RELIABLE BACKGROUND SCREENING INDUSTRY NEWS AND ARTICLES

All credit reports provided by the three credit bureaus underwent dramatic change two years ago (July 1, 2017). I first wrote about this in May 2017, Big Changes Coming to Credit Reports, and also in June 2017, Act Before Eviction Judgments Disappear From Credit Reports. This occurred due to a lawsuit settlement that the three credit bureaus (TransUnion, Experian and Equifax) agreed to accept. The enduring impact of this settlement is that public records reported by the three credit bureaus have been drastically diminished and altered. Civil judgments and tax liens no longer appear on any credit report. The only public records [...]

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) is the federal law that regulates consumer reports, i.e., background check reports. The FCRA has another purpose – the consumer lending protection law – but this article focuses on its regulations and their impact on background screening reports. The FCRA requires that consumer reports be obtained with proper consumer consent and for a permissible business purpose. Permissible business purposes include the following (and many more): Employee Screening Volunteer Screening Resident/Tenant Screening Franchisee Screening Membership Screening Board of Directors Screening Client Screening Employee screening is the most regulated by the FCRA, and requires different consumer disclosures and [...]

In an interesting move that leads the credit bureau industry, Equifax has made “soft pull” credit reports available for tenant screening purposes. Of the three main credit bureaus, Equifax is the only credit bureau that provides the option of a soft pull tenant screening inquiry to the end-user, i.e., to the landlord, apartment or property management company. Unlike the other two credit bureaus, that only make available soft pull tenant screening inquiries directly to the consumer, Equifax provides the option to background screening companies who re-sell their credit report, to make soft pull tenant inquiries available to the end-user (landlord, apartment, etc.). [...]

The Department of Labor (DOL), in its first meaningful revision since 1958 to its joint employer regulation, announced a proposed rule to change how joint employer status is determined going forward. This is of particular importance to the franchise industry, where franchisors strive to not be considered a joint employer. The DOL proposal has a four-factor test that evaluates whether a potential joint employer exerts control to: Hire or fire the employee Supervise and control the employee’s work schedules or conditions of employment Determine the employee’s rate and method of payment, and Maintain the employee’s employment records. Included in the DOL proposal [...]