Do you use background checks as part of your hiring or ongoing employment process?
The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection, with very little advanced notice, has issued a revised model of the Summary of Rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).
You should begin using this new notice effective September 21, 2018. The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection has provided a model Summary of Rights that includes the new language. Update your notice now avoid risks associated with non-compliance.
The risk for a lawsuit is real. In the past three years there have been heightened class action suits against employers who are not properly supplying this notice.
Here’s how you can stay compliant:
Provide the Summary of Rights as a separate, standalone document. It cannot be embedded within your disclosures and authorization notice. Ideally it should be presented as a document they can print, download or take with them (if using a paper application).
Provide the Summary of Rights to any individual (applicant or employee) during the adverse action notification process.
Go the extra step and review your application and background check forms and notices while considering these questions:
Does your application comply with federal and local/state law regulations? For example, some states have issued ban-the-box and no salary history rules.
Does your background check process include all the current disclosures and authorizations as required by the FCRA and state/local laws? There are several states that require additional disclosures.
What is your pre-adverse action and adverse action process? Adverse action occurs when an employer makes an adverse employment decision based on information obtained from a background check. A background check may include employment history, education, criminal records, credit history, motor vehicle and license record checks.
Your background check screening vendor can assist you with ensuring your process contains the updated notices, however, they will not automatically update it for you. Taking steps now to ensure compliance reduces your risk for costly and time consume employment law claims.
Amanda Gleason is a Human Resources Compliance Consultant at People First HR, LLC. Connect with her to learn how she can help you build compliant and effective programs that support and grow your organization and its people.