Volunteer-driven organizations, like many youth sports programs are, know the importance of finding and retaining quality people. Turnover is often high as kids age-out of certain programs and their parents, who had been volunteer coaches or referees or organizers, go with them. One of the keys to maintaining a safe sports program with this type of heavy rotation is to incorporate background checks into the on-boarding process. The problem is that many youth sports organizations, especially small, local groups who don’t have the support or knowledge that large, national organizations have, may be unknowingly breaking the law if they’re not familiar with privacy, hiring and screening laws.
We’ve put together a list of some of the most important laws that any employer and volunteer-driven organization needs to know. But if you feel like you need more information on how these laws pertain to background screening, please reach out to our team of experts at Protect Youth Sports at 1-877-319-5587. We’d love to talk you through the screening process and show you how our affordable and easy-to-use solutions may be just the thing to help you navigate the often confusing world of hiring and screening law.
On to the list!
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) – According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), this law “helps ensure the accuracy, fairness, and privacy of the information provided by consumer reporting agencies. The FCRA also holds consumer reporting agencies (CRA) and the creditors that provide the information in your credit report responsible for correcting inaccurate or incomplete information in your report.”
Two of the biggest FCRA rules that employers repeatedly fail to comply with are Authorization and Adverse Action. You MUST get an applicants’ authorization before conducting a background check. Adverse Action is, essentially, when an employer decides not to hire an applicant based on the information in the background check. Before you tell the candidate you’re not hiring them based on information collected in the background check (in itself, called Adverse Action), you must give the applicant:
- A pre-adverse action notice that includes a copy of the background check you used to make your determination
- A copy of “A Summary of Your Rights Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act.” Your screening agency should supply you with this.
Once this pre-adverse action notice is completed, the candidate can review the information and explain or ask for a correction of any negative information. If this doesn’t happen within a reasonable amount of time, you can move forward with your Adverse Action notification:
- You must tell the applicant in person, in writing, or electronically that he was rejected because of information in the report
- Include the name, address and phone number of the screening agency
- Inform the applicant that the screening agency didn’t make the hiring decision and doesn’t know why you weren’t hired
- Ensure the applicant knows that she can dispute the information in the report, ask for a correction and request a free report from the same agency within 60 days.
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII) – This law makes it illegal to discriminate against someone on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, or sex. The law also makes it illegal to retaliate against a person because the person complained about discrimination, filed a charge of discrimination, or participated in an employment discrimination investigation or lawsuit. The law also requires that employers reasonably accommodate applicants’ and employees’ sincerely held religious practices, unless doing so would impose an undue hardship on the operation of the employer’s business.
The Pregnancy Discrimination Act – This law amended Title VII to make it illegal to discriminate against a woman because of pregnancy, childbirth, or a medical condition related to pregnancy or childbirth. The law also makes it illegal to retaliate against a person because the person complained about discrimination, filed a charge of discrimination, or participated in an employment discrimination investigation or lawsuit.
The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA) – This law protects people who are 40 or older from discrimination because of age. The law also makes it illegal to retaliate against a person because the person complained about discrimination, filed a charge of discrimination, or participated in an employment discrimination investigation or lawsuit.
Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) – This law makes it illegal to discriminate against a qualified person with a disability in the private sector and in state and local governments. The law also makes it illegal to retaliate against a person because the person complained about discrimination, filed a charge of discrimination, or participated in an employment discrimination investigation or lawsuit. The law also requires that employers reasonably accommodate the known physical or mental limitations of an otherwise qualified individual with a disability who is an applicant or employee, unless doing so would impose an undue hardship on the operation of the employer’s business.
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