What can I do if a background check company has broken the law?

Generally, if you believe that a background check company has violated the law in conducting a background check on you, you can take the following actions:

Contact the background check company[1962]—First, you can contact the background check company directly to demand that it complies with the law. This is especially important because most violations by background check companies involve the nature of the information that the agency has provided. Contacting the agency directly is the quickest and most efficient way to clear harmful information from your background check.

Report the background check company to the Attorney General—If contacting the background check company directly does not solve the problem, you can report the agency to the California Attorney General. The Attorney General will investigate your claim and try to resolve it. You can report your claim by calling the Attorney General’s Office of Public Inquiry Unit at (916) 322-3360 or toll free at 1-800-952-5225. You can also send a written complaint to: Attorney General's Office, California Department of Justice, Attn: Public Inquiry Unit, P.O. Box 944255, Sacramento, CA 94244-2550

Report the background check company to the FTCIf the background check company has violated federal background check laws, you can report the background check company directly to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The FTC has the authority to force background check companies to comply with background check laws[1963] by requesting a court order to stop the agency from violating the law, or by filing a lawsuit against the agency. To file a complaint with the FTC, call the agency directly at 1-877-382-4357.[1964]

    Sue the background check company in state or federal court[1965]—You can file a lawsuit against the background check company in either state or federal court for violating background check laws. You may be able to get a court to order the background check company to stop violating the law and/or pay you money.

KNOW YOUR RIGHTSSummary of your rights against private background check companies

    Background check companies CAN report information about convictions; pending arrests or criminal charges; lawsuits and civil (money) judgments against you; evictions; DMV driving records; and other personal information from within the past 7 years.Background check companies CANNOT report information about convictions; lawsuits; unpaid judgments; tax liens; or any other negative information that is more than 7 years old.Background check companies MUST check that information from public records is accurate and up-to-date.Background check companies MUST check that information they get from other people is accurate or from the best possible source.Background check companies MUST allow you to see the information they collect about you when conducting your background check.
  1. 1962

    See Fed. Trade Comm’n, Consumer Reports: What Information Furnishers Need To Know (2013), https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/documents/plain-language/bus33-consumer-reports-what-information-furnishers-need-know_0.pdf

  2. 1963

    15 U.S.C. § 1681s-2.

  3. 1964

    Fed. Trade Comm’n, Employment Background Checks, http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0157-employment-background-checks

  4. 1965

    Fed. Trade Comm’n, Employment Background Checks, http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0157-employment-background-checks.