Consent and Disclosure: What You Need to Know

Consent and Disclosure Forms

For employers, the (EEOC) U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s criminal background screening guidance has created not only mass confusion, but serious hiring uncertainties on exactly how to conduct criminal background checks without significant legal risk to your organization.

Using proper consent and disclosure forms during your hiring process is one crucial step to staying out of a class-action lawsuit.

Here are seven tips for compliant consent and disclosure:

• Collect a written consent.
• Do not use release language that is legally not permissible.
• Combine your release and disclosure, within your application or combine other releases and notices that are non-related.
• Maintain a copy of the disclosure/authorization required by state and federal regulation.
• Have the Consumer Reporting Agency (Employment Screening Company) clearly listed, with their address and toll-free number, on the disclosure.  This allows the applicant to contact the CRA for disputes and/or copy of report.
• Provide proper disclosures.
• Provide written notices to applicant.

For further suggestions regarding compliant background screening, download MBI’S FREE compliance best practices guide to perform the most efficient employee background checks HERE.

Disclaimer:  Please be aware that MBI Worldwide (Midwest Backgrounds, Inc.) is not a law firm and all policies should be reviewed by an HR/Employment attorney for your companies’ best practices and all legal procedures, even if you are currently a client of MBI Worldwide. Do not use this article, or anything published from MBI Worldwide  as legal advice or inclusively for your screening/hiring policy.