The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) requires employers to give a Summary of Rights form to job applicants and employees who have had adverse action taken against them such as not being hired, being disciplined, or being fired based on a background check. The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection has issued a revised model summary of rights disclosure notice which must be used effective September 21, 2018. The form is entitled "A Summary of Your Rights Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act" and has been updated to include information about security freezes and fraud alerts, resulting from a federal law passed in May 2018 in response to high-profile data breaches.
In general, the notice informs applicants and employees of their rights to obtain and dispute information in background-check reports and to obtain credit scores. Employers may use either the new model form or their own substantially similar form. The information contained in the model form must be provided by background-screening companies to employers, as well as by employers to job applicants during the adverse-action process. The Bureau’s announcement about the new form can be found at https://www.consumerfinance.gov/about-us/newsroom/bureau-consumer-financial-protection-issues-updated-fcra-model-disclosures/, and a link to the form is contained therein.
