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Course Details

Course Information
  • smart_display Format

    Live Online with Live Q&A

  • signal_cellular_alt Difficulty Level

    Beginner

  • work Practice Area

    Employment and Workers Comp

Date & Time
  • event Date

    Wednesday, July 30, 2025

  • schedule Time

    1:00 p.m. ET./10:00 a.m. PT

  • timer Program Length

    60 minutes

Credit Information

  • This 60-minute webinar is eligible in most states for 1.0 CLE credits.

$147.00
CLE
ALL

This CLE webinar will provide an overview of the Fair Credit Reporting Act's (FCRA) requirements for employers when conducting background checks on employees and/or applicants. The panel will discuss when employers must comply with the FCRA, what types of reports or investigations are covered, and employer notice requirements. The panel will also address potential penalties facing employers for noncompliance and provide best practices for developing FCRA-compliant policies.

Faculty

Pamela Q. Devata
Partner, Background Screening Compliance and Litigation Defense Team Leader
Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Ms. Devata has extensive knowledge and experience on all things relating to the use of criminal, credit, and other background checks related to hiring. Both employers and background screening companies (consumer reporting agencies) look to Ms. Devata for guidance based on her deep knowledge and experience practicing in this area for nearly 20 years. She has a wide range of experience in this area of law. Ms. Devata has handled hundreds of class action lawsuits and numerous single-plaintiff cases. She has also discussed these topics to key stakeholders at thousands of speaking engagements. She even testified in October 2010 at the Public Meeting of the EEOC in Washington, DC, about the use of credit checks as a screening tool for job applicants. Ms. Devata is recognized nationwide for her vast knowledge on all things related to background checks. She counsels employers, marketplaces, staffing companies, property management companies, insurance companies, and background screening companies on the intricacies of the FCRA and laws affecting hiring and screening processes. She represents more than 200 background screening companies of all sizes.

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Valerie Teachout
Senior Counsel
Potomac Legal Group

Ms. Teachout is a distinguished employment attorney with over two decades of experience representing private and federal-sector employees. Her experience primarily includes representing employees who have suffered discrimination, retaliation, and wrongful termination. Ms. Teachout is particularly adept at navigating the complexities of federal employment laws, including Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, and the Americans with Disabilities Act. Her considerable successes include a landmark reversal in a sex discrimination case before the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals: Merritt v. Old Dominion Freight Line Inc., 601 F.3d 289 (4th Cir. 2010).

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Description

The FCRA governs how employers obtain and use consumer reports including those used for standard employment background checks such as credit reports, criminal history reports, and driving records. The FCRA applies when employers use a third party to conduct investigations and has stringent requirements for employers to follow or risk severe penalties.

The FCRA requires employers to disclose to employees and applicants that consumer reports may be used for employment decisions and obtain employee and applicant consent. If the consumer reports provide information that could result in an adverse employment action, employers are required to take additional steps including providing the employee or applicant with notice that includes a copy of the consumer report that was relied on to make the decision and a copy of their FCRA rights.

Listen as our expert panel provides an overview of FCRA requirements for employers when conducting background checks and offers best practices for helping employers create FCRA-compliant policies to mitigate the risk of enforcement action.

Outline

I. Introduction

A. FCRA overview

B. When do employers need to comply with the FCRA?

II. FCRA employee background check requirements

A. Disclosure to applicants and employees

B. Applicant or employee consent

C. Adverse action and notice

D. Disposing of consumer reports

III. Potential penalties for noncompliance

IV. State law considerations

V. Best practices for drafting FCRA-compliant policies

Benefits

The panel will review these and other important considerations:

  • What types of reports or investigations that may be used by employers when making employment decisions are covered under the FCRA? 
  • When are employers required to comply with the FCRA? What is required of employers?
  • What potential penalties may be imposed on employers for noncompliance?
  • What are best practices for drafting FCRA-compliant employment policies?