What is the Fair Credit Reporting Act?

The Fair Credit Reporting Act is a federal law that governs how companies request and evaluate consumer reports. It also protects information collected by consumer reporting agencies as Turn. Information in a consumer report cannot be provided to anyone who does not have a purpose specified in the Act. The law was enacted to promote the accuracy, fairness and privacy of consumer information that is contained in a consumer report.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act applies to full-time employees and independent contractors.

End-users of the information, (employers), have specific obligations under the Fair Credit Reporting Act:

1. Employers must have a permissible purpose under the Fair Credit Reporting Act to obtain the consumer report.

2. Employers need to notify candidates that they are requesting their report for employment purposes. Written consent is required to run the report. 

3. Employers must notify candidates when a pre-adverse action is taken, provide a summary of their rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, and provide a copy of their report. When an employer decides to initiate adverse action (declining a candidate from employment) it is required to provide notification in writing. 

4. Employers must allow the candidate reasonable time to dispute the information contained in their report, before making a final decision.

Turn Technologies can help employers in their pre-adverse and adverse action process, so you can easily fulfill your obligations.

Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, Turn Technologies is considered a Consumer Reporting Agency (CRA). Turn Technologies has different responsibilities than the end-user (employers), including:

1. Turn Technologies must receive consent to initiate the background check and must confirm that the employer has a permissible purpose to obtain the report of their candidates. 

2. Turn must provide the report to candidates and employers 

3. Turn will re-investigate inaccuracies and disputes from candidates

If you need more information regarding your responsibilities as an employer or about Turn's obligations as a CRA, you can access the Fair Credit Reporting Act website or you can contact our support center so one of our agents can provide assistance.