Consumer reports may be used by employers when either hiring new employees or when evaluating current employees for promotion, reassignment or retention purposes. The use of such reports must be in compliance with the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). Sections 604, 606, and 615 of the FCRA address the use of consumer reports for employment purposes. The intent of these sections is to protect the privacy of consumer report information and to ensure that the information supplied by consumer reporting agencies is accurate. Employer responsibilities include several issues, such as inaccurate or incomplete consumer reports that could result in the denial of employment to either applicants or employees. The FCRA provides that:
(1) individuals are aware that consumer reports may be used for employment purposes and agree to such use, and
(2) individuals are notified promptly if information in a consumer report may result in a negative employment decision.
A summary of the FCRA, as the Act relates to employment purposes, may be found in the NBA Compliance Handbook, Volume I, Personnel Tab, "Fair Credit Reporting Act: Employment Provisions" article.