I realize that a limited number of times, I may be sarcastic in my posts. You may have not noticed this because it is hard to detect sarcasm on the net.

So you’ll just have to take my word that when I say that the Fair Credit Reporting Act is your friend, you’ll take me seriously this one time. Because I am telling you HR person and hiring managers scared of these initials (and I know who you are), the FCRA will bail you out in times of trouble. You just have to play by the rules.

Quick primer on why you need to know anything at all about FCRA:

• The Fair Credit Reporting Act protects individuals from incorrect information on consumer reports.
• It gives specific actions to take if someone is found to have undesirable information.
• It allows the person impacted to take corrective action to fix incorrect information.
• It protects users of consumer reports when they apply its use fairly and consistently.

So some people may think the FCRA doesn’t apply to you because you don’t do credit checks. I thought this too when I first got involved in HR. Fortunately, FCRA applies to credit, background and driving record checks. In fact, an easy rule of thumb applies here: if you are going to use a third-party vendor to do any sort of check (background, school verification, etc…), you are covered under the FCRA.

So let’s say you’re interested in starting a background screening program (or you want to get your screening program up to compliance). Here are a few steps to take:

1. Shop for a screening provider - I would aim for companies that can do many different background screening services. It is a real bummer if all of the sudden, you need to check driver records and your provider can’t do it. Then you have to enter information multiple times and deal with two different vendors.
2. Get feedback from your vendor - Many reputable screening vendors will help you set up your screening service to be legally compliant. Most have sample FCRA forms and will help you (or point you in the direction of help) for any issues that come up. Remember, you are ultimately responsible for the set up of your screening program. Check with legal council if you have any issues.
3. Follow through on FCRA requirements - If a background check comes back unsatisfactory, go through the steps required. Notify the person that adverse action is taking place and resources to get the information corrected if they need to. Again, there are some very good samples out there that your screening provider may already have.

Managers and some HR people often don’t want to send out adverse action letters. They just want to figure out a way to disqualify them without that information. That is much more dangerous than sending out an FCRA compliant letter and following those rules. In these sticky background situations, the FCRA is your friend.