Covid-19 Updates and Support
Sterling is committed to helping our clients navigate the Covid-19 pandemic. We can get your employees onboarded with fast, accurate screenings suited to your unique scenario to help you emerge from this crisis with strength and resilience.
Return-to-Work Recommendations
For 45 years, Sterling has helped more than 30,000 global customers create customized screening solutions. Now, more than ever, we look forward to helping you find the right solution for your business as we enter this new phase of the pandemic.


Resources
- Flexible, End-to-End Covid-19 Health Testing Program Built for Employers
- Video: Return To the Workplace: 4 Key Considerations
- Video: EEOC Covid-19 Testing Guidance For Return to Work
- 4 Tips for Return-to-Work Planning in Financial Services
- EEOC Covid-19 Testing Guidance for Return to Work
- Return-to-Workplace Compliance: 4 Key Legal and Regulatory Considerations to Reopen and Stay Open
- Drug Testing in Healthcare: From Pain Point to Competitive Advantage
- Covid-19 Impact on Nursing and the Nurse Licensure Compact
- Shifting to a New Normal: Q&A with President of Staffing Industry Analysts


Resources
- Flexible, End-to-End Covid-19 Health Testing Program Built for Employers
- The Need for Criminal History Rescreening When Bringing Back Workers
- 4 Tips for Return-to-Work Planning in Financial Services
- Reinvention and the Road Ahead: Healthcare Hiring
- Your Top 8 Questions on Form I-9 Remote Hiring Answered
- Employee Burnout vs. Great Company Culture: Tips for the Tech Industry
- 10 Tips for Creating a Flexible Workplace


Resources
- Flexible, End-to-End Covid-19 Health Testing Program Built for Employers
- The Need for Criminal History Rescreening When Bringing Back Workers
- Sterling Poll Data Reveals Challenges of Screening During Covid-19
- 4 Tips for Return-to-Work Planning in Financial Services
- Resilience and Remedies: Healthcare Hiring and Covid-19
- Covid-19 Impact on Nursing & the Nurse Licensure Compact


Resources
- Flexible, End-to-End Covid-19 Health Testing Program Built for Employers
- Covid-19 Forces Us to Rethink Everything, Starting with Identity Verification
- New York Leads in Covid-19 Problems and Solutions
- Resilience and Remedies: Healthcare Hiring and Covid-19
- Top 6 Tech Industry Tips: Creating a Culture of Online Safety and Trust
- Your Top 8 Questions on Form I-9 Remote Hiring Answered
- Tips for Onboarding Remote New Hires
- 10 Tips for Creating a Flexible Workplace
- 5 Tips to Hire & Recruit Millennials in Tech
Covid-19 Health Testing
This is a stressful time for companies as they define return-to-work best practices to protect employees, customers, and the community.
Sterling is excited to introduce our new Covid-19 health testing services to help you bring safety to your workplace in the Covid-19 era. Broad program solutions include Active Virus Testing, Antibody Testing, and On-Site Testing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Our combined investment in technology and our extensive network built over the years enables us to continue fulfilling background screenings in over 99% of US jurisdictions despite ongoing court closures. Now more than ever, getting people back to work is critical. At Sterling, we are “all hands on deck” to get new employees onboarded with timely, high-quality screenings that gets them back into the workforce quickly and safely. through our technology. Even as we continue fulfilling background screening in over 99% of US jurisdictions, some delays may occur. In case a criminal record search cannot be completed due to a local court closure, Sterling will close the search and indicate that it cannot be performed at this time. Sterling clients can also visit the Covid-19 support site for service-related updates
Sterling continues to offer drug and health screening services through our key partners LabCorp, Quest, and eScreen. We use a combination of daily feeds (Quest and LabCorp) and a direct integration (eScreen) to ensure our collection site database is kept as up to date as possible. With our electronic ordering and online registration, we can scale new programs quickly and efficiently. Sterling is working diligently with our partners to maintain the continuity of our drug and health services. We are monitoring changes closely and taking measures to keep our teams informed of any material changes to services. We actively maintain a current list of clinic availability in our systems. As we are made aware of collection site / clinic closures, we update our systems and proactively contact candidates. Please note that as the Covid-19 landscape changes rapidly, publishing a current clinic list is not possible. We advise all candidates to call ahead of their service to ensure the site is open and operating.
Yes. Employers may still rely on using authorized representatives to act on their behalf to conduct an in-person review with your employee to physically inspect work eligibility documents and complete Section 2. An authorized representative may be any person. However, employers remain liable for any violations in connection with the form or the verification process. Sterling offers flexible options for both onsite and remote completion. To learn more about Sterling’s I-9 services, please contact your Sterling representative.
For Form I-9 processing, the Department of Homeland Security has extended the ability for employers operating fully remotely to review an employee’s identity and key documents via video link, fax, or email through July 19. While inspection is still required, this provides needed flexibility when many new employees are getting back to work without a traditional in-person HR interaction. Read the full announcement here. In a recent blog, we addressed top questions related to remote hiring and Form I-9. We also clarified several compliance-related concerns for remote workers in another blog.
If an education and employer verification cannot be completed through automation and we know the entity is temporarily closed, Sterling will either attempt to contact the candidate to provide the required information, or close the search and indicate that it cannot be performed at this time. If the client workflow allows, Sterling will reach out to the candidate directly, via email, over the course of two days, to obtain proof or documentation. Examples of types of proof of employment Sterling will request are W2s, paystub, 1099, etc. Once documentation is received, Sterling does not validate the documentation with the entity.

Siemens’ essential businesses have been critical in keeping America’s vital services and critical infrastructure up and running during the Covid-19 pandemic. In locations where we do not have trained personnel onsite, we have engaged two staffing agencies, along with Sterling for background checks, to hire hundreds of medical professionals to assist in temperature screenings at many of our manufacturing facilities.”

Sterling is a fantastic vendor and valued partner. A perfect example of the partnership is the proactive communication and responsiveness they have shown during the Covid-19 issue. We really appreciate how quickly they have monitored and reacted to the situation, providing solutions that work for our business.”

I recommend Sterling for background screening because they are trustworthy, compliant, and their client services are exceptional. The electronic process and automation make screening easier and quicker. Sterling has helped us tremendously with our screening process as we continue to hire and serve our communities during these difficult times.”

Sterling is the perfect combination of speed, accuracy, and client service and their industry expertise is unmatched. Once Sterling got involved in our hiring program, we went from standard to a truly professional and superior service. The compliance and client success teams are exceptional and they are always helpful, making sure that we are promptly listened and responded to, remarkably during the coronavirus pandemic. Sterling gets my highest recommendation.”

Sterling has been going above and beyond our expectations, particularly with the recent events regarding Covid-19. They reach out to candidates directly to verify information and answering inquiries in a timely manner and we have been consistently happy with their willingness to engage with us regardless of the needs that arise.”

We are extremely happy with Sterling’s service in this pandemic situation. There hasn’t been disruption in services from Sterling. Our background checks are initiated in a timely manner, and whenever under Sterling’s control, the checks have been completed with timeliness too. We would like to give a shout-out to our Sterling Client Success Partner, who has always gone above and beyond to deliver results. Sterling is our first choice for background screening and identity services. Thank you, Sterling, keep up the great work!”

Having Sterling as our exclusive background screening partner during this unprecedented time has proven we made the right choice. Sterling’s automated technology has enabled us to conduct business as usual, and the client success team has been extremely helpful and quick to respond, allowing us to rapidly onboard new hires and continue to serve our communities in these uncertain times.”

Since we partnered with Sterling on our background check program in 2017, we have seen a dramatic decrease of 53% in average fulfillment turnaround time as a result of their proprietary technology and automation. Despite court closures due to the Covid-19 pandemic, we continued seeing our orders fulfilled in less than one business day on average. We appreciate the customized reports Sterling provides regarding Covid-19 impacted searches, as well as its proactive communication, collaborative consultative engagement, and ongoing commitment to quality during a time when the health and safety of our community is top priority.”

With Covid-19, we had to quickly transition to new background screening processes without compromising turnaround times or accuracy. Sterling helped identify and execute a new way for Kimberly-Clark to confirm the case-by-case need for a statewide search in those limited instances where local court records could not be accessed.”
We’re Here to Help
Please use the information below to contact our team, or learn about regional platform updates.
Sterling has a business continuity plan (BCP) for a pandemic scenario. As we continue to monitor the situation, we are taking all necessary steps as outlined in our BCP to refine our plans location by location.
General Inquiries | |
USA | 800 899 2272 |
Canada | 866 881 2011 |
SterlingNOW | |
support@sterlingnow.io | |
Help chat at sterlingcheck.com/sterlingnow |
SterlingONE |
Client Log-In |
877 982 9888 |
+1 425 559 6504 |
ScreeningDirect |
Client Log-In |
888 889 5248 |
+1 646 829 3382 |

General Inquiries | |
Canada | 866 881 2011 |
USA | 800 899 2272 |
SterlingONE |
Client Log-In |
877 982 9888 |
+1 425 559 6504 |
Backcheck 2.0 (English) | |
Client Log-In | |
866 455 7293 |
ScreeningDirect |
Client Log-In |
888 889 5248 |
+1 646 829 3382 |
Backcheck 2.0 (French) | |
Client Log-In | |
866 455 7293 |
myBackCheck |
Client Log-In |

General Inquiries | |
Europe | +44 0 1792 478838 |
Backcheck 2.0 (EMEA) | |
Client Log-In | |
+44 (0) 1792 478838 |
Backcheck 2.0 (French) | |
Client Log-In | |
888 889 5248 | |
+1 646 829 3382 |

Risq | |
Client Log-In | |
Australia | +612 9392 8888 |
Singapore | +65 6352 7390 |
Hong Kong | +852 2525 2331 |
Malaysia | +603 5630 1125 |
Philippines | +63 (02) 7795 9229 |
Beijing | +86 4006 516 177 |
Shanghai | +86 4006 516 177 |
Taiyuan | +86 4006 516 177 |
ScreeningDirect |
Client Log-In |
+1 888 889 5248 |
+1 646 829 3382 |

Partners
As we face unprecedented challenges around the evolving Covid-19 situation, Sterling’s partner community remains committed to providing industry–leading guidance, delivering new solutions and special promotions, and strengthening our customer and local communities.
See what our partners are doing to help.





