FCRA (Fair Credit Reporting Act) Covers More Than Just Credit Reports
In spite of its name, FCRA covers more than just credit reporting. The federal FCRA sets standards and guidelines for employers who want information about current or potential employees. The FCRA regulates all ‘consumer reports’ which relate to the ‘character, general reputation, personal characteristics, and mode of living’ of a person. This is, of course, what you as an employer want to know! Whether you check credit or not, any kind of pre-employment background check performed by a third party consumer-reporting agency thus becomes subject to the FCRA.
