Backgrounds Online's Knowledge Bank

Be aware of your employees’ rights to avoid situations that could possibly turn into legal damages.

First and foremost, an employee must be told if information is used against them based whole or in part of the report procured for the employer by the background check company. This is done by sending out the pre-adverse action letter and then the adverse action letter, giving enough time between the two for the employee to dispute the report.

Employees’ rights also include the ability to dispute what was reported on their background check. The background check company is then obligated to investigate the dispute. Normally, at this point, the search in question is re-run and if any error was made by the source from where the information was pulled, the correction is made and both the employer and employee are notified. According to the employees’ rights under the FCRA, the background check company must make the corrections or deletions within 30 days of the dispute.

The background check company who completed the report may only share it with the potential employer and the job applicant. It cannot be resold or shown to any other entity. Finally, a report cannot be completed on an employee without their written consent.

Should an employer violate an of the employees’ rights under the FCRA, a job applicant can seek damages in court, either state or federal. Backgrounds Online ensures that its clients are fully educated regarding what they can and cannot do when conducting pre-employment background checks.