esa will be closed on Monday, May 29, 2023 in observance of Memorial Day. We will resume normal business hours on Tuesday, May 30, 2023. Also, many courts, companies, and schools will be closed, which could cause a delay in results. Please feel free to contact esa directly with any questions or concerns.
Happy Memorial Day!
Sacramento, CA Delays
Starting in April of this year, the courts in Sacramento removed all identifiers (DOB, SSN, Address) from their public access terminals. When we search for court records, we search by name and then rule out a case by matching the identifiers. Since these are now removed, any names we search that come back with possible records, we now have to give to court clerks, and they manually have to search their actual case files. Below are the issues that have arisen since this change:
- Courts did not provide their staff with a process to verify identifiers. There have been additional delays while clerks have tried to create a process to provide DOBs, and we’ve seen the process change several times across multiple counties.
- Courts do not have the staff to process the requests. These courts were not used to processing requests from researchers since everything was online, and they were not prepared for the volume. Many courts were already short-staffed, and now they are incredibly overwhelmed.
- Court processes have further limited our efforts – appointments, limited number of file requests, purchase of copies – all these measures add time to the process.
- The delays we have been seeing are records from 2013-2018. Those records are not in the courthouse and have to be ordered from outside storage.
We apologize for the delay in this county but unfortunately the only way to do an accurate search is to search their court records. As of right now we do not have ETA's on these requests because this is a background search industry wide problem meaning all background check companies have to follow this procedure.
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UPDATE REGARDING TESTING DELAYS
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The Nation is currently experiencing a staffing shortage that is impacting most industries including all aspects of federal and workplace drug testing. The staffing demand, in combination with a supplies shortage, the Federal requirement for the use of the new chain-of-custody form for DOT testing, and logistical hurdles transporting specimens to labs have caused an extreme backlog at every major laboratory.
LABORATORY IMPACT
Testing
The national staffing shortage has impacted turnaround times at each step in the testing process, from the point the specimen is received at the lab to reporting out a final result. Current times for accessioning specimens can vary anywhere from 3-6 days. Laboratories are making adjustments every day to manage the ever-changing environment such as shifting employees to different departments as needed, adding second shifts, adding equipment, and over-hiring to accommodate staffing challenges. it is important to keep in mind that these issues are impacting all laboratories industry-wide.
Supplies
Effective August 30, 2021 the new federal CCF became required for DOT testing, resulting in large numbers of orders for new forms. Severe 2021 winter weather in petroleum-producing areas has also caused plastic shortages. These issues have reduced the availability of cups and forms, in addition to creating delays and partial fulfillment of orders.
IN SUMMARY
With this communication it is our hope to set realistic expectations regarding current turnaround times. We are hopeful that as more people return to the workforce, the staffing and supply chain issues plaguing our industry will be alleviated. Additionally, as the new Federal CCF circulates, the issues with the old forms should also cause less of an impact. Our laboratory partners believe they are on solid footing in implementing long-term solutions to address turnaround time delays. With all of this in mind, we ask for your patience in weathering this “perfect storm” together.
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Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19), esa's office will be closed esa staff will be working from home during this time and will process all requests as usual. If you call our mainline please leave a message and we will return your call as soon as possible. You also can email us at esa@emplscreen.com and please send any faxes to:
***NEW FAX NUMBER*** 833-363-3669.
ESA is expecting closures of courts, businesses and schools due to the Coronavirus. We will keep you informed of closures via this website as we are notified. Please expect delays in the completion of the background reports, due to closures beyond our control. We are exploring alternative options, for the short-term, and will post them, if qualified.
Please contact us if you have any further questions.
Effective immediately - You can now upload the Applicant Release Form to every report entered for processing. No more faxing or scan-copying the authorization forms necessary for data retrieval! Simply upload a Pdf copy of the authorization form right before you order the report, and the forms will be attached to all necessary components. Please let us know if you have any questions - We will be happy to walk you through your first trial run!
Thank you and please let us know if you have any questions.
Employment Screening Associates
800.706.8848
esa@emplscreen.com
www.esachecks.com
