Background Check Companies

A background check mistake can cost you a job you already earned. Employers increasingly rely on third-party background check companies — consumer reporting agencies covered by the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) — to screen applicants, and when one of them reports someone else’s criminal record, an expunged case, or outdated information as if it were yours, the fallout lands on you. At The Kim Law Firm, we represent individuals across the country whose background reports contain errors, and we hold the screening companies accountable under the FCRA. If a background check cost you a job or an opportunity, we can help. Our FCRA lawyer page explains the statute these claims are built on.

Background check companies are consumer reporting agencies under the FCRA, not unregulated data brokers, and that distinction is what gives you the right to dispute what they report.

How employment background checks work

Employers hire background check companies to compile criminal records, employment and education verification, driving history, and more. The FCRA sets rules they must follow. First, the employer needs your written authorization before running the check. Second — and this is where many employers slip up — before rejecting you based on the report, the employer must give you a copy of it and a summary of your FCRA rights (a “pre-adverse action” notice), so you have a real chance to spot and dispute an error before the decision becomes final. You can learn more on our Employment Background Checks page.

Common background check errors we see

• Another person’s criminal record matched to you because you share a name or date of birth
• Expunged, sealed, or dismissed cases still showing as open or as convictions
• A single offense reported multiple times, making one case look like several
• Misdemeanors reported as felonies, or charges reported as convictions
• Outdated records reported beyond the FCRA’s limits (generally seven years for certain older items)
• Incorrect personal information — wrong name, address, or Social Security number
• Mixed-up or inaccurate employment and education history

How a background check error hurts you

The damage is immediate and expensive: a rescinded job offer, a lost promotion, or being screened out before you ever reach an interview — plus the lost income and the reputational hit of looking like something you’re not. Because so many rejections happen quietly, many people never learn the report was wrong unless they ask to see it.

Your rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act

You must consent before an employer runs a background check, and if the employer takes adverse action based on the report, you’re entitled to a copy and a chance to respond. You can dispute errors directly with the background check company, which must reinvestigate — generally within 30 days — and correct or delete anything it cannot verify. When a company reports inaccurate information or ignores a proper dispute and you’re harmed, the FCRA lets consumers recover actual damages, and for willful violations, statutory damages, punitive damages, and attorney’s fees and costs. Because the law shifts those fees to the wrongdoer, we can take these cases at no upfront cost to you.

How to dispute a background check error

1. Ask the employer for the copy of the report and the summary of rights they are required to provide.
2. Identify every inaccuracy and gather documents reflecting that the information is not accurate — i.e., court dispositions, expungement orders, ID documents.
3. Dispute in writing with the background check company, and keep copies of everything you send.
4. Watch the calendar — the company generally has 30 days to investigate and respond.
5. If it isn’t corrected — or the error already cost you the job — talk to an FCRA attorney about your options.

If you disputed the error and it still wasn’t fixed, that is often the point at which the law has been broken — and where we can step in.

How The Kim Law Firm helps

From our Philadelphia office, we review your report, pinpoint the FCRA violations, deal with the screening company and — where appropriate — the employer, and pursue compensation for the harm you’ve suffered. With extensive experience representing individuals under the FCRA, we know how the major screening companies operate and what it takes to force a correction. You don’t pay unless we win.

If a background check error has cost you a job, an apartment or a license, our background check lawyer page sets out what a Fair Credit Reporting Act claim requires, who is liable, and the four documents to send us. If you are asking whether you can sue a background check company, that page covers what the Fair Credit Reporting Act allows you to recover and how long you have to file.

Background check companies we handle disputes against

Errors can appear on a report from any of these employment screening companies. If one of them has reported inaccurate information about you — or if the company you’re dealing with isn’t on this list — contact us.

• AccuFacts ⇒
• Accurate Background ⇒
• ADP Screening & Selection Services, Inc. ⇒
• Asurint ⇒
• Backgroundchecks.com ⇒
• Backgrounds Online ⇒
• Blend Insights ⇒
• CCC Verify ⇒
• ClearChecks ⇒
• Checkr ⇒
• Cisive ⇒
• DISA Global Solutions, Inc. ⇒
• EmpInfo, Inc. ⇒
• Experian Verify ⇒
• First Advantage Corporation ⇒
• GoodHire ⇒
• Orange Tree ⇒
• Info Cubic ⇒
• InfoMart ⇒
• Certiphi Screening ⇒
• ClearStar ⇒
• Employment Background Investigations ⇒
• Data Facts ⇒
• Global HR Research ⇒
• ScoutLogic ⇒
• Ferretly ⇒
• Fama ⇒
• HireRight ⇒
• IntelliCorp ⇒
• OPENonline ⇒
• Pinwheel ⇒
• Pre-employ ⇒
• Social Intelligence ⇒
• Sterling ⇒
• The Work Number ⇒
• Truework ⇒
• Universal Background Screening ⇒

Background check errors often overlap with other consumer-report problems — see our pages on credit report errors, tenant screening, check & bank screening, and property & insurance reports.

Frequently asked questions