Perhaps it went a little unnoticed by many, but let’s take just a moment now to acknowledge that the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)—the nation’s first consumer financial privacy statute—recently celebrated its 50th anniversary. The FCRA was designed to regulate the practices of consumer reporting agencies (CRAs) that collect and process information into reports used by businesses to make informed financial or employment decisions about consumers. Since 1970, the law has been an immense benefit to consumers, and will continue to ensure covered entities honor their legal obligations. Likewise, it will also require ongoing review to address the evolving economic landscape.

There have been many additional developments to the FCRA over the years, but three important features are as applicable today as they were decades ago during its introduction:

• The law was constructed to regulate the efficiency of the nation’s consumer credit reporting organizations, drastically reducing the amount of time it took credit applications to be reviewed and processed.
• The FCRA included legislation specifically designed to improve accuracy and integrity of information presented in consumer reports.
• And third, it set important—and evolving—provisions to minimize risk of misuse by specifically limiting private consumer information access to only those with a legitimate, permissible purpose to access it.
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A Friendly Reminder about FCRA Requirements

As you’re well aware, when an employer uses a third party (like A-Check) to conduct background checks, there are FCRA compliance requirements that must be followed. Because we’re committed to compliant business practice, we keep a close eye on our own efforts while processing your requests—and are equally committed to our clients’ compliance throughout their employment programs. For your convenience, here’s a very quick checklist of key requirements to keep handy:

• Ensure there is a permissible purpose for performing a background check on an applicant/employee, based on their role and responsibilities.
• Provide clear written notice in a stand-alone document to the applicant/employee that a background check will be conducted, and the resulting information will be used to make an employment decision.
• Obtain the applicant/employee’s written consent to perform a background check and/or investigative report.
• If the background check information results in an adverse action decision, a notice of pre-adverse action, along with a copy of the background check results and a copy of the Summary of Your Rights Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, must be presented to the individual.
• Allow the individual at least five business days to dispute the information in the background check.
• Upon a final decision, and if adverse action is taken, provide the individual with a final notice of adverse action.

We’re focused on helping you remain compliant, and we always welcome your questions.