CERTIFIED EMPLOYMENT SCREENING, INC.

Dear CERTIFIED Customer:

This is an overview and is provided as a guide to our customers.  It is not intended as legal advice.  This addresses the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) as it applies to employment, promotion or retention purposes.  For additional requirements other than employment purposes, please refer to the Act.

For a full copy of the FCRA, visit www.ftc.gov

The revisions to the FCRA went into effect Tuesday, September 30, 1997. This is to educate you on what the new requirements are. The fact that the FCRA is a legal document in itself opens it up for interpretation, but there are so many opinions about how the act impacts background checks that people are still uncertain what the one correct interpretation is. We all need to be in compliance to the best of our understanding. Here is a basic summary of the new requirements.

Before ordering any information for employment purposes you must:

a)     Disclose that a report will be ordered, on a document that consists solely of this disclosure. (The Consumer Reports Notification). {604 (b)(2)(A)}. The applicant takes this home; its purpose is to create awareness on their part that your company will be generating one or more consumer reports on them as prospective employees.

b)     You must obtain written consent from the applicant. (Applicant Release / Order Form). The release form is retained for two years or as required by law at your place of business.

Before you take adverse action based in whole or in part on the information you receive from us, you must:

a)     Notify the applicant of the adverse action, orally, in writing or electronically. Advise them of the consumer-reporting agency that provided the adverse information.
(Adverse Action Letter)

b)     Provide a copy of the applicable report to the applicant.

c)     Advise the applicant of their rights in writing. (Summary of Rights under FCRA)

You must certify that you will comply with the Fair Credit Reporting Act.  Complete the Customer Certification form and fax to: 800.769-7616. 

Your own legal counsel should be consulted to provide additional guidance.

Call CERTIFIED for general procedure, we will do our best to answer any questions.  All FCRA documents are located in the CES Pre-Screening software for convenience to print as needed.

800.769-7615