Today, I am going to answer the questions that I get most frequently from people who are having issues with a background check.
How do I know if my background check is causing me to lose a job?
Many people contact our law firm suspecting that a background check may have caused them to lose a job opportunity but they do not know for sure. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, if potential employer is considering taking adverse action against a job applicant on the basis of a background check, the employer is required to provide a copy of the background check to the applicant and a reasonable time to dispute the report before any adverse action is taken. If the employer has not given you a copy of your background check, then it is possible that the employer is not hiring you for other reasons other than your background.
Some employers, however, do not follow the law and leave job applicants in the dark regarding whether a background check has been procured and whether it is being used against the applicant. In those cases, you can request a free copy of your background check form the background check company. Lawyers at our law firm have helped hundreds consumers request a copy of their background check. Even if you do not know the identity of the background check company, we still may be able to help.
Why do background check errors occur?
Background check errors can occur for a number of reasons, but the root cause of most errors is that many background check companies do not check underlying court records before issuing background checks. Instead, they issue reports based on searches of large databases, and use loose criteria when matching records, such as name-only matching. Thus, if a consumer has a common name, he or she may be more at risk of having an erroneous criminal background check. Other background check errors occur because background check companies rely on older data that may not reflect the current status of a criminal record. Other errors may occur because of a failure in maintaining proper quality control procedures, or because the background check company is simply not following the law.
What can I do to prevent background check errors?
Unfortunately, unlike traditional credit reporting where the big three agencies (TransUnion, Experian, and Equifax), dominate the marketplace, there are hundreds if not thousands of criminal background check companies, and many of them do not keep a “file” on a particular person until the company is requested to do a background check on that person. Therefore, it is very difficult to proactively ensure that a criminal background check will be accurate.
There are a couple things you can do, however. If you have had a criminal case expunged, make sure that you have plenty of copies of the court order granting the expungement so that you can present the order to the background check company or employer in the event that the background check is erroneous. Second, you can also request a copy of your file from the largest background check companies to see if they have issued reports on you. Lawyers at Berger Montague can assist you with that process.
How do I correct a background check error?
You have the right to dispute any errors in your background check. The best way to dispute is to send a letter via certified mail to the background check company describing your dispute and including any supporting documents such as court orders. The background check company then has 30 days to reinvestigate your dispute and change your report. Attorneys at Berger Montague have assisted many consumers in filing disputes with background check companies.
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jalbanese@bm.net
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Related content:
- Frequent Background Report Questions
- What is the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)?
- How far back can a background check go?
- What is a Tri-Merge Report from the big three credit check agencies?
- When can an employer do a background check?
- How far back can a background check go?
- Where can I sue?