HireRight background check

HireRight is a background screening company that describes itself as a provider of on-demand employment background checks, drug testing, Form I-9 and employment and education verifications.¹

HireRight lets you check status through HireRightBot on its candidate support site, support.hireright.com. You ask for "status of my background check" and enter your Request ID, or your email address plus your date of birth in MM/YY format and a one-time code sent to you.²

HireRight says you can also see status inside the Applicant Center using the link in your invitation, or call its automated system at 866-521-6995. It says some hiring companies have HireRight send status questions back to them.

HireRight says "an average employment background check will typically take between two and four business days to complete," depending on the nature and scope of the check.³

HireRight lists reasons a check can take longer: trouble reaching former employers or schools, backlogged or closed courts, a Medical Review Officer contacting you about a drug test, and records from outside the United States.

HireRight's status screen shows a request status of "In Progress" (HireRight is actively working on your request) or "Completed" (HireRight has finished its portion of the background screen).^2,4

HireRight says "Completed" does not mean the hiring company has finished its whole screening process. It also shows an estimated time to completion, a percent complete and the date the request started. HireRight says it does not make hiring decisions and cannot explain a hiring company's reasons.

HireRight says you may request a copy of your background reports and any related testing results at any time by completing a form on its candidate support site.⁵

If you cannot use the form, you can call 1-866-521-6995 (Monday to Friday, 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. Central Time), mail HireRight Attn: Applicant Care Team, 14002 E. 21st Street, Suite 1200, Tulsa, OK 74134, or fax 1-918-664-5520.

HireRight says you can file a dispute about your background report for free, and that the reinvestigation may take up to 30 days, or up to 45 days in limited circumstances.⁶

HireRight says it will reinvestigate the specific information you are disputing and that trained representatives can help you identify it. You can dispute by online form, by phone at 1-866-521-6995, by mail to the Applicant Care Team in Tulsa, Oklahoma, or by fax at 1-918-664-5520.

HireRight's applicant contact form is at customersupport.hireright.com/applicant, and its candidate support site is support.hireright.com.^5,7

The phone line for applicants is 1-866-521-6995. When the call connects, HireRight says to press #, then 1, then 5, then 2 to reach the Applicant Care Team.

On Aug. 8, 2012, the Federal Trade Commission announced that HireRight Solutions, Inc. would pay a $2.6 million civil penalty to settle charges that it violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act. The FTC said it was the first time it had charged an employment background screening firm under that law.⁸

The FTC alleged the company did not use reasonable procedures to keep information accurate and current, such as expunged criminal records, did not give consumers copies of their reports, and did not reinvestigate disputes as required.

If an employer turns you down because of information in a background report, the FTC says the employer must tell you that you have the right to dispute inaccurate or incomplete information with the background reporting company, and the right to an additional free report if you ask within 60 days of the decision.⁹

The FTC says the employer must also give you the name, address and phone number of the background reporting company, and tell you that the company did not make the decision and cannot give reasons for it. Before deciding, the employer must give you a copy of the report and a "Summary of Rights".

The FTC says to dispute a mistake by contacting the background reporting company, explaining the mistakes and asking that they be fixed, with any supporting documentation.⁹

After the company revises your report, the FTC says to review it to make sure the mistakes are gone, ask the company to send a copy of the corrected report to the employer, and tell the employer about the mistake. The FTC also asks people to tell it if they think a background check company included errors in their report, and to report an employer that got a report without permission or turned them down without the required notices at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, a consumer reporting agency must conduct a reasonable investigation within 30 days of being notified of a dispute, and the investigation is free.^8,10

The FTC's description of the law says the agency must record the status of the information or delete it, and must tell you the results in writing within five days of finishing. The CFPB says companies must investigate a dispute free of charge.