right to obtain a free copy of the
consumer report from the consumer
reporting agency, and to dispute
the accuracy or completeness of the
information with such consumer
reporting agency.
summary of rights under the FCRA
document
notice must include the document
entitled "A Summary of Your Rights
Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act."
Additionally, upon written request, an
employer obtaining an investigative
consumer report must also provide this
summary of rights.
In 2012, the summary of rights
document required under FCRA was
Confusion abounded, and lingers,
regarding which summary of rights is the
correct version to include with FCRA
disclosures and notices, as the old and
new versions remained in circulation. As
of the writing of this article, the correct,
revised version is available from the
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
website. To comply with FCRA, it is
imperative to use the correct summary of
rights document.
with compliance traps at every turn.
Moreover, many states have enacted their
own, more restrictive fair credit reporting
statutes, imposing yet additional
requirements on employers. The above
guidance is not meant to, and does not,
address all FCRA requirements and/or
or throughout the statute, and does not
address any state-specific requirements.
Given the detailed legal requirements of
these statutes, employers should contact
labor and employment attorneys for
compliance assistance.
report. For example, several states now have
restrictions on the use of credit reports for employment
purposes. Additionally, federal and state anti-
discrimination and equal employment statutes create
additional limitations on the use of background checks.
These issues are outside the scope of this article.
disclosure of the nature and scope of the investigation,
in writing mailed or delivered, no later than five days
after the date on which the request for such disclosure
was received from the consumer or such report was first
requested, whichever is later.
credit score.