In October 2015, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ordered two of the nation's largest background screening firms to provide $ 10.5 million in relief to harmed consumers and pay a $ 2.5 million civil penalty for allegedly failing to take steps to ensure the information
they reported about job applicants was accurate, according to a news release on the CFPB website.
Not exact matches
But
job applicants may have to worry more
about what's on their credit
reports than how their resume and
job experience stack up.
Now employers routinely use credit
reports to «vet»
applicants for just
about any
job.
On August 1, Massachusetts passed an equal - pay law that prohibits employers from asking
about salary histories until they make a
job offer that includes compensation, unless the
applicants voluntarily provide the information, ThinkProgress
reported.
And it's not always a good thing for you: 62 percent of employers
report that listed references have had negative things to say
about job applicants.
The FCRA governs the background screening process, including how employers work with professional screening agencies and how
job applicants or employees must be informed
about the process and the background
report.
Think
about this: If an
applicant or employee misses out on a
job opportunity because your CRA
reported inaccurate or un-reportable information — an expunged criminal record, for example — that individual will look first to you, the hiring company, for accountability.
The trends include: Number 1: Controversy over Whether Employers Using Credit
Reports for Employment Screening is Discriminatory Increases Number 2: Questions
about Criminal Records of
Job Applicants Become More Difficult for Employers to Ask Number 3: Employers Discover Fast and Cheap Online Background Checks Using Criminal Databases Not Always Accurate or Legal Number 4: Background Checks of Temporary Workers Cause for Concern for Employers as Hiring Increases Number 5: International Background Screening More Necessary Due to Mobility of Workers in Global Economy Number 6: Using Social Network Sites Such as Facebook to Screen
Job Candidates Increases Legal Risk for Employers Number 7: More Workplace Violence Prevention Education Helps Protect Employers and Employees Number 8: Increased Privacy Concerns Over Offshoring of Personally Identifiable Information (PII) Number 9: E-Verify and I - 9 Audits Help Government Find Employers with Illegal Workers Number 10: New Accreditation Standards Help Employers Select Background Screening Firms
Written By ESR News Blog Editor Thomas Ahearn Employers conducting background checks on prospective employees have to worry
about the sharp rise in the number of class action lawsuits filed by
job applicants over alleged technical violations of the federal Fair Credit
Reporting Act (FCRA).
On the other, employers and background screening firms also face lawsuits from
job applicants complaining
about the accuracy of background
reports, or failure to meet the guidelines of the federal Fair Credit
Reporting Act (FCRA).
Because many myths surround credit
reports and employment and to get to the bottom of how credit
reports are really being used, Lester Rosen, founder and President of Employment Screening Resources (ESR), recently commented
about credit
reports of
job applicants being used for employment purposes in a San Francisco area blog:
CFPB Director Richard Cordray stated that the two firms «failed to take basic steps to provide accurate background screening
reports to employers
about job applicants.»