About the Fair Credit Reporting Act or the “FCRA”

July 11th, 2019

As an employer, you should be aware of the law called the Fair Credit Reporting Act or commonly referred to as the “FCRA”. The Fair Credit Reporting Act was enacted to promote the accuracy, fairness and privacy of consumer information contained in the files of consumer reporting agencies.

Conditions exist for furnishing and using consumer reports for employment purposes. Those conditions include the following:

  • Employers must comply with Federal and State equal employment opportunity law or regulation and…

  • The CRA must provide a summary of the consumer’s rights under FCRA

  • A clear and conspicuous disclosure has been made in writing to the consumer at any time before the report is procured or caused to be procured and

  • The consumer has authorized and consented orally, in writing or electronically

Employers also need to be mindful of how they use consumer reports for employment purposes. If you see something on the report that doesn’t not meet your hiring standards, employers must provide a copy of the report and a description in writing of the rights of the consumer under FCRA before taking adverse action, such as not hiring or terminating the employee.

Automated Pre-Adverse & Adverse Notices

To start a Pre-Adverse Event notice to an applicant, click the red button at the top of the report, and acknowledge the applicant does not meet the employment standard based on their consumer report.

We instantly send the consumer a copy of their report and a description of their rights, keeping you compliant and your applicant informed.

Under FCRA, you must provide the consumer with a meaningful opportunity to review the information and respond to any items they are contesting. ClearChecks has adopted the FTC’s suggestion for the definition of “meaningful opportunity” for review and required dispute communication to be five business days.

If your applicant does not respond to our letter within 5 business days, an Adverse Event Letter will be issued and the report archived. Should the applicant dispute a record on the report, ClearChecks will review the information and communicate findings to both parties for final resolution within 15 days of disputed items from the consumer.

We’ve Got You Covered!

From start to finish, ClearChecks will automate notice, provide the required disclosures, reports and rights notifications, handle dispute resolutions and maintain electronic evidence of distribution, collection, and communication of all information from and between all parties.

Legal compliance is a challenge for any size businesses, but with ClearChecks we have automated the process to keep it simple keeping your company compliant.

ClearChecks.com