from the Professional Background Screening Association California & Michigan DOB Redaction Information - Professional Background Screening Association (thepbsa.org).
Michigan has given certain groups access to a person’s date of birth to verify identity without presenting a copy of written consent. The list of authorized users is maintained by the State Court Administrative Office. It sounds like employers can request relevant information directly from the job seeker as an alternative workaround.
This isn’t just affecting employers it is impacting prospective employees as well. If an employer is unable to determine if court records relate to the applicant or someone else with the same name, it may cause the applicant not to be hired.
Fairness in the hiring process should be everyone’s objective. I believe it can be done while still protecting a person’s private information. If you’re interested in learning how redaction can play a role in this process, please reach out.
About the Author: Troy Burke
With 30 years of experience providing clients with stellar service and strategic solutions for growth and development, Troy is committed to ensuring his customers receive the highest quality solution, training and support with every implementation. He frequently speaks on the topic of redaction and is actively involved with National Association of Court Management, Property Records Industry Association and several other government organizations.