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Obligations of Users and Vendors
The Federal Trade Commission oversees the administration of the Fair Credit
Reporting Act as Amended (FCRA). Each and every report that you purchase
about a consumer for employment purposes is now defined as a Consumer Report
and is covered -- NOT just credit reports.
Any person or organization who sells consumer reports for any kind of consideration
is a Consumer Reporting Agency (CRA). We are, and we have stringent rules to
abide by. We scrupulously follow the FCRA. You should familiarize
yourself with the actual law
. We will be happy to send you a FREE copy of our FCRA packet
with forms. Just call us at (800) 456-1811 and ask us to send you one.
In particular, you need to know that we only sell "freshly retrieved"
records. We have been a "freshly retrieved" and not a "stored data"
firm since our company was founded 18 years ago. That means that we, or
one of our agents, personally go to the courthouse and retrieve the records as of
that day. No information is ever stale.
The FTC issued their opinion letter on 5/5/99 that "an employment screening
service that uses 'stored data' does not comply with Section 613 Subsection (2)".
We requested that opinion from the FTC so that they would clarify their position.
We want our clients and potential clients to know that the stored data that the competition is
providing is in violation of the law. See the FCRA
LETTER.
When information from a Consumer Reporting Agency (CRA) is used for employment purposes,
the User has specific obligations which are set forth in Section 604 of the Fair Credit
Reporting Act, as amended.
THE USER:
1. Must have a "Permissible Purpose" as required and certify that purpose
to the CRA. Section 604(a).
2. Cannot request or obtain a consumer report for employment purposes before a
clear and conspicuous Disclosure has been made in writing to the consumer that a consumer
report may be obtained for employment purposes. The document must contain only the
Disclosure statement and cannot be added as a disclaimer to an employment application. Section 604(b)(2)(A).
3. Must obtain from the consumer the authorization in writing ( a Release) to
procure a consumer report(s). Section 604(b)(2)(B). The authorization or
release cannot be added as a disclaimer to an employment application. The standard
Integrity Center Release of Liability should be used for this purpose.
4. Must certify to the CRA (electronically, or in writing), through a general or
specific certification, that they have a permissible purpose to procure a consumer report(s)
and that it is to be used for the intended purposes only. Section 604(f).
5. Must notify consumers when an "Adverse Action" is taken.
Generally, an adverse action includes all business, credit, and employment actions
affecting consumers that can be considered to have a negative impact. Section 604(b)(3), and Section 615(a).
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