Common Mistake in Employment Screening

“Another large corporation is accused of not complying with the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)”

Jim Randisi, Randisi & Associates, Inc., recommends complying with FCRA rules when making adverse employment decisions based on information in a consumer report.    

Employers risk large sums of money by not complying with the FCRA before making an adverse employment decision. Consumer reports covered under the FCRA include credit reports, criminal conviction searches, motor vehicle reports, prior employment verification and other reports from a consumer reporting agency (CRA). Compliance should be easily managed along with your CRA. 

Summary of an article at: www.gazette.com/articles/market-136024-questions-raises.html

Justin D’Heilly never saw it coming. He was working as a Domino’s Pizza delivery driver in 2009 when he was told he could no longer drive for the company. A background check had found some problems with his motor vehicle history. But D’Heilly wasn’t told exactly what the trouble was, nor was he given a copy of the damning report. After checking, D’Heilly learned that his motor vehicle license was valid and that he had only a couple of speeding tickets. He was fired the following month. “They never officially told me why,” D’Heilly said. 

D’Heilly is now a named plaintiff in a class-action lawsuit that claims Domino’s willfully violated the FCRA by running employee background reports without proper authorization and by not sharing the reports with applicants and employees before taking adverse job actions against them, like termination or denial of employment.

Domino’s has denied the allegations in court filings. 

Consumer background reports are invaluable in helping employers gauge the trustworthiness, judgment, reliability and competence of applicants and thus avoid those who could pose a threat to assets or the safety of workers and customers.

Employers are vulnerable to negligent hiring lawsuits when workers with criminal histories commit acts of violence on the job. But, mistakes occur frequently when researching criminal conviction records. Common mistakes include the inclusion of convictions and arrests that were legally expunged and even the inclusion of another person’s criminal offenses.

However, companies may not always follow the law and share the reports with job seekers or employees before they take adverse action based on a negative report. Sharing the reports give the individual an opportunity to refute erroneous information contained in them. 

Randisi & Associates, Inc. helps employers protect workforce, clients and reputation through employment screening, drug testing and skills/behavioral assessments. He can be reached at either 410.494.0232 or jim@preemploymentscreen.com . 

Information in this article is not intended as legal advice.