Employers utilize background screening reports not only to assess potential job applicants but also to evaluate current employees for promotion, reassignment, or retention purposes. These reports, provided by background screening companies, furnish a range of verification information including credit history, employment details, salary records, education and professional license verification, criminal arrest and conviction records, driving history, drug and alcohol test results, health screening information, and verification of non-profit and volunteer activities.
Employers utilize background screening reports not only to assess potential job applicants but also to evaluate current employees for promotion, reassignment, or retention purposes. These reports, provided by background screening companies, furnish a range of verification information including credit history, employment details, salary records, education and professional license verification, criminal arrest and conviction records, driving history, drug and alcohol test results, health screening information, and verification of non-profit and volunteer activities.
Our recent report, titled “Market Snapshot: Background Screening Reports: Criminal background checks in employment,” offers an overview of the background screening industry and outlines the process of requesting and providing reports. The focus lies on screenings involving criminal records checks, addressing how such reports are generated, utilized by employers, challenges related to accuracy and dispute resolution, and market developments.
For those navigating the employment background screening process and concerned about potential criminal record history information, we offer tools such as the “Your Money, Your Goals” toolkit. This toolkit, designed for organizations assisting individuals in achieving financial goals, includes a companion guide called “Focus on Reentry” for individuals facing challenges due to their criminal records. It features a checklist and handouts detailing consumer rights regarding employment-related consumer reports. Additionally, we provide a list of consumer reporting companies to aid in accessing various types of consumer reports and offer guidance on determining their relevance, particularly in employment contexts.
Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, individuals have rights and protections concerning the information in their background screening reports and its usage by employers and others. These rights include receiving prior notice from the employer about the potential use of such information, providing prior written consent for obtaining the report (with exceptions in certain industries), receiving a pre-adverse action report if adverse action is considered based on the report, and being notified if such action is taken. Individuals also have the right to dispute information in the report and can submit complaints to the consumer reporting agency responsible for providing it in case of issues.
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