FCRA and Credit Reports
jatf95
1 Post
We include a consent to check credit with our application. I understand that if we use the info in the report as a basis not to hire then we must provide a copy of the report and a notice of his/her rights under FCRA. I am curious what our requirements are, if any, if we refuse to hire someone after having pulled a credit report, but the report had no bearing on the decision?
Comments
Mel
If the report DID have something to do with the decision then I would send a copy and another letter describing your concerns, etc. I would also give them the option to reply to that letter. Credit reports (as well as civil, crimminal, etc.) can be inaccurate or contain information that is for another person (think how many "Bob Smith's" and "Chris Williams's there are).
Just my thoughts.
A lot of compnies rely on a Tri-Merge credit report , which supposedly
gets data from the 3 major credit bureaus. But the Tri-Merge report
isn't always up to date, and may have erroneous information - while the
3 credit bureaus are correct. You should give the applicant , who is otherwise
qualified, a chance to explain any discrepancies.
>send a copy to them?
You are correct, the report has to be sent to them by law (if they ask for it) but why wait for them to contact you? Why open the door for them to contact you concerning the report and then have them question you about your hiring decision? It is none of their business. Also, why not treat all applicants exactly the same regardless of the credit report? If an applicant does not receive a copy of the report (blank or not) and just receives the declination letter, most applicants will automatically assume that it had to do with the credit report and become very worried that something negative is on the report that assisted you in your decision. Personally, I find it very unprofessional when an individual contacts me back to ask why they were not hired for a position. By sending them the blank report, they will get the idea that they were not chosen for the position due to qualifications and not due to any information in the report. It simply heads off any questions right off the bat. Why even open the door for an applicant to do this - it just puts stress on the applicant and the HR professional. Just some "food for thought".
>them to contact you concerning the report and then have them question
>you about your hiring decision? It is none of their business. Also,
>why not treat all applicants exactly the same regardless of the credit
>report? If an applicant does not receive a copy of the report (blank
>or not) and just receives the declination letter, most applicants will
>automatically assume that it had to do with the credit report and
>become very worried that something negative is on the report that
>assisted you in your decision. Personally, I find it very
>unprofessional when an individual contacts me back to ask why they
>were not hired for a position. By sending them the blank report, they
>will get the idea that they were not chosen for the position due to
>qualifications and not due to any information in the report. It
>simply heads off any questions right off the bat. Why even open the
>door for an applicant to do this - it just puts stress on the
>applicant and the HR professional. Just some "food for thought".
I have to disagree once again (oooo I'm so sassy! hehe just kidding). We don't send reports to people who we don't hire because they are less qualified or less of a "fit" than the other applicant we want to hire. We send a letter stating that although we were very impressed with what they have to offer, we have chosen another candidate. We don't assume that the declined candidate will think it's due to their credit report....if their credit and criminal background is "clean" then why would they assume that they weren't selected because of the report? I've never, ever had a candidate contact me and ask if they weren't hired because of their report when I've sent them a standard denial letter without a copy of the "clean" report.
If and when a candidate is "initially denied" due to some discrepancies on their report, I do send a copy of it and a letter stating that we have some concerns about what was found. We also say that we encourage them to respond to the letter and report findings in a letter of their own. This works very well. People have the chance to write to us and say "this isn't accurate" or "I was going through a divorce during that time" or whatever the case may be. I think that if I sent candidates a copy of their report when it was NOT a factor in the hiring decision (say it was a "clean" report) that they would wonder why on earth I would send them a copy of it if it wasn't a factor. I think THAT would make them "suspicious" as to our hiring practices and promote the question "why wasn't I hired" more than anything.
We are consistant with this practice:
1. If the report is a factor, a copy of it and a "we have concerns" letter is sent.
2. If the report is not a factor, a standard denial letter is sent.
We treat them differently in regards to their reports because denying someone employment soley on the fact they have poor credit is not only poor judgement of one's abilities as a candidate, it's illegal.
Cinderella
>credit report....if their credit and criminal background is "clean"
>then why would they assume that they weren't selected because of the
>report? I've never, ever had a candidate contact me and ask if they
>weren't hired because of their report when I've sent them a standard
>denial letter without a copy of the "clean" report.
I think you misunderstood my previous post. I don't assume anything either. I have actually had people contact me concerning their report when I have sent them a normal declination letter and not their blank / clean report. You have actually been lucky thus far not to get an applicant that has contacted you after the fact concerning this issue. Some of the applicants that I have dealt with just don't "get it" and think that they are the "cream of the crop" out of my applicant pool. If I don’t send them the blank / clean report, the only thing that they can reason why I didn't choose them for the position was due to their report and that something must have been "bad" on the report that led to their declination (again because the feel that they are the cream of the crop). This is the reason that I send everything at the onset of a declination. We may have a different of opinion in this one due to the type of industries that we work in (or used to work for). I used to work for a manufacturing facility (low skilled, low paying positions) and we would decline individuals for other reasons not due to the report we received. Some individuals would assume that the manufacturing plant would hire anyone and everyone if you didn't have a poor report. This is why I may have received calls concerning this issue and you have not; hence the difference in our views.
I agree with the rest of your post except this one issue. I think that we are just going to have to agree to disagree on this point. Poor jaft95 will just have to choose the best method based on his/her judgment of these posts because we are both legally correct in this case.