Background Screening

Background screening reports are “consumer reports” under the FCRA when they serve as a factor in determining a person’s eligibility for employment, credit, insurance, housing, or other purposes and they include information “bearing on a consumer’s credit worthiness, credit standing, credit capacity, character, general reputation, personal characteristics, or mode of living.” Companies that sell or provide those reports are “consumer reporting agencies” under the FCRA. So even if you don’t think of your company as a consumer reporting agency, it may be one if it provides information about people to employers for use in hiring or other employment decisions.

More about background screening here.