ROCKVILLE September 13, 2023 — Global Investigative Services, Inc. has been selected for the 2023 Best of Rockville Award in the Background Screening category by the Rockville Award Program.
Each year, the Rockville Award Program identifies companies that we believe have achieved exceptional marketing success in their local community and business category. These are local companies that enhance the positive image of small businesses through service to their customers and our community. These exceptional companies help make the Rockville area a great place to live, work and play.
Various sources of information were gathered and analyzed to choose the winners in each category. The 2023 Rockville Award Program focuses on quality, not quantity. Winners are determined based on the information gathered both internally by the Rockville Award Program and data provided by third parties.
About the Rockville Award Program
The Rockville Award Program is an annual awards program honoring the achievements and accomplishments of local businesses throughout the Rockville area. Recognition is given to those companies that have shown the ability to use their best practices and implemented programs to generate competitive advantages and long-term value.
The Rockville Award Program was established to recognize the best local businesses in our community. Our organization works exclusively with local business owners, trade groups, professional associations, and other business advertising and marketing groups. Our mission is to recognize the small business community’s contributions to the U.S. economy.
Marc, the president and CEO of Global Investigative Services, a PBSA-accredited background screening company, explains how his company’s extensive range of background screening services can help businesses of all sizes avoid hiring problems and make confident employee decisions. Discover what Global specializes in and how its services can benefit your company.
RANDI: Hey, thanks for joining us. I’m here with Marc, who is the president and CEO of Global Investigative Services. Good to see you, Marc. I’d really love to love to hear what is it you guys do. Tell us a little bit about your company and what you do.
MARC: Sure. Global Investigative Services specializes in conducting background checks for the purpose of pre- and post-employment, as well as tenant screening and due diligence.
We are PBS accredited background screening company and have been in business for close to 30 years. We work with multiple companies in various industries, from healthcare to technology, hospitality, education, and even government agencies. These companies can be any size from a small Mom and Pop shop to large Fortune 500 companies with thousands of employees anywhere in the world.
RANDI: Can I ask you, Marc, what are one of the problems that you’re helping them solve, like, what is it they’ve got to get done and you’re coming through for them with?
MARC: Sure. We have a knowledgeable team of investigative analysts, quality assurance, and customer care, all focusing on providing six key components accuracy, timeliness, consistency, reliability, security, and professionalism.
Plus, as your back-office staff assistant, and your human resources department, with all their background screening, needs o we help our clients hire with confidence and provide the tools to streamline the background screening process. Our innovative, secure background screening platform safeguards the security, integrity, and availability of all our personal data. All their personal data submitted to the easy-to-use interface makes the background screening process enjoyable for all our clients and their applicants, and we help our clients stay compliant with state and federal laws, which helps prevent negligent hiring that could lead to potential lawsuits.
And we help our clients educate, while we educate our clients, so they understand what a background check is and what it’s not. With close to three decades of experience, you can be assured that Global Investigative Service has exceptional knowledge of the background screening industry and understands how to navigate through the background screening process.
RANDI: That’s great. And you know, you mentioned some of the products you served out. So as a client, do you offer all that to me or can I get just get one particular product or service? How does that work?
MARC: So first, we take time to understand our client’s business and what their needs are. We use that information to develop packages of various types of searches.
These searches can be criminal searches on the local statewide roll or even national level. There are sex offender searches, civil searches, identity verification, social media, credit reports, employment or education verifications, drug testing, and occupational health. The list goes on and there’s an array of searches. We even have a monitoring program for criminal driving and social media and a special program called the Background Check Clear Program.
You would need to visit our website for more information on that. Our capabilities are not just limited to the United States. We have access to information in over 250 countries and territories. And all of these searches we offer, they’re compliant with the Fair Credit Reporting Act or the FCA Title seven, the DPA, and other state and federal laws.
In addition, Global’s compliant with the US Privacy Shield Principles and the GDPR.
RANDI: Well, I tell you, it sounds like, if there’s a company anywhere, no matter where your company is or what kind of investigative, you know, you look into your employees and, you know, it’s remarkable how deep you guys go and how many different things you have to think about when you’re having employee employees or such.
It’s really something. So, Marc, why don’t you tell the folks if they’re interested in learning more or get in touch with you? What’s the next step they should take right now?
MARC: Yeah, absolutely. You can go to our website at www.gispi.com or you can give us a call at 800-589-6595 or send us an email at global@gispi.com.
RANDI: That’s great. Thanks so much, Marc. Appreciate it. Thank you, Randi.
GLOBAL INVESTIGATIVE SERVICES ACHIEVES BACKGROUND SCREENING CREDENTIALING COUNCIL RE-ACCREDITATION
RALEIGH, N.C., July 15, 2022 – The Professional Background Screening Association (PBSA®) Background Screening Credentialing Council (BSCC) announced today that GLOBAL INVESTIGATIVE SERVICES has successfully demonstrated continued compliance with the Background Screening Agency Accreditation Program (BSAAP) and is recognized as BSCC-Accredited.
Global Investigative Services 1700 Rockville Pike | Suite 230 Rockville, MD 20852
“Global’s re-accreditation confirms our commitment to uphold and deliver the highest level of industry standards. I am proud of our team and the work they do every day, assisting our clients and making sure the end result meets our standards.” – Marc Linchuck, CEO
Each year, U.S. employers, organizations and governmental agencies request millions of consumer reports to assist with critical business decisions involving background screening. Background screening reports, which are categorized as consumer reports, are currently regulated at both the federal and state level.
Since its inception, PBSA has maintained that there is a strong need for a singular, cohesive industry standard and, therefore, created the BSAAP. Governed by a strict professional standard of specified requirements and measurements, the BSAAP is becoming a widely recognized seal of achievement that brings national recognition to background screening organizations (also referred to as Consumer Reporting Agencies). This recognition will stand as the industry “seal,” representing a background screening organization’s commitment to excellence, accountability, high professional standards and continued institutional improvement.
The BSCC oversees the application process and is the governing accreditation body that validates the background screening organizations seeking accreditation meet or exceed a measurable standard of competence. To become accredited, consumer reporting agencies must pass a rigorous onsite audit, conducted by an independent auditing firm, of its policies and procedures as they relate to six critical areas: consumer protection, legal compliance, client education, product standards, service standards, and general business practices.
Any U.S.-based employment screening organization is eligible to apply for accreditation. A copy of the standard, the policies and procedures, and measurements is available at www.thepbsa.org.
About PBSA® Founded in 2003 as a not-for-profit trade association, the Professional Background Screening Association (PBSA) represents the interests of more than 900 member companies around the world that offer tenant, employment, and background screening. PBSA provides relevant programs and training aimed at empowering members to better serve clients and maintain standards of excellence in the background screening industry and presents a unified voice in the development of national, state and local regulations. For more information, visit www.thepbsa.org.
At-home test kits are becoming more prevalent after FDA authorized a few manufacturers such as CLR to start distributing them to the public.
Maryland Department of Health has started distributing these simple-to-use test kits to local health departments to make them available free of charge at designated locations.
This is good news because it means that now businesses can access these test kits and offer them to their employees to test at home and not have to go to different health facilities to get tested.
Of course, access to these tests still is limited but thanks to a rapid distribution plan Global Investigative Services now has a dedicated silo that offers these home test kits to businesses that need to have their employees perform periodic tests.
Testing continues to be one of the most important tools to keep people safe. By making these at-home test kits available through local health departments and businesses, the public will have more options and more peace of mind as we head into the holiday season.
Global Investigative Services, Inc. Announces CEO Linda Mack Is Stepping Down and COO Marc Linchuck Will Assume the Role of CEO on July 23, 2021
Rockville, MD – Global Investigative Services, Inc. (Global), a leading provider of background checks and screening services for businesses, agencies and institutions, has announced that CEO Linda Mack is retiring. Global’s COO, Marc Linchuck, will transition into the role of CEO effective immediately.
“Marc and I have been partners for over 20 years,” Mack said. “He knows every aspect of this business, and as the COO, he’s been very instrumental in ensuring our technology is top-of-the-line and that Global’s Investigative Analysts are up-to-date on the ever-changing laws and regulations that apply to our industry. Marc has big ideas for Global going forward, and I look forward to following his progress.”
Under Mack and Linchuck’s leadership, Global grew from a small business that conducted background checks via phone and fax to a cutting-edge company that designed and developed technology to better serve their global roster of clients. Through Global’s secure screening platform, clients can submit background check requests and receive their results. Global has the capacity to process thousands of requests per day.
Looking back on her 27-year career with the company, Mack is proud not only of Global’s growth but of the role she has played in the industry. “As a member of the Professional Background Screening Association, Mack recounted, “I’ve had the opportunity to testify in front of legislators and affect change within the industry. It was an honor to be recognized by my peers in 2018 for my work on the Government Relations Committee and Access and Accuracy Sub-committee.”
Looking to the future, Mack hopes that Global’s Background Check Clear Program badge becomes as widely used and recognized as the Better Business Bureau (BBB) badge. “To speak to consumer confidence in the same way as the BBB would be thrilling,” Mack stated. “I want people everywhere to feel secure knowing the company they work for or with takes safety seriously.”
About Global Investigative Services, Inc.
Global Investigative Services, Inc. was founded in 1993 to provide background checks to employers in the Washington, DC metro area. It has since grown to serve clients around the world and earned a reputation for accuracy, integrity and seamless partnerships. Global is an accredited member of the Professional Background Screening Association and fully compliant with the FCRA, Privacy Shield and GDPR. To learn more, please visit www.gispi.com or email global@gispi.com.
Congratulations to Linda Mack, the National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS) Volunteer of the Month.
Linda Mack, President, Global Investigative Services Inc., has been selected as the June 2018 NAPBS Volunteer of the Month. Linda is a member of the Government Relations Committee and Access and Accuracy Sub-committee, and consistently and regularly volunteers to testify when legislative issues arise in the DC area, recently for the DC Fair Chance Act.
New York City and Use of Salary History by Employers
Effective November 1, 2017 and per City Administration Code §8-107 (www.amlegal.com/codes/client/new-york-city_ny/), an employee or its “agent” cannot inquire about salary history. If applicant “voluntarily” and “without prompting” discloses past salary, the employer can verify it.
Oregon and Use of Salary History by Employers
Salary History H.B. 2005 and effective October 6, 2017, is a simple part of a larger Equal Pay Law now located at ORS §652.210 but has not yet been codified. See (https://olis.leg.state.or.us/liz/2017R1/Measures/list/)
Vermont Ban-the-Box
Effective July 1, 2017 per VSA495 (http://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/21/005/00495j), an employer may not request criminal history record information on its initial employee application form. However, an employer may inquire about a prospective employee’s criminal history record during an interview or once the prospective employee has been deemed otherwise qualified for the position.
Puerto Rico and Use of Salary History by Employers
Per the Equal Pay Act or “Act 16”, effective March 8, 2017, an employer cannot inquire about past salary information of any applicant, unless applicant truly volunteered the information. An employer can confirm past salary after offer of employment.