The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) clearly states rules and regulations that an employer must follow when hiring and screening potential employees. Knowing this most job seekers would like to think that they have a fair shot at the job they carefully searched for and applied to but big names have placed doubt among the unemployed. Over the summer lawsuits were filed against Dollar General and BMW, the concern was that the companies misused criminal background checks in their hiring process. Now five months later Disney has shown up in the news for the same thing. While this enforcement brings peace of mind to applicants, the actions only bring stress for employers. These businesses are an example put forth, by the EEOC, that no one is exempt from following the rules.
What does this mean for you?
Organizations big and small should all take a look at their policies to ensure they are up-to-date on compliance. Provided below is a checklist for you to reference when checking your policy.
Compliance Checklist:
- Have an updated copy of the FCRA to reference.
- Know the definitions the FCRA uses.
- Provide potential employees with a clear disclosure.
- Identify self and purpose for screening.
- Make sure you have written consent from applicant.
- Do not use alternative methods for screening, i.e. Google or social media.
- Follow procedures to ensure report accuracy.
- Re-verify results.
- Perform an individual assessment before making a hiring decision
Employers taking adverse action must:
- Provide oral, written or electronic notice to applicant about the Credit Reporting Agency.
- Must include: name, address and number of the CRA that furnished the report.
- Must also include: A statement that CRA had no influence on adverse action.
- Provide notice that applicant may obtain report and dispute accuracy of report.
We hope you have found this checklist helpful. Here is a download of the checklist you can print: Compliance Checklist. Other compliance downloads are also available from Active Screening’s resource center. Remember to stay updated to make sure your company isn’t the next lawsuit in the headlines.