Many employers know there are special forms required under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) if a third party is involved in checking references or obtaining consumer information on applicants or employees. But, were you aware there were changes to the FCRA, by the enactment of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act, requiring a change in one of the forms? Based on these changes, the Federal Trade Commission issued a new "Summary of Your Rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act."
The updated summary must be distributed to an employee or applicant before the employer takes any adverse action based in whole or in part on a consumer report or when obtaining an investigative consumer report.
To ensure compliance with the new rules, employers should distribute an exact copy of the summary form. If you have questions, or would like help putting the forms to use, you should contact your employment law counsel.