Fair Credit Reporting Act

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The Fair Credit Reporting Act became effective on April 25th, 1971 and is a federal statute that regulates the pre-screening information obtained from outside agencies. This law identifies various requirements and rules for pre-employment background reports, identified as Consumer Reports. This law was substantially amended on September 30, 1997 to provide greater privacy protection to consumers and to ensure that information is accurate and complete. There were important amendments added in 1998, 2001, 2003, 2006 and 2007.

The significance of this law and the importance of following the strict requirements set forth in the Fair Credit Reporting Act is necessary to avoid any liability issues when your company requests a background report. Therefore, we have included relevant sections of the Fair Credit Reporting Act as they apply to pre-employment screening.