Your Rights When Applying For A Job
Whether a potential employer performs a background check in order to qualify someone for a job or a current employer performs one to consider one for a promotion, the potential employer has legal obligations to the applicant. These obligations can be found in the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). A failure to follow these regulations can render the employer liable to the applicant.
At SmithMarco, P.C., we help clients who failed employment background checks determine why there were rejected. We also advise them on ways to improve their chances of passing future background checks.
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Some of the fundamental responsibilities of an employer who performs a background check on you for employment purposes are as follows:
The employer must provide a form to you that discloses that a background report will be obtained and reviewed.
The employer must provide something in writing alerting the applicant that a background report will be run. This disclosure form must only make this disclosure and can have no other language on it. The employer cannot have language on the form that says that they, or anyone else, will not be held liable for a report that contains incorrect information. They also cannot have the applicant sign away any rights they may have under the law on that form.
If the employer receives negative information about the applicant that may cause them to refuse the application, then before they reject the application, they must provide a copy of the report that was reviewed and instruct the applicant on how to dispute any information that is inaccurate.
The employer cannot just turn someone down and not show you why. A person is entitled to know why they were rejected because of a background check, see why, and have the opportunity to dispute incorrect information. If the wrong information is removed, that person should then have a chance to get the job.
If the employer determines that they do not want to hire the person based upon the report, they must say so in writing and provide the reasons for the rejection in writing.
When adverse action is taken on a consumer report, such as a background check report, the employer must provide notice in writing that either states the reasons for the rejection or provides direction on how to obtain those reasons. The employer must also disclose the name of the company that supplied the background information, provide the address and give the applicant information about a person’s rights to a free background report from that company along with instructions on how to correct errors or dispute inaccurate information on the report.
An Established Law Firm Protecting Job Applicants’ Rights
You may be looking for information on this topic before applying for jobs or responding to negative outcomes you have experienced in your job hunt. We applaud your persistence. We are attorneys who advise and represent clients nationwide from our offices in Chicago and Sarasota. Let us hear from you if background check outcomes are of concern to you at this time.
Call us at 888-915-0836 or send an email inquiry to request a consultation with a member of our team.