If you’re on the hunt for a job, don’t be surprised if you run across Applicant Insight. Discover who they are and what they do, and learn about your rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
What is Applicant Insight?
Applicant Insight , Inc. was founded in 1990, and is based in New Port Richey, Florida. The company offers employment background screening services in the United States and internationally. The company describes itself as a “single source provider” that “offers a global reach with a comprehensive service offering spanning the globe.”It helps employers “minimize risk through the thoughtful design, implementation and management of an intelligent screening program built to ensure compliance with regulating agencies governing the use of background checks and substance abuse screening in the workplace.”
Applicant Insight uncovers many different types of information about job applicants. They do so through:
Identity searches
County, state, national, and federal criminal checks
Social security number traces
Driver history searches
Certification, employment, and education searches
Financial history searches
Civil records searches
Applicant Insight is accredited by the National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS).
Were You Harmed By False Information or Errors In Your Applicant Insight Report?
There are a number of factors that come into play when an employer is considering whether or not to hire or promote a candidate. One of the factors may be a background screening. If so, the employer will request your permission to run a background check – even though that background check may be outsourced to a company like Applicant Insight. If the background check raises a red flag, then the employer may offer the position to someone else.
A federal law, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, mandates that the employer take certain actions when planning to conduct a background check. While it’s legal to use the information in a background check to make a hiring decision, the FCRA is designed to prevent that decision from being made based on false information. In other words, you have rights, and the employer must abide by the FCRA’s provisions. If they don’t, they can be sued in federal court.
Employees of background check companies can make mistakes. These mistakes can take different forms, such as transposing a number when doing data entry or mixing up one person’s records with another person’s records. Huge databases can be incomplete or contain inaccurate information. A background check company can even include information prohibited by law in a report. Those mistakes can have serious consequences to the person who is denied a job or promotion based on a background screening report.
What are my Background Check Disclosure and Consent Rights?
When it comes to consent and disclosure, the Fair Credit Reporting Act gives you a number of rights. The first is that your potential employer must obtain your consent in order to run an employment background check. They must give you a separate notification and you must sign a document saying that you consent to the background check.
The second set of rights pertains to actions the employer must take if your background check report – whether produced by Applicant Insight or another company – contains detrimental information. If the employer intends to use the information in the report to refrain from hiring you, they must send you a pre-adverse action notice, a copy of your background check report, and a notification of your rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
What if I get an adverse action notice from an employer after a background check?
It’s not fair to deny you a job based on information you haven’t seen. If you receive a notice from the employer that they are considering denying you a job because of the information in your employment background report, you have rights. You have the right to see the report and to receive the contact information for the company that compiled the report. The employer must also send you a notice outlining your right to dispute incorrect items on your report.
Can criminal convictions appear on my background check after 7 years?
The short answer is yes. Both misdemeanor and felony convictions are fair game for an employment background check – virtually forever. The one exception is an expunged convictions. Expunged convictions cannot be included in your background check. Many other types of information – arrest records, civil litigation, debts in collection, and so forth – have a seven-year limit, after which they cannot be included. A bankruptcy has a ten-year inclusion limit.
Can I dispute a false disposition on my background check report?
Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, you are entitled to receive your background report, and dispute incorrect information with the company that produced the report. Once you file a dispute, the background check company is required to investigate the dispute and make any necessary corrections within 30 days.
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Can I Sue Applicant Insight if my background report includes errors?
If an Applicant Insight background check included information not allowed by the FCRA or included inaccurate information that prevented you from landing the job, you may be able to sue the company in federal court. If you win your lawsuit, the FCRA says that you may be entitled to actual damages, statutory damages of up to $1,000, punitive damages, attorney fees, and costs.
Actual Complaints Against Applicant Insight
Hardworking people just like you who lost job opportunities due to an inaccurate or unfair employment background check report have already sued Applicant Insight for FCRA violations. Pacer lists at least 2 federal civil lawsuits against Applicant Insight, at least one of which alleges violations of the FCRA due to an improper employment screening report.
For example, in April 2017, a consumer sued Applicant Insight in the federal district court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin for violating the FCRA in connection with an employment background check and that he lost employment opportunities and suffered emotional distress, reputational harm and other damages. The complainant alleged that he applied for various jobs at insurance companies and as part of the application process, the insurance companies obtained employment background checks about him from Applicant Insight. Applicant Insight prepared the background checks but failed to use reasonable procedures to ensure the maximum accuracy possible of the report as the FCRA requires. According to the complainant, Applicant Insight falsely listed criminal charges that had been dismissed and arrest records from more than seven years earlier. According to the complainant, the insurance companies declined to employ the complainant due to the inaccurate Applicant Insight background check report. The complainant disputed the criminal history information contained in the report, but Applicant Insight failed to investigate properly.
This FCRA lawsuits against Applicant Insight is similar to hundreds of lawsuits filed across the country against other background check companies like Applicant Insight. Many of those lawsuits allege that the background check companies did not take reasonable steps to verify criminal background information or misidentified the subject of the report. Some complaints allege that background check reports contained inaccurate educational, work, driving, credit or other personal information that the background check company was not responsive or did not properly handle disputes about inaccurate information. Some complainants have filed their lawsuits as class action complaints, on behalf of themselves and similarly situated people.
Contact Information
Applicant Insight, Inc. 5652 Meadowlane Street New Port Richey, FL 34652
Phone: 800-771-7703
Ready to Assert Your FCRA Rights?
Fired or Not Hired Because of a Applicant Insight Background Check? If so, you’re in the right place.
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If you’re ready to assert your rights and fight incorrect information in your background check, we can help you get justice. Complete our form for a FREE case evaluation, or call 844-685-9200 NOW.
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About the Author:
Sergei Lemberg is an attorney focusing on consumer law, class actions related to automotive issues, and personal injury litigation. With nearly two decades of experience, his areas of practice include Lemon Law (vehicle defects), Debt Collection Harassment, TCPA (illegal robocalls and texts), Fair Credit Reporting Act, Overtime claims, Personal Injury cases, and Class Actions. He has consistently been recognized as the nation's "most active consumer attorney." In 2020, Mr. Lemberg represented Noah Duguid before the United States Supreme Court in the landmark case Duguid v. Facebook. He is also the author of "Defanging Debt Collectors," a guide that empowers consumers to fight back against debt collectors and prevail, as well as "Lemon Law 101: The Laws That Lemon Dealers Don't Want You to Know."
