Covid-19: Trends, Guidance, and Support

Sterling is dedicated to helping our clients continue to manage policies and decision-making around Covid-19.

Stability and Reliability

Sterling proudly serves the diverse needs of more than 50,000 clients, including more than 60% of the Fortune 100. For 45+ years, our clients have relied on us for customized screening and identity solutions. Today, our clients also depend on us for Covid-19 services so that they may continue building and maintaining a foundation of trust and safety in the workplace.
Incorporate the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) guidance on Covid-19 testing and vaccination tracking into your workplace safety program.
Don’t sacrifice safety for speed. Sterling closes 70% of criminal searches in one hour and 90% in one day, and throughout the pandemic maintained a fulfillment rate of over 98%.
Whether in-person or hybrid, Sterling offers a range of services to meet your organization’s specific needs.
Innovate your identity verification and background screening approach to accommodate a remote-first strategy. We can design a program for your unique and specific needs.
Maintain and protect your organization with Sterling’s contingent workforce screening. The shift to hiring contract workers, vendors, and consultants has become standard practice.
Partner with Sterling to help ease the current labor shortage challenge. Find and attract the right talent so you can build the workforce you need.
In today’s remote-first world, it’s more important than ever to verify candidate identity as a first step in the hiring process.

Covid-19 Vaccine

Sterling offers flexible, centralized Covid-19 Vaccine offerings that provide a simple and convenient way to help manage and track vaccine status. We provide broad coverage that promotes workplace safety and we customize programs to fit unique and evolving business needs.

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Covid-19 Health Testing

Many companies are still incorporating Covid-19 health testing into their policies and programs as they continue to establish best practices to protect employees, customers, and the community.
Depending on where your employees are physically working, traveling for the job, or any variety of factors, you may wish to test your employees for Covid-19. Sterling offers Covid-19 health testing services with broad program solutions including PCR and Antigen Testing, Antibody Testing, and On-Site Testing.
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Frequently Asked Questions

Since the Covid-19 pandemic began, we’ve worked with many organizations around the world, serving as a trusted partner in answering their pandemic-related questions:
Throughout the pandemic, our combined investment in technology and our extensive network built over the years enabled us to continue fulfilling background screenings in over 98% of US jurisdictions despite frequent court closures. At Sterling, we are “all hands on deck” to get new employees onboarded with timely, high-quality screenings. Today, we are seeing few if any delays as a result of the pandemic. If this situation were to change, we believe that we would still be able to operate at the high fulfillment rate at which we’ve been operating throughout the pandemic, and we would communicate any potential delays with you.
Many companies are still setting guidelines on whether or not they will require their employees to get vaccinated and are implementing vaccination status tracking programs. In lieu of vaccination requirements, some companies are requiring frequent Covid tests. Learn more about our Covid-19 testing program and vaccine documentation collection program.

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 registration network is kept as up to date as possible.

Sterling is working diligently with our partners to maintain the continuity of our drug and health services. We monitor changes closely and keep our teams informed of any changes to services so that we can respond proactively to ensure a seamless experience for you and your employees.

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. The authorized representative doesn’t have to be an employee in your office. However, employers remain liable for any violations in connection with the form or the verification process. Sterling offers flexible and reliable options to help with the completion of your Form I-9s, including Section 2 verification by either our Verifier or Notary Network. To learn more about Sterling’s I-9 services, please contact your Sterling representative.
During the pandemic, we have been grateful to have our partnership with Sterling as we feel that our background check program has had almost no disruption due to the number of Sterling electronic integrations. We feel fortunate that we moved to Sterling prior to the pandemic.”
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.”

Mary Hassler

Siemens Flex-Force Program
Program Manager
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.”

Anne Wignall

Kum & Go
Director of Talent Acquisition
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.”

Ryan Buckman

RaceTrac
Associate Manager of Talent Acquisition
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.”

Jon Davidson

Ascendo Resources
Partner
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.”

Tamara Henry

Axelon Services Corporation
Recruiting Coordinator
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!”

Anuj Singh

LanceSoft, Inc.
Lead HR Onboarding
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.”

Melanie Piexotto

C&S Wholesale Grocers
Director of Talent Acquisition
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.”

Craig Larson

The Fresh Market
Director, Talent Acquisition
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.”

Carey McElroy

Kimberly-Clark
Talent Acquisition Manager-North America

Partners

Sterling’s partner community remains committed to providing industry–leading guidance, delivering new solutions and special promotions, and strengthening our customer and local communities.

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We’re Here to Help

Sterling remains a trusted source for all screening needs. Have questions or want to talk through challenges and potential solutions? We’re here for you. Click the option that best describes you.

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