Know Your Rights When It Comes To Background Checks

• 22 September 2016
• in: Personal Injury Blog

It’s extremely common for companies to run background checks on people these days, but not all checks are equal, and not all are legal. It’s important to know your rights when it comes to background checks. The FTC and EEOC lay out some rules to keep these checks from hurting people, but some companies are lax about following them.

If a company is going to run a background check for any reason, they have to apply it evenly. They can’t run a background check on one group of potential employees, but not others. They also have to act on the information in a uniform matter. Does the company refuse to hire people with a poor credit score? Then it has to be all people with a poor credit score, not just people of acertain ethnicity with a poor credit score, that have to look for employment elsewhere.

When they run that background check on everyone they are hiring, they have to tell the interviewee upfront and get written consent. It even needs to be a stand alone document that they show you, not part of the employment application form. The most common violation companies get caught committing is failing to get this consent.

Companies are also supposed to share the results of the background checks with the applicant and give that person a chance to respond to negative results. That’s another of the more frequent violations.

Far less common is using the information they got from the background check to discriminate against protected classes. If a background check reveals that you are part of a protected class, they can’t use that against you. They are also practically never allowed to run a genetic background test on you.

California adds a few more restrictions. An employer can’t ask about prior arrests unless it led to a conviction, nor may they pry into anypre– or post-trial diversion program you might be in. They also can only run a credit check if you are applying for certain positions. When the company proposes to run a background report, they must be clear about the scope and nature of it when they get your permission.

Background checks are everywhere. Complying with the rules for running them is integral to keeping the process fair. If you think someone has violated the rules for running background checks, feel free to contact Spencer Law offices for help.