Employment Background Checks Should Be a “Pay-As-You-Go” Service
Two Verisk Analytics Inc. units have settled a class action lawsuit brought by job applicants claiming they violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). Intellicorp Records Inc. and Insurance Information Exchange LLC have been ordered to pay $18 million dollars to settle three class action lawsuits claiming the companies violated federal law by providing incorrect, outdated or incomplete information to potential employers.
The FCRA was created to protect consumer rights when employers request a background check for employment purposes. Furthermore, background screening companies must use ‘reasonable procedures’ necessary to ensure ‘maximum possible accuracy’ of any information reported and procured.
In order to be named a plaintiff as part of the class action suit, a background check consisting of Intellicorp’s proprietary criminal database search called “Criminal SuperSearch” would show results of a criminal conviction between April 16, 2010 and September 16, 2013. Plaintiff Michael Thomas claimed that a background check conducted on him revealed criminal records belonging to someone else.
Because of this erroneous information, Thomas was disqualified for hire for failing a background check. It’s important that employers do their due diligence when deciding on a background screening vendor. Here is a list of qualities all employers must look for in a background screening vendor:
- Screening vendor compliant with Federal and State Laws
- Compliant disclosure forms, releases and notices
- Secure software for ordering, retrieving and storing reports
- Licensed to retrieve public records
- Legally-compliant results
- Affiliation with trade organizations
- Disclaimer regarding database searches
- Full knowledge of the adverse and pre-adverse action processes
- Client references, BBB(Better Business Bureau) and value added services
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