As an employer researching doing background checks, you are presented with hundreds of possibilities and an equal number of organizations out there willing to sell you the services you need. Some mention FCRA Compliance, some do not. Some will allow you, for a fee, to plug information in to a website and do a search and then, for a fee, provide you with records that are found. But what about this FCRA Compliance thing. Do you really need to worry about it?

In brief, the Federal Trade Commission (or FTC) under the authority of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (or FCRA), regulates background screening companies and the background screening industry. Background screens are not just for employment. Insurance companies may run them to find out if someone is “insurance worthy” and credit issuers run them to find out of someone is “credit worthy”. The FCRA sets the standards for privacy and for consumer protection.

So, you decide that you are just going to do the employment screening inhouse. You may use one of those online services that let you plug information in and then pay with a credit card. Great. Quick, but not so cheap. Probably also not FCRA compliant. Did you get a release from the applicant? If you did an internet search were there criminal records? Did you go in to the courts to verify those records (because you could be getting outdated or old information). What about that marijuana charge in California in 2000. Can you use it? These are all things that are established by the FCRA and by individual state regulations. Know what? If you go online and do this and decide not to hire someone because of what you found, you really need to hope that you are FCRA compliant. If not, there are going to be more government agencies and lawyers coming to visit that you can even imagine. But not complying with the Fair Credit Reporting Act in your background checking, basically your candidate can claim discrimination and all that wonderful stuff that give attornies a reason to dream.

So, why chance it? Are you FCRA compliant in your hiring? Can you afford not to be?
(http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/031224fcra.pdf - you can use this link to view the FCRA).