Background
Integras Intelligence provides employment screening services for many organizations throughout the United States. This includes private equity firms, hedge funds, Fortune 500 companies, non-profits and others.
Situation
A private equity firm believed its employment screening firm wasn’t following applicable regulations, in addition to providing poor client service. After reading an article about the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), the firm contacted Integras to express these concerns:
- Information being reported that violated the FCRA
- Personally identifying information sent by email and fax, which is inefficient and not secure
A review of the firm’s current program by Integras revealed a number of issues:
- The client was collecting handwritten applications, disclosures and releases, which were then being emailed or faxed to the consumer reporting agency (CRA). Additionally, an outdated “Summary of Rights” was being provided to applicants.
- Information that was being collected from applicants broke local laws. For example, criminal history was being requested. In this particular jurisdiction, it was against the law to ask about criminal history prior to making a contingent offer.
- Information reported in background checks was inconsistent.
- CRA did not have an online portal to check on cases; client had to call or email CRA for information or status updates.
- CRA provided information that had not been confirmed. For example, civil results were reported as “Name match only,” with a note that more research was needed to confirm or eliminate the case.
In short, the client not only was exposed to significant liability, but also was unhappy with the service provided by the CRA.
Solution
Integras worked with the client to create specifications that met the client’s needs, without providing them with extraneous or protected information that would expose the client to liability. Then, Integras devised and managed a strategy that included the following:
- Two levels of background checks, one for senior executives and one for all other employees.
- Onboarding for client employees to use the online platform
- Secure, real-time communications through the Integras online platform
- Automatic notifications of various status updates
- Reporting that met all FCRA and other state/local laws
Now, the client has a system that emails a link to each applicant to fill out the necessary forms for the background check online. The client receives notifications when the applicant has completed the forms. The client can review the status of any case any time, and all data and communications are secure.
Conclusion
By partnering with Integras Intelligence, our client’s background check process became more efficient and was finally FCRA-compliant. The feedback they received from their internal stakeholders and applicants was also very positive.
