RELIABLE BACKGROUND SCREENING INDUSTRY NEWS AND ARTICLES

DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS: Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) – The federal law that governs background checks When employers perform employee background checks, they are subject to the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). This occurs even if the employer does not obtain a credit report, but simply purchases a criminal background check from any background screening company. The FCRA imposes specific disclosure requirements upon employers, which include: An applicant authorization for the employee background check must be obtained in a separate and distinct disclosure, whose sole purpose is the background screening authorization. It cannot be part of the employer’s general employment application. Additionally, it [...]

It appears that most Employment Lawyers and most Human Resources professionals are not paying attention to the ongoing court filings involving Whole Foods Market California, Inc. I have come to this conclusion, based upon the numerous conversations I have had with prominent Employment Lawyers and Human Resources Directors over the past several weeks. None of these dozen or more legal and HR professionals that I spoke with had any clue about the main issue being raised in this Whole Foods Class Action Lawsuit. So here is an update that hopefully will begin to place this topic on everyone’s “radar.” It’s been almost [...]

In an apparent first, the EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) and the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) on March 10, 2014, jointly issued collaborative documents to provide guidance for employers and consumers with regard to employee background checks. For those of us that are actively involved in the background screening industry, there were no startling revelations. However, if you want to read more, here is the link to the EEOC’s announcement, or if you prefer, here is the link to the FTC’s announcement. Posted by: Rudy Troisi. President, Reliable Background Screening.

On Friday, February 7, 2014, a lawsuit was filed against Whole Foods Market California, Inc., in an effort to create a class action lawsuit against this employer for violating the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). The FCRA requires that an employee background screening authorization form have the sole purpose of providing the required FCRA disclosures, and obtaining the consumer’s authorization to perform the employee background check only. It cannot have any general release of liability. Traditionally, the FTC considered language pertaining to general release of liability to be invalid, but they did not challenge the rest of the authorization for the employee [...]