My Report

Posts by Ryan Green

multifamily legislation
December 29, 2017

Is Your Company’s Employment Application Going to Get You Sued?

Tenant Screening Advice

There are a number of basic rights that every U.S. citizen is entitled to when they are seeking employment.  These include protection from being denied employment based on race, color, religion, gender, and national origin.  In addition to these there are gray areas such as age, familial status and sexual orientation which will likely be added with Federal protection at some point in time. What is clearly absent from these lists is language that protects citizens with criminal records from being denied employment.  The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) seeks to change this.

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multifamily legislation
December 29, 2017

Proposed Ban on Credit Scores in New Jersey Bill S1585

Tenant Screening Advice

A Significant Impact to Affordable Rental Housing
The state of New Jersey has introduced a bill that would significantly impact affordable housing across the state.  Senate, No. 1585 is seeking to establish guidelines for creditworthiness determinations concerning government subsidized housing programs.  The new restriction is intended to aide applicants who have poor credit history so their chances of receiving government assistance are improved.
Any algorithm that factors FICO and other risk models into the final decision would be prohibited.  The language contained in the proposed bill is ambiguous enough that it appears that more than just the standard FICO score would be affected.  Companies who rely upon a standardized model to assist their leasing agents in making objective decisions would be required to modify their criteria, or remove it all together.

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multifamily legislation
December 29, 2017

Employee Marijuana Use: Companies Still Have a Say

Tenant Screening Advice

Last year Colorado made national headlines for adopting a statewide policy allowing sales of marijuana to the general public without a medical necessity.  In June  2015, Colorado made headlines again setting precedence for employers who don’t condone employees having THC, the primary chemical found marijuana, in their system.
The Colorado Supreme Court ruled in favor of an employer who had terminated an employee based on medical marijuana use during non-business hours.  The case took into account both the state’s legal standing on the drug as well as the plaintiff’s medical requirements and still sided in favor of the employer. 

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cic announcements
December 29, 2017

CIC Expands the Nation’s Largest Proprietary Eviction Database

CIC Announcements

Property Management Companies, SaaS Providers, Independent Owners and Consumer Reporting Agencies can see improved eviction reporting.
CIC, the nation’s leading provider of nationwide eviction coverage to the multifamily housing industry is pleased to announce expansions to their database for property management companies, software companies, data resellers and independent owners. With three decades of industry-leading experience, CIC’s data quality is second to none and with the recently expanded coverage, clients easily prevent consequences of failing to identify high-risk applicants.
CIC provides the most comprehensive nationwide eviction coverage, and in the last few months have extracted additional county records within the states of:

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property management
December 29, 2017

Summer Care Tips for your Residents

Tenant Screening Advice

We are reaching the peak of Summer and with this season comes all of the activities associated with it. Swimming, tanning, barbequing, and heat stroke are all of what can accompany this time of year. The last one, however, is what I want to focus on today. Often time’s people don’t want to stop and think about properly taking care of themselves, but what threats can this pose to their health and by proxy – your liability for caring for residents on your property?

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property management
December 29, 2017

Fighting ID Theft – ID Theft Schemes have Become More Complex

Tenant Screening Advice

With regular media attention detailing the latest elaborate schemes of identity thieves, most Americans are familiar with the threat and need to stay protected. Suspicious emails – just delete them. Choose strong passwords and change them regularly. These practices are becoming increasingly well known to stay safe from routine, run-of-the-mill schemes. However, because of this thieves are creating more elaborate plans that go beyond the scope of what is on your radar.

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multifamily legislation
December 29, 2017

Housing Policies Challenged: Disparate Impact Supreme Court’s Ruling on 6/25/15

Tenant Screening Advice

Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs v. Inclusive Communities Project, Inc., decided by the Supreme Court last Thursday, held that lawsuits can challenge housing policies or practices based on their disparate impact. Subject to restrictions discussed below, the Court found that housing discrimination claims can be based on the discriminatory effect of a law or practice without needing to show intent to discriminate. While the Supreme Court had not yet weighed in on this question, the Court’s decision matches the nine federal courts of appeals that have considered the question, which may limit the decision’s consequences. The 5-4 decision included a majority opinion by Justice Kennedy and dissents by Justices Thomas and Alito.

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employee background checks
December 29, 2017

Could Your Dress Code for Leasing Agents be Discriminatory?

Tenant Screening Advice

Lawsuits and media attention over applicants who were discriminated against are becoming more frequent and some companies are finding themselves in hot water. There are several areas receiving more attention such as sexual orientation and lifestyle, and it may be time for your company to conduct a policy language “check-up”.
It is important to remove any personal biases that could potentially interfere with the hiring process. The popular clothing chain, Abercrombie and Fitch experienced the consequences of failing to adhere to the law.

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cic announcements
December 29, 2017

CIC Expands Criminal Jurisdiction Data

CIC Announcements

Throughout the past six months, the CIC worked to increase the number of jurisdictions available to clients in the U.S. Criminal Database Scan. These expansions to our coverage demonstrate CIC’s commitment to excellence and remaining the nation’s most trusted provider of applicant background screening.
The following jurisdictions have been added:

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property management
December 29, 2017

Fighting ID Theft – Hackers Know What Sites You Visit

Tenant Screening Advice

In the recent weeks there has been many phishing emails circulating from the FTC, Paypal and Facebook just to name a few. Such scams try to fool people into giving away names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, passwords and other personal data by sending emails that look as if they were sent from a legitimate company, especially ones we deal with on a frequent basis. This type of phishing emails normally include a link that takes them to a fake site mimicking the real company website by entering personal data which can compromise computers and be used for fraud.

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