FCRA Background Check

How FCRA Background Checks and Investigative Consumer Reports Benefit an Employer

FCRA background checks are routinely done on new employees at larger corporations, or in any business where the worker will be handling money.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) is a federal law that is in place to protect consumers. It requires that the top three credit bureaus, Equifax, TransUnion and Experian report the facts about your credit history, and that your credit report does not contain any erroneous, or out-of-date information. Your information must be updated, and credit bureaus must immediately remove any false information they have from their databases.

Second, the Fair Credit Reporting Act is in place to stop creditors and collection agencies from using deceptive practice to contact you. They may not contact your neighbors, family or friends, informing them that you owe them money, and they are limited to the time they can contact you during the day. Credit bureaus and other creditors can be heavily fined if they abuse an FCRA background check.

Employers can also ask for an FCRA background check before hiring a new employee. They normally do this if the employee will be required to handle a lot of money. There is a feeling among many companies that if an employee has major financial problems, it may eventually lead to theft, or it may affect the worker's productivity. Checking an applicant's background also creates a friendly and safe working environment for all employees, and it's not discriminatory, if it is carried out in a fair manner with other employees in the same position.

On the other hand, a friend, or neighbor many not request an FCRA background check on you out of curiosity.

How FCRA Background Checks are Performed

When an employer wants to run an FCRA background check, they are actually getting a consumer report, or an investigative consumer report.

Here are some of the issues that are covered in these reports:

Credit Check - Does the applicant have bad credit? Has the applicant ever filed for bankruptcy? Are many creditors actively trying to pursue the applicant right now? These are questions that the employer might want to know.

Criminal records - Every employer wants to know if the person they are hiring is honest and hard working. They also want to know if the person has ever been arrested, or incarcerated. FCRA background checks can show if a person has been convicted of a crime, and it's not important if it was 30 years ago. These records are indefinite. However, if the applicant was only arrested, this information can only be obtained if the arrest happened less than seven years ago.

Driving Records - If the employer requires that the applicant uses a company vehicle, or the applicant needs to use their own vehicle for job related work, they could request driving records.

Education Records - The employer will probably ask for transcripts from the universities listed on the application. Education records are falsified on a daily basis. It's necessary for the employer to request for certified transcripts directly from the university. FCRA background check guidelines state that a job applicant must provide authorization for a company to request these documents.

Medical History - For certain jobs, it's required that the applicant have a clean bill of health. In this case, an FCRA background check will require that the job applicant provide records for this.

Previous Employment - One good way for an employer to know if you are a good worker, is to ask your previous employers. Companies will usually provide accurate information to any other company that requests it if they have a signature from the former employee stating that they authorize them to release the information.
 
Professional Licenses - Certain jobs such as doctors, lawyers, and insurance agents, require that the person have a professional license. Each state has licensing requirements, and issue licenses for many professions.

References - Another vital part of an FCRA background check is to contact people, who know the applicant. They want to know about the potential employee's character. It's possible that relatives, neighbors, church officials and others can vouch for the applicant.

In closing, FCRA background checks are necessary for most employers. As long as they are carried out legally, an honest employee should have nothing to fear.

TalentWise - TalentWise makes it easy for businesses of any size to run FCRA compliant employment background checks. All you need is consent from your potential employee and you can run a fast an accurate background check using their online interface.

Talentwise realizes that no two companies are the same so their service is designed to be the most flexible employment screening option on the market.

Visit TalentWise Now

The Best FCRA Background Check For Property Owners...

TenantDetective - TenantDetective is an easy to use online service that provides background checks on renters. It doesn't matter if you rent a single property out or own thousands of units, with TenantDetective you can easily run instant tenant screening reports. TenantDetective provides criminal records, eviction records, terrorist databases, most wanted lists, and sex offender registries nationwide. Plus all information provided is fully compliant with the Fair Credit Reporting Act ("FCRA").

Visit Tenant Detective Now