Employers that utilize outside firms (also known as consumer reporting agencies) to conduct background checks of applicants and employees are required to comply with the Fair Credit Reporting Act. The FCRA requires, among other things, providing applicants and employees with a form Summary of Your Rights Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act before an adverse action and with an adverse action. E.g., 15 U.S.C. § 1681b. That form has been updated and employers are required to use the new form or substantially similar form before January 1, 2013.
Since the initial passage of the FCRA in 1970, the
Federal Trade Commission played the primary role in its implementation,
oversight, enforcement, and interpretation. Under the Consumer Financial
Protection Act of 2010 (“CFPA”), however, the FTC’s role has
been limited to enforcement and the primary responsibility for regulatory and
interpretative guidance has been transferred to the newly-created Consumer
Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) as of July 21, 2011. On December 21, 2011, the CFPB
published an interim final regulation (which has since become a final
regulation) to implement the FCRA regulations with technical and conforming
changes that reflect the transfer of authority from the FTC to the CFPB.
The former FTC regulations governing the FCRA are now referred to
as Regulation V at the CFPB. The standard
Summary of Your Rights Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act form has been
updated to incorporate references to the CFPB and to remove references to the
FTC. 12 C.F.R § 1022.1(c). The summary of rights form can be found as
Appendix K to Regulation V (also known as Part 1022). It is available online.
This
and other scintillating pieces of information will be part of my presentation
on Investigating Current and Potential Employees at the Lorman Employment Law
Update in Ohio in Worthington on December 7, 2012. Attendees will be eligible for CLE and/or
HRCI credit. You can register here for the
seminar.
NOTICE:
This summary is designed merely to inform and alert you of recent legal
developments. It does not constitute legal advice and does not apply to any
particular situation because different facts could lead to different results.
Information here can change or be amended without notice. Readers should not
act upon this information without legal advice. If you have any questions about
anything you have read, you should consult with or retain an employment
attorney.
