Don’t Get Caught Behind the Curve!

Merriam-Webster defines “compliance” as the conformity in fulfilling official requirements.  Many organizations have a legal department or a Compliance Officer tasked with keeping their companies on the right track.  Even with the right people and tools in place, companies can easily miss an important regulatory change.  

Numerous federal, state, and local laws and ordinances change every day, impacting compliance requirements or best practices related to pre-employment background screening. Some of the most recent include New EEOC Criminal Check Guidance-individualized assessments, CORI Law, California Credit Notice/Addendum; Ban the Box and FCRA Notices.
There has been much talk about most of these changes, but FCRA Notices seem to have avoided the headlines to a large extent. The bottom line is: if your applicants are still being presented with FCRA Notices that were in effect prior to January 1, 2013, then new forms are required. The biggest change to the form is, instead of the document referring to the FTC, the document now refers to the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)

The story behind these changes begins when the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced an update last year to the employer-specific requirements of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). 

The FCRA of 1970 regulates the collection, assembly and use of consumer report information.  Enacted on October 26, 1970, the law has been amended several times, including two exhaustive amendments named the Consumer Credit Reporting Reform Act of 1996 and the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003.  The FCRA governs the practices of consumer reporting agencies (CRAs) that collect, compile, and distribute consumer data into reports for the use of credit grantors, employers, insurance companies, and other entities in making eligibility decisions affecting consumers. 

On July 21, 2011, the CFPB was formed to regulate consumer protection related to financial products and services.  This federal agency, tasked as the enforcing arm of the FTC as it pertains to the FCRA, required all employers to update their FCRA notices before January 1, 2013.

The CFPB’s most recent round of FCRA edits include:

·         The Summary of Consumer Identity Theft Rights

·         The Summary of Consumer Rights

·         The Notice of Furnisher Responsibilities

·         The Notice of User Responsibilities

The best way to stay compliant is to have an additional advocate of compliance on your side.  In addition to your legal department, Aurico will keep you well-informed of the changes regarding pre-employment screening as we are made aware of it.  Aurico takes compliance seriously and we’ll support you in working out a solution that meets your compliance requirements.

To receive Aurico Compliance Updates, sign up here.

For more specific details on the FCRA updates, click here.