Amendment to the FCRA, Requirements for Illinois Employers and Driving Record Verbiage Requirements

Changes Necessitate Review of Compliance Documentation

Minneapolis, MN - December 4, 2003 - On December 4, 2003, President Bush signed into law the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACT). This law amends the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act, which is the federal law most directly regulating background screening for employment purposes.

FACT addresses several topics. Of special significance to employers, however, is the elimination of the disclosure and authorization requirement when an employer uses a third-party to conduct an investigation on an employee suspected of wrongdoing or misconduct. FACT is effective January 1, 2004.

Illinois Changes: Effective January 1, 2004, employment applications used by employers in the State of Illinois must specifically state an applicant is not required to disclose sealed or expunged records when responding to a question regarding previous criminal convictions. Illinois Public Act 93-0211 (S.B. 788)

Driving Record History: Due to increasingly strict state requirements, all background screening authorization forms which include access to driving records must contain the specific term “driving records.” The use of broad terms such as “all information from state agencies” is not acceptable to many State DMV Departments.

Please review the authorization you are currently using, confirm the term “driving records” is included, modify your current authorization if needed, or use our standard "Disclosure and Release of Information Authorization" found at

http://www.verificationsinc.com/release.html

We will be unable to process driving record requests received after 12/31/03 without an authorization containing the term “driving records.” Also keep in mind that state agencies are not currently accepting electronic signatures. If you have any questions, please contact Verifications Compliance Department at 763-420-0600 or 800-247-0717. Please also note the name of this background check will be changed from “MVR” to “Driving Record."