Turned Down for a Job due to “Bad Credit”? GIS & BGC to Pay $13M for Inaccurate Reporting

October 29, 2015, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) took action against General Information Services (GIS) and its affiliate, e-Background-checks.com, Inc. (BGC), two of the largest employment background screening report providers, for failing take basic steps to assure the information reported about job applicants was accurate and including impermissible information in the reports. The serious inaccuracies reported by GIS and BGC, potentially affected consumers’ eligibility for employment and caused harm to their reputation.
Requirements include: revising their compliance procedures, developing an audit program and retaining an independent consultant.  In addition, GIS and BGC shall also:

• Provide $10.5 million in relief to harmed consumers.
• Pay a civil monetary penalty of $2.5 million.

General Information Services and its affiliate failed to take basic steps to provide accurate background screening reports to employers about job applicants,” said CFPB Director Richard Cordray. “Today, we are holding two of the largest companies in this market accountable for cleaning up the quality of their reports.

GIS and its affiliate, BGC, collectively generate and sell more than 10 million consumer reports about job applicants each year to prospective employers. These consumer reports include criminal history information and civil records, among other types of data. Employers use the consumer reports to determine hiring eligibility of applicants and make other types of employment decisions.
Click here for a copy of the consent order.

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