Quarterly Compliance Update, Q3 2019

Quarterly Compliance Updates | August 15, 2019

This compliance update includes marijuana legislation statistics and key takeaways from the United States General Accounting Office report.

Each quarter, PlusOne Solutions provides a compliance update to keep you abreast of changes and updates in legal developments as well as company news. This information is provided for education only and does not constitute legal advice.

Some Updated Stats in the Time of Marijuana Legalization

Quest Diagnostics is a leading drug testing company and our largest collection site partner. In their recent report, “The new age of marijuana”, come details of how marijuana is changing our world as it continues to shape our workplace policies and perspectives on drug use. For reference, Marijuana is dried flowers and leaves of the Cannabis Sativa plant and contains the psychoactive chemical delta- 9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).

Some notable stats from the report are:

Drug potency is increasing – in 1992, the average concentration of THC in marijuana was 3.8% and this rose to 12.2% in 2014.
Ingestion of the drug is available in more forms than ever – smoking, e-cigarettes, and edibles – syrups, chocolate bars, lollipops, and other forms – making it more accessible.
33 states (and DC, Guam, PR, and USVI) have passed medical marijuana legislation, 10 (and DC) have legalized recreational use of marijuana in the US and all of Canada has legalized marijuana (though drug screening is still limited).
Marijuana remains a federally prohibited Schedule I substance under the Controlled Substances Act.
Marijuana positivity increased by nearly 8% in the general U.S. workforce and by almost 5% in the safety-sensitive workforce.

Drug testing can help to improve employee morale and productivity while decreasing absenteeism, accidents, downtime, turnover, and theft and is an important component in many compliance programs. PlusOne Solutions is continuing to watch the evolution of this issue closely and the impact it may have on Customer programs.

United States General Accounting Office (GAO) Report – July 2019

After a year-long study, GAO submitted its report to the US Congress and its two main findings were the need for clear guidelines around reasonable procedures to ensure maximum possible accuracy and investigations of consumer disputes. These are current areas of focus for the enforcement actions of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), who regulate our industry as it relates to background screening. This report by the GAO also sets the stage for possible changes to the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), which has not seen updates since it was published 50 years ago.

PlusOne Solutions has long had a unique and thorough approach to ensuring the accuracy of information not only in the consumer reports we complete but also in the identifiers that are used when conducting searches. By taking extra steps to compare data, balancing technology and manual review of records and using all sources of information available to us, we believe we exceed any bar set for reasonable procedures to ensure maximum possible accuracy. Our consumer dispute occurrence is extremely low and is owed to the accuracy steps noted above, as well as to the consumer-friendly dispute and appeal process that is followed.

The FCRA is neither a clear, nor helpful, statute so we look forward to any direction.

Contents are provided for information purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice. Users are reminded to seek legal counsel concerning their obligations and use of PlusOne Solutions services.

About PlusOne Solutions

PlusOne Solutions has been an industry leader in the risk management field by specializing in compliance programs that meet the complex challenges of geographically dispersed contractors, vendors, and employee networks. PlusOne Solutions protects companies from possible financial, legal, and reputational risks associated with contractor and vendor relationships while creating safer work environments. To learn more, visit https://plusonesolutio.wpengine.com.

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Quarterly Compliance Update, Q3 2019

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