Are There Any Risks For Employers If They Do Background Checks On Prospective Employees?

Employers that do criminal background checks and even credit checks can be subject to the Fair Credit Reporting Act. So, if you’re going to do these types of background checks, the employer is going to want to have a disclosure statement prepared, which is going to be a one page document that they have to provide to the employee. The employee has to sign the document authorizing the employer to do the background checks. And then if the employer ultimately relies upon the information that it learns through the background check, then the employer is obligated to notify the applicant of that fact and provide them with a copy of the report and a statement of their rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act.