Keeping Pre Employment Testing Within The Law

Businesses and organizations use many different types of pre-employment testing to investigate their applicants. There are pre-employment services online that can do specific searches, supply adverse action letters and comply with all state and federal laws, for a fee. There are also pre-employment screening service providers that work out of physical storefronts. Whichever type of service a business or organization chooses, it's just important to make sure they are legitimate and compliant with all laws, because they could otherwise be more trouble than good.

The most common types of pre-employment testing includes common record searches such as criminal and driving records, and verifies education. Schools, hospitals and daycare centers may also use a pre-employment service to check the sex offender registry, verify credentials and check references. Pre-employment screening services can also check credit reports and do Patriot Act searches. Employers should always use the same searches for every applicant being considered for the same position, though, to avoid unfair hiring practices. Because of the sensitive nature of information in consumer reports and certain other records, pre-employment screening services must comply with a variety of laws.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act, for example, regulates the use of consumer reports for pre-employment testing. If a consumer report is a factor in an adverse hiring decision, the consumer must be given a "pre-adverse action disclosure," a copy of the FCRA summary of rights and a "notification of adverse action letter." Consumers are entitled to know the source of any information used against them by a pre-employment screening service, including information from credit reporting agencies. As long as a screening service is acting within the letter of the law, though, they can be a great benefit to any employer.

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