A recent spate of class-action suits should remind employers and HR of the steep cost of FCRA violations. Experts say the time is right for employers to reassess their background-checking processes-and the role staffing and consumer reporting agencies play in those processes. With respect to FCRA, the statute “has a lot of technical requirements,” says Veena Iyer, a labor and employment attorney of Nilan Johnson Lewis. “This means there are lots of technical ways to violate the statute, and there’s a lot of plaintiffs’ attorneys who recognize that.” Doug Kauffman, a partner in Balch & Bingham’s labor and employment group, urges employers to follow all the necessary steps in providing individuals with the required notices and information in the event a consumer report influences an employment decision.
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W. Barry Nixon is the COO, PreemploymentDirectory.com the leading background screening information portal and online worldwide directory of professional background screening firms and Suppliers to the background screening industry. He co-authored the landmark book, Background Screening & Investigations: Managing Hiring Risk from the HR and Security Perspective. He also is the publisher of award winning newsletters, The Background Buzz and The Global Background Screener, and the author of the Background Checks column in PI Magazine.
In addition, Barry is a past recipient of the elite ‘Top 25 Influential People in Security’ by Security Magazine and past Co-Chair, International Committee for the National Association for Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS). He currently serves as a Global Ambassador for NAPBS.
You can contact Barry at 1-949-770-5264 or online at wbnixon@preemploymentdirectory.com