If you haven’t yet, make sure your screening policy is up to date and compliant with the latest regulations. Megastore Kmart recently settled a class action lawsuit related to FCRA violations for $3,000,000. The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) has very strict rules protecting individual’s privacy, and these violations can severely affect a company’s bottom line.
In the case of Kmart, the company was originally accused of failing to comply with disclosure requirements as well as failing to provide adverse action notification – as required. This means that an estimated 64,506 individuals who applied to work at Kmart were given outdated FCRA privacy statements. And of those who were denied employment due to background check results, they were not provided an adverse action notification detailing the reason why their past does not allow them to fulfill the position.
Kmart was right to perform pre-employment screening on these individuals, and those who were denied employment most likely had a past record that concerned Kmart. The biggest problem here was that Kmart did not provide notices to these applicants explaining why they were denied employment. And of course, the second violation of not providing up to date privacy statements
Do not let such small administrative tasks hold your company back. Pre-employment screening is a valuable tool to recruit quailed talent, but proper management is required. Using a screening provider such as Mobile Health can help reduce such administrative burden, and allow your company to grow without these worries.
Every Mobile Health client has the option to request a formal adverse action letter when needed, and the peace of mind to be updated with the latest regulatory changes that might impact their business. Subscribe to Mobile Health for your pre-employment physicals, drug screening and background checks to know who you’re hiring.
