Since employers are allowed to run background checks on me, do I have any legal rights in the process?

Yes—you have a number of important legal rights THROUGHOUT the hiring process in how the employer can run and use a background check. See PG. 572 for information on when in the application process an employer can run a background check. The following rules protect your rights when you are applying for a job and the employer runs a background check on you through a private background check company. (Note: There are different rules if the employer runs a background check on a current employee because it suspects the person of misconduct or wrongdoing.)[1887]

Before an employer runs a background check on you using a private background check company, the employer must do ALL of the following: give you notice, get your written permission (consent) to run the check, inform you of your rights, and offer you a copy of the report, once it is done.[1888] Here are the 4 steps below in more detail:

Give you ADVANCED, WRITTEN NOTICE

An employer must provide you with written notice if it intends to hire a background check company and use information in your background check to make decisions related to your employment. This notice must be in a separate document from other information from the employer—it can’t just be mentioned on the job application or buried among other papers—SO that it is clear that the employer is running a background check done on you.[1889]

The NOTICE must include the following INFORMATION:[1890]

    Explain the purpose of the background check.
    Explain that the background check may include information on your “character, general reputation, personal characteristics, and mode of living”—meaning certain personal information about you and your past.[1891]
    Give the name, address, phone number, and website of the private background check company that will conduct the background check. There are many background check companies out there, and you are entitled to know exactly which one is providing a report on you.
    Explain your right to review the background check company’s files along with all the information the agency used when conducting your background check and preparing your background check report for the employer.[1892] If the report will include information from interviews with your neighbors, friends, or associates, you must be given special notice.[1893]

Get WRITTEN PERMISSION from YOU before they run the check:

After the employer gives you notice, the employer must ask and get your permission in writing—before conducting a background check.[1894] Usually, there will be a box to check on the job application, asking you for your permission for the employer to do a background check.

IMPORTANT: If AN EMPLOYER WANTS TO RUN AN ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND CHECK LATER ON: Employers must give you NOTICE and get your PERMISSION EVERY TIME they run a background check. If the employer wants to do another background check later, or wants to get continuous, updated background checks on you during your employment, they must give you a NEW NOTICE AND get NEW written PERMISSION from you each and every time they do a background check (except in cases of suspected misconduct).[1895]

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Inform you of YOUR RIGHT TO SEE THE INFORMATION in your background check:

The employer must inform you of your right to see the information used by the Background check company when conducting your background check.[1896]

Offer you a COPY of your background check report:

The employer must give you a chance to request a copy of the background check report they got. There should be a box you can check to request copy of your report—usually it will be on the same form you sign to give permission for the background check.[1897] Always check YES to get a copy of the report so you can see what the employer sees! If you check the box to request a copy of your background check report, the employer must send you a copy of the report within 3 business days from the time when the employer receives it.[1898]

IMPORTANT: ALWAYS request a copy of the background check report

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You have a legal right to receive a copy of the background check report used by the employer, and it is recommended that you always request a copy of the report. Always check the box to request a copy of the background check report.WHAT TO LOOK FOR:

    The box to request a copy of the background check report will probably say something like this: “Check this box if you would like to receive a free copy of any consumer report or investigative consumer report obtained on you,” or “I am a California resident and I would like a free copy of my background check report.”[1899]Make sure you CHECK THIS BOX to request a copy of your background check report.
  1. 1887

    Cal. Civ. Code §§ 1786.16, 1786.16(c). ↑

  2. 1888

    Cal. Civ. Code § 1786.16(a)(2)(A). California law is stricter than federal law about what an employer must do when notifying a job applicant about the requested consumer report. See generally California Investigative Consumer Background check companies Act (ICRAA) at Cal. Civ. Code § 1786 et seq. ↑

  3. 1889

    15 U.S.C. § 1681b(b)(2)(A)(i); Cal. Civ. Code § 1786.16(a)(2)(B). ↑

  4. 1890

    Cal. Civ. Code § 1786.16(a)(2)(b). The Background check company’s website must explain its policy about transferring personal information transferred to third parties outside the United States, and must give you a way to contact an agency representative with further questions. If the agency doesn’t have a website, you may request that a copy of the privacy policy be mailed to you. ↑

  5. 1891

    There are strict limits on what information can be included in your background check report. For example, the Background check company generally CANNOT include information about arrests or convictions that are more than 7 years old, bankruptcies that took place more than 10 years ago, or debts that are more than 7 years old. Cal. Civ. Code § 1786.18. ↑

  6. 1892

    Cal. Civ. Code §§ 1786.16(a)(2)(B)(v), 1786.22, 1786.10. ↑

  7. 1893

    If interviews are involved, the report is defined as an “investigative consumer report” under the FCRA. ↑

  8. 1894

    15 U.S.C. § 1681b(b)(2)(A); Cal. Civ. Code § 1786.16(a)(2)(C). ↑

  9. 1895

    Cal. Civ. Code § 1786.16(a)(2) requires employers to provide notice and get permission “at any time” they want to run a background check. ↑

  10. 1896

    Cal. Civ. Code § 1786.16(a)(2)(B)(v); see also Cal. Civ. Code § 1786.22. ↑

  11. 1897

    Cal. Civ. Code § 1786.16(b)(1). ↑

  12. 1898

    Cal. Civ. Code § 1786.16(b)(1). You may receive a copy of the report from the employer or from the screening company. The report’s cover page must (1) include a notice in at least 12-point boldface type saying that the report does not guarantee the accuracy or truthfulness of the information, but was simply copied from public records; (2) include a warning that negative information could be the result of identity theft; and (3) give notice in English and Spanish of your rights. Business days” only include weekdays (Mon-Fri). Cal. Civ. Code § 1786.29. ↑

  13. 1899

    See Net Check Investigations (Cal. P.I. License 21529), Americheck—Authorization to Release Information, http://americhek.com/resources/pdf/Authorization_Release_2011-12.pdf; Mission Network, Disclosure Regarding Background Investigation, https://www.missionnetwork.com/sites/missionnetwork.com/files/nodes/1540/Background%20Check%20Authorization%20(New%202014).pdf; William Jessup Univ., Authorization for Background Checks (v1112), http://www.jessup.edu/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/investigative_report_authorization.pdf. ↑