Tag: FTC

Where do I need to be careful? Pre/Post Adverse Action In past articles, we discussed Permissible Purpose and the Disclosure and Authorization. This article assumes you have a permissible purpose, have obtained a compliant Disclosure and Authorization, have ordered and received the information, and said to yourself “uh-oh” after looking at it. If you review […]

Several months ago, we wrote about the challenges we face when reporting court information to you and we briefly mentioned that VICTIG used a service called NameGrades™. We were asked to provide more detail. First, we’ll review the issue NameGrades™ addresses. As you know, when you order a criminal record, VICTIG goes to the appropriate […]

In the last article we discussed the disclosure to the applicant. You must disclose to your applicant that you are going to obtain their consumer report and that you will use this information as a factor in deciding whether you will employ them. You can’t, however, stop there. You must obtain written authorization prior to […]

We’d like to take a moment to reiterate something you shouldn’t do when screening applicants. Don’t encumber your disclosure document with extraneous information. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has written in their guidance for employers: Tell the applicant or employee that you might use information in their consumer report for decisions related to their employment. […]

The FTC recommends that employers keep the background checks disclosures and requests for authorization simple. Simple has become synonymous with compliance, according to recent statements issues by the FTC: “Keep it simple. It’s not just a good idea. It’s the law.” Cover Your Bases. It’s Easier Than You Think Simple also means easy. In fact, […]

In order to maintain compliance with the Fair Credit Reporting Act, companies must make certain that the proper disclosures are made to prospective employees before running background and credit screening. Employers must include disclosures that both inform them of their rights and acquire their authorization The FCRA classifies background and credit screening reports as “consumer […]

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) was passed in 1970 in order to regulate the use of personal information among employers, insurers, and lending agencies and to protect consumers from abuse. The FCRA spells out consumer rights and penalizes agencies found to be in noncompliance with the regulations. The following is a guide for consumers […]