PBSA

JAN/FEB 2025 2025: The Year of Global Opportunity and Collaboration By Susie Thomson, Secretary/Treasurer T o be elected PBSA Secretary/ Treasurer was, for me, one of those unforgettable life moments, and a stand-out highlight of my 2024. The first European to be elected in the role is not only a huge responsibility and privilege but also demonstrates the Association's increasing presence on the international stage as it continues to drive our strategic goal to grow global PBSA membership, increase our value proposition outside of US, and position PBSA as a global brand in the mind of stakeholders worldwide. PBSA has made huge strides in expanding our global membership footprint. If you attended any one of our five annual 2024 Conferences in US, APAC, Europe and Canada, you could not fail to recognise the many nationalities within our international community of member companies who were networking, collaborating, and creating broader alliances and trading opportunities to the benefit of all. That is set to continue in 2025 with an exciting programme of international Conferences planned where the globalisation conversation continues to sit front row. We recognise there is still much work to do to grow PBSA awareness, particularly outside of US, and in doing so generate opportunity for all. In the UK, for example, PBSA may be known to a high percentage of established background screening companies, but still has a large addressable market to educate, a key objective for our Europe Council in their targeted outreach efforts. Equally customers/end users in Europe are mostly uninformed about the benefits of contracting with a PBSA member and its value proposition. We plan to change that in 2025. This year again promises to be a year of opportunity for our industry. A notable 2024 success was the launch and game changing impact of PBSA General Accreditation, with 17 PBSA member companies achieving General Accreditation as a market differentiator. With more new entrants in industry, the timing of the launch was perfect, a call out to raise industry standards and PBSA awareness for buyers seeking professional background checking services. Together with increased PBSA global marketing initiatives and the efforts of our in-country IN THIS ISSUE The Year of Global Opportunity and Collaboration 1 Fast Start on the U.S. Legislative Front 5 Better Know a Provider - United States 7 Policy for CRAs: Compliance Across Political Divides 10 Navigating Complexities in Pre-employment Screening in the U.S. 13 How Background Checks Reveal the Unseen Truths 16 PBSA Accredited Companies 19 Mission, Comments and Article Submission 21 Except where otherwise indicated, articles are copyright © by PBSA 2025. All rights reserved. JOURNAL Continued on page 3 PAGE 1 PBSA has made huge strides in expanding our global membership footprint. If you attended any one of our five annual 2024 Conferences in US, APAC, Europe and Canada, you could not fail to recognise the many nationalities.

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