Background Screening Company Fined $2.6 Million For Due Diligence Failures

HireRight Solutions, Inc. recently agreed to pay $2.6 million dollars to settle charges by the FTC that they violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act.  This background screening company failed to follow the law and failed to ensure they were using procedures that provided the most accurate information possible.

This is the first time the FTC has charged this type of business with violation of the FCRA and the only larger civil penalty was levied against ChoicePoint, Inc. in 2006 in the amount of $10 million dollars. The Department of Justice filed the complaint on behalf of the FTC.  This settlement requires that the company cease it’s alleged illegal practices.

Apparently, HireRight Solutions, Inc. failed to provide updated and accurate information which would be used by businesses in their hiring decisions. In some cases criminal records were included in reports when those criminal violations had actually been removed from the applicant’s records.  There were also instances of records being provided that actually belonged to completely different people.  Because of this failure to follow proper protocol, the FTC alleged that these errors cost people jobs and benefits.

HireRight Solutions will now be remembered as:

• Failing to maintain proper legal procedures.
• Failing to give consumers the information in their files as required.
• Failing to provide consumers the results of a dispute investigation.
• Failing to comply with the requirements for consumer reporting agencies.

Had the employers requesting these very important records used the services of a company such as TruDiligence, they would have received a level of customer service and compliance with the law that might have been impossible when utilizing the services of a large employment background screening firm. Oftentimes a smaller to mid-size company can better monitor the methods being used to make sure that they are in full compliance.

Background screening is a sensitive arena and as such certain policies should be in place to make sure the information provided is completely accurate.  We would like to invite you to contact us to discuss the methods that we employ that will protect you and your prospective employees.