Fair Credit Reporting Act Requires Amended Notice

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) governs virtually all pre-employment background checks of applicants done for employers by third parties. The FCRA is complete with a complicated sequence of mandatory notices and consents by and between the potential employer, the applicant, and the "consumer reporting agency" — a title given to the third-party vendor performing the background check. Any failure to comply with each step of the detailed requirements of the FCRA can result in litigation and penalty; usually involving a class of affected applicants. It is important, therefore, that those employers utilizing background checks by consumer reporting agencies, and the agencies themselves, should take steps to ensure that the process and the forms are compliant with the law.