According to Section 604(b) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, employers must certify that they have authorization to run a background check. Also, employers must ensure the applicant is provided with an opportunity to receive a “copy of the report” and a “description in writing of the rights of the consumer” before taking any adverse action. Recent litigation has proved to be costly for screening agencies and employers who are not current in their compliance practices. The blanket certification clause outlined in your contract may not be enough.
With changing industry standards and opportunistic law firms searching for easy class action targets, how can you protect your business and your clients?
TazWorks’ InstaScreen™ platform provides screening agencies with features designed to mitigate legal exposure to themselves as well as their clients. InstaScreen™ allows the consumer reporting agency (CRA) to require an employer user to certify they have obtained authorization to run a background check with each order. Additionally, orders can be configured to deliver an automated, secure consumer copy. Both the user certification and receipt of the consumer copy are timestamped, auditable events.
The customizable user certification will be presented to each user as a part of the ordering process.
The Order Certification is logged in the file and will include the name of the user, the date accepted, the IP address and the browser agent.
CRAs can save labor, time and postage by delivering consumer reports through InstaScreen™. QuickView™ securely and instantly delivers consumer copies via email with a secure link. Easily track the process with an internal audit log.
If you want to learn more about the compliance features available in InstaScreen, please contact us for more details.
