Often when we are faced with dishonesty, our first reaction is to sneak around to try and gather as much information as we can. If it is a cheating spouse, we hire private investigators to covertly follow them around. Shoplifters are faced with undercover security personnel. A possible dishonest applicant gets the employee background check.
While it is completely legal to conduct pre-employment screening, there are certain regulations that need to be followed. The biggest thing is complying with the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
As an employer, there are a few points that relate specifically to what and how you can run these employee background checks. In order to protect the consumer, only certain people can have access to someone’s credit report. These people are specifically designated, and an employer is one of the people who have a legitimate need for this access.
However, this does not mean that as an employer you have carte blanche access to anyone’s credit report that you want. To further protect the consumer, they must first give a written consent for you to run their report (no sneaking off and running it without their knowledge).
Once the employee background checks are conducted, the employee has a right to know if they were declined employment based upon the information found within the report. This gives the employee an opportunity to determine the validity of the items reported. If there is an error, the employee has the right to have those items corrected and resubmit the report to the employer (you).
To purchase Pre-Employment Screening Services or for more information on background check experts, background checks, criminal background checks, employee background checks or pre employment screening contact us at the background check company or call 1.770.426.0547
