Danger in Employers' Files

[xoxoxoBruce]

This is something to think about. From Calum Coburn Associates.

Employers pose a bigger threat to your future success than governments when it comes to your personal information. It's interview time - you`re not invited because of a misprint from a database you`ve never heard of before. No-one will call, nobody will write you. Here's what you need to know.

Some of the things that employers check on and put in your file.
Educational Records
Criminal and Incarceration Records.
Arrest records
Litigation and Court Records
Driving and Motor Vehicle Records
Drug Testing
Financial Information
Friends and Neighbors
Insurance Records
License Records
Military Service Records
Social Security Number (or equivalent outside the U.S.)

All this information, or misinformation, in a neat little package that the news has shown us all recently, can be lost or stolen.

There are many background check services that specialize in employment screening. There are several types. These include: private investigators, data brokers, and many thousands of affiliate websites.

Some larger companies contract with background check companies or use an affiliated company. Unfortunately, more often than not, few of these companies have actually collected any of the information they hold on you. Your personal and public records are sold and resold. Employers do not always comply with federal and state laws, especially the provisions that require up to date accuracy, of background check reports.

What can you do?

Do you have a right to know when a background check is requested by an employer?
Luckily the answer is: "Yes". According to the FCRA, (in effect September 30, 1997), employers who use ‘consumer reports' must provide disclosure and have your consent. In order to be covered by the FCRA, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) says that a report must be prepared by an outside company -- a "consumer reporting agency". Or a business that "for monetary fees, dues, or on a cooperative nonprofit basis, regularly engages in ... assembling ... information on consumers for the purpose of furnishing these reports to third parties."

The employer must obtain your written authorization, before the background check is conducted. Your signature on the job application will usually suffice. Most job applications contain verbiage similar to this:

‘I certify that information contained in this application is true and complete. I understand that false information may be grounds for not hiring me, or for immediate termination of employment at any point in the future, if I am hired. I authorize the verification of any or all information listed above, by whatever means deemed necessary by the employer, including but not limited to, a credit check.'

Might be worth your while to read the whole article.