New FCRA Obligations May Impact Employers

Recently, the Federal Trade Commission determined that certain companies, such as reference-checking providers, are consumer reporting agencies under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).  As a result, employers that provide payroll and other employee-related information to certain third parties in connection with outsourced services, such as unemployment processing and reference checking, will be considered “furnishers” within the meaning of the FCRA and, therefore, subject to applicable federal and comparable state law regulations.  Federal regulations that impose new responsibilities on employers that provide consumer credit information to consumer reporting agencies took effect on July 1, 2010.

For a good summary of the new regulations, click here.