Use of Background Reports

Some employers try to find out about your background by hiring someone to do a “background report” on you. Among the most common are criminal background checks and credit reports. But special rules apply when an employer gets a background report about you from a company in the business of compiling background information.

1. Before getting the report, the employer must tell you in a standalone document that they might use the information to decide on your employment and must ask for your written permission. You don’t have to give your permission, but if you’re applying for a job and you don’t give your permission, the employer may reject your application. If an employer gets a background report on you without your consent, contact the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

2. If the employer thinks they might not hire, keep, or promote you because of something in the report, they must give you a copy of the report and a “Summary of Rights” that tells you how to contact the company that provided the report. That’s because background reports sometimes have errors. If you see an error in your background report, ask the background reporting company to fix it, and to send a copy of the corrected report to the employer. Tell the employer about the errors, too.

Before you apply for a job, it’s a good idea to order a free copy of your credit report. That way, you can fix any errors before an employer sees them. To get your free credit report, visit www.AnnualCreditReport.com. You can also request a free background check report from Checkr.

You don’t have to buy any products they offer, and you don’t have to pay to get errors corrected.

For more information, call our firm at 718-674-1245 or message here.