Questions about background check

Employers can ask all sorts of questions about your background during hiring. He or she may ask about your education, employment history, financial history and even your criminal record.

However, employers are not allowed to ask for your medical information until you get the job as well as your genetic information.

Also, when an employer asks about your background on genetics, disability, age, religion, sex, color, national origin and race, he or she must treat you the same as all the other applicants. Example, an employer is not allowed to ask for extra background information because you are of a different ethnicity or race.

Employees are also protected from retaliation. This means that an employer should not fail to employ you because you accused a previous employer of harassment or discrimination.

When is an employee’s consent required?

An employer needs your consent to obtain certain types of information such as credit report, military records and school transcripts.

Also, if an employer does not gather the records on his own but hires an outside investigator or agency to, it must get a written consent from you first. You do not have to give permission but when applying for a job and you fail to, the employer has the right to reject your application.

Secondly, if an employer fails to hire you, retain or promote you because of something in your background report, it should send you a copy of the report and a note indicating how to contact the company that made the report. This is because background reports often contain errors. If there is a mistake in your report, you can request the reporting company to fix it and then send a copy of the error free report to the employer. You should also inform the employer of the mistake.

The law protects applicants from being denied a job for the following additional reasons

• Credit reports

Due to the economic downturn in 2008, some states have laws that prohibit employers from discriminating employees based on his or her credit history.

• Unemployed status

Some states including Oregon and New Jersey prohibit employers from failing to hire applicants because they are unemployed when applying for the position.

• Criminal records

Also, some states limit the type of criminal records an employer can consider in making a hiring decision. For example employers are prohibited from failing to consider candidates with history of arrests that did not lead to conviction.

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Background checks for California Employment

California is known to include additional protection, besides the mandatory standards laid down by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). However you should know that the FCRA is applicable only if the background check has been conducted by an independent agency which has been hired by the employer.
The FCRA has the below mentioned requirements:
-It should seek your permission before proceeding.
-Send you a notice stating that the report is needed.
-They need to get your consent.
-You should be informed in case the content of the report is being used to take a negative decision about you.
-They need to seek permission in case they require any medical information.
-You should be notified in case they intend to interview your associates or the people residing close to your vicinity regarding your overall reputation, lifestyle or personality.

The FCRA terms this as ‘Investigative Consumer Report’
Note that the information which has been gathered after the background check should not be more than 7 years old. However in exceptional cases like bankruptcy or insurance policies for a large amount, the check is valid for up to a decade. In the case of reporting of criminal convictions there’s no restriction to the number of years.

In case the employer doesn’t hire you or stops your promotion on the basis of the information they have procured during the background check, then it is mandatory for them to issue a ‘pre-adverse action notice’ with a copy of background report before they start taking any action.
According to the California Law, beginning from January 1, 2012, it is mandatory for the employer to reveal the website and contact details of the independent party who had conducted the report. In case the company doesn’t have a website then you can ask for a copy of the privacy policy. You should also ask for a copy of the report and the company should deliver it to you within three days.

According to the California Law, the report’s cover page should also include:
A notice which is typed in at least 12-point and is boldface. This notice should state that the information has been procured from public records and does not assure perfection or complete truthfulness.
It should also include a warning which mentions that the negative information can also be due to a theft of identity.
It should include the notice of rights in English as well as Spanish.
Surprisingly, according to the January 1, 2012 act, you can get credit reports for only specific designations or functions. (CA Civil Code 1785 et seq) Once more the employer needs to give an intimation that they are going to get a credit check along with valid reasons for their actions.
In case the employer does not hire any third party firm and instead conducts the investigation on his own then the FCRA is not applicable. (CA Civil Code 1785.53) For example, the employment application must include a box which can be checked in case the applicant decides to get a copy of all the public records which have been procured in the internal investigation.

Labor Law can be quite complex and if  you have any queries about your employment then you should get in touch with a California Labor Law attorney who will assist you in getting a clear picture about your rights.

United Employees Law Group Will always provide a FREE consultation, and if we are able to help in your case we work on contingency.
If you wish to find out more about this article or the blog then you can get in touch with us at: San Francisco – (415) 200-0012

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As usual, California tends to add protections for its residents on top of the national standard set by the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). However, it’s important to note that the FCRA only applies when an employer has hired an outside agency to conduct the background check. FCRA requires the following:

1) Obtain your permission.
2) Give you notice on a separate document that a report may be required.
3) That you are given the opportunity to consent
4) That you are notified if information in the report is used to make an “adverse” decision about you
5) Get your specific permission if medical information is requested.
6) Give a specific notice if your neighbors, friends, or associates will be interviewed about    your “character, general reputation, personal characteristics, or mode of living.” This is   called an “investigative consumer report” under the FCRA.

Keep in mind the information obtained in the background check usually can only go back 7 years. There are a few exceptions to this; up to 10 years for issues such as bankruptcy, or insurance policies over a certain dollar amount. Lastly, the FCRA states that there is no limit to the number of years your criminal convictions can be reported.

If the employer has decided not to hire you or promote you based on the information obtained in the background check, they must issue a “pre-adverse action notice” along with a copy of the background report before an adverse action is taken.

California law has stated that Starting Jan. 1, 1012 the employer must provide the web address and telephone number of the third party that conducted the report. If the company does not have a website, you may request that a copy of the privacy policy be mailed to you. Also, should you request a copy of the report, the company must produce it within 3 days of your request. California law also requires that the report’s cover page include:

• A notice in at least 12-point boldface type stating that the report does not guarantee the  accuracy or truthfulness of the information, but only that the information was copied from public records.
• A warning that negative information could be the result of identity theft.
• Gives notice of your rights in English and Spanish.

Interestingly enough, California has also decided that as of January 1, 1012 credit reports can only be obtained for people applying for specific job titles or functions. (CA Civil Code §1785 et seq.) Again, the employer must give notice that a credit check will be obtained, along with an explanation of why the check is allowed.

If the Employer chooses to conduct its own investigation and forgo a third party firm, the FCRA and all of its provisions do not apply. However, California law does impose a few regulations on the employer. (CA Civil Code §1785.53) For instance, the employment application should contain a box to be checked indicating that the applicant wishes to receive a copy of all public records obtained during the internal investigation.

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By now, you have probably used Facebook, Twitter or YouTube at one time or another. Many people freely use these social media platforms without even realizing they could create serious repercussions when it comes to them trying to get a job.

You might be wondering how this is possible if your employer doesn’t know the URLs to your social media accounts. Thanks to Google, they won’t have much of a problem finding you on these platforms because all they have to do is type your name into the Google search engine and it will likely bring up your social media address information.

So, for example, if you made YouTube videos where you preach hateful remarks towards a particular religion or political issues, then your employer will find that video for sure. Social media allows employers to discover what kind of person you really are in your personal life, or at least who you are on line. If you portray yourself inappropriately on social media then it will make employers not want to hire you. They will be too afraid that you will bring your abusive or irresponsible behavior into the workplace.

You might be wondering, “Aren’t there privacy laws that prevent employers from not hiring me because of my social media content?” Well no, because social media is considered public content. This is another thing that many people don’t realize when they sign up for a social media account. In the terms of service, which no one usually reads, people are agreeing that their content is public information and anything they post is the property of the social media host. Therefore, the content you create on these platforms is not yours after it is published. That means it can all be used against you in real life settings, such as the workplace.

Now if you find yourself in a predicament because you already posted nasty things on your social media accounts, then the best thing you can do is delete all of your social media profiles. Or at the very least, delete the published comments or posts that you made which could be used against you. Chances are if you made too many of them then you will have to delete your entire account and start a new one. Even then, it will take weeks for that information to crawl off of the Google search engine. But after it is done, you should recreate your profiles with nice content that makes you indirectly look attractive to employers.

The bottom line? We live in the digital age, you have to assume that if you do it or say it someone may take a picture, tweet it, post it or tag you in it, so it may be time to decide if your dream job is worth that crazy night in Sin City.

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