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The Federal Fair Credit Reporting Act
(FCRA) is designed to protect individuals by promoting accuracy, fairness, and
privacy of information in the files of every Consumer Reporting Agency (CRA). BlackWhole Solutions and its affiliates operate in full
compliance with the (FCRA)
The FCRA is designed primarily to
protect the privacy of consumer report information and to guarantee that the
information supplied by consumer reporting agencies is as accurate as possible.
Amendments to the FCRA — which went into effect September 30, 1997 —
significantly increase the legal obligations of employers who use consumer
reports. Congress expanded employer responsibilities because of concern that
inaccurate or incomplete consumer reports could cause applicants to be denied
jobs or cause employees to be denied promotions unjustly. The amendments ensure:
(1) that individuals are aware that consumer reports may be used for employment
purposes and agree to such use, and
(2) that individuals are notified promptly
if information in a consumer report may result in a negative employment
decision.
Before you can get a consumer report
for employment purposes, you must notify the individual in writing — in a
document consisting solely of this notice — that a report may be used. You also
must get the person's written authorization before you ask a
CRA
for the report.
Before giving you an individual's
consumer report, the CRA will
require you to certify that you are in compliance with the FCRA and that you
will not misuse any information in the report in violation of federal or state
equal employment opportunity laws or regulations.
Note! There are legal consequences for
employers who fail to get an applicant’s permission before requesting a consumer
report or who fail to provide pre-adverse action disclosures and adverse action
notices to unsuccessful job applicants. The FCRA allows individuals to sue
employers for damages in federal court. A person who successfully sues is
entitled to recover court costs and reasonable legal fees. The law also allows
individuals to seek punitive damages for deliberate violations. In addition, the
Federal Trade Commission, other federal agencies, and the states may sue
employers for noncompliance and obtain civil penalties.
The following is a list of
unacceptable uses
for our services, products or information. Our services MAY NOT be used:
•
To locate suspects in a criminal or civil lawsuit in order to develop a news
story.
•
To track down victims of fraud, their family members or friends to develop a news
story.
•
To locate lost loves, friends, family members or for personal reasons (dating,
etc.)
• For purposes that may cause physical or emotional harm to the subject of the
report (e.g. stalking, harassing, etc.)
•
To search for individuals involved in an adoption (children, parents, siblings,
etc.)
•
To locate personal information on well known/high profile celebrities, government
officials, etc.
• In connection with credit repair services, to locate previous debtors or to assist
in the determination of whether or not to file a personal lawsuit or judgment
against the subject of the report.
•
To access individual reference data on ones self or out of personal curiosity.
• By Professional and Commercial users for purposes that are not within their normal
course of business (e.g. A collection agency may NOT use our services/products
to locate a witness to a crime)
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