House bill seeks accuracy in FBI background checks

50 percent of the information provided in FBI background checks may be inaccurate, a bill has been introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives – ‘H.R. 2865 – Fairness and Accuracy in Employment Background Checks Act of 2013’ – seeking to provide safeguards and improve the current system. Sponsored by Representative Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (D-VA), the bill calls for the Attorney General to establish and enforce procedures to ensure the prompt release of accurate records and information exchanged for employment-related purposes. ESR note that, specifically, the required procedures established under H. R. 2865 would include: (1) INACCURATE RECORD OR INFORMATION – If the Attorney General determines that a record or information is inaccurate, the Attorney General shall promptly correct that record or information or, if appropriate, promptly make any changes or deletions to the records or information. (2) INCOMPLETE RECORD OR INFORMATION – (A) If the Attorney General determines that a record or information is incomplete or cannot be verified, the Attorney General shall attempt to complete or verify the record or information, and if the Attorney General is unable to do so, the Attorney General may promptly make any changes or deletions to the record or information. (B) For the purposes of this paragraph, an incomplete record or information includes a record or information that indicates there was an arrest and does not include the disposition of that arrest. (C) If the record or information is an incomplete record or information described in subparagraph (B), the Attorney General shall, not later than 10 days after the requesting entity requests the exchange and before the exchange is made, obtain the disposition (if any) of the arrest. (3) NOTIFICATION OF REPORTING JURISDICTION – The Attorney General shall notify each appropriate reporting jurisdiction of any action taken under paragraph (1) or (2). (4) OPPORTUNITY TO REVIEW RECORDS OR INFORMATION BY APPLICANT – In connection with an exchange of such a record or information, the Attorney General shall – (A) obtain the consent of the applicant to exchange the record or information with the requesting entity; (B) at the time of consent, notify the applicant that the applicant can obtain a copy of the record or information; (C) provide to the applicant an opportunity to obtain a copy of the record or information upon request and to challenge the accuracy and completeness of that record or information; (D) promptly notify the requesting entity of any such challenge; (E) not later than 30 days after the challenge is made, complete an investigation of the challenge; (F) provide to the applicant the specific findings and results of that investigation; (G) promptly make any changes or deletions to the records or information required as a result of the challenge; and (H) report those changes to the requesting entity. (5) CERTAIN EXCHANGES PROHIBITED – An exchange shall not include any record or information – (A) about an arrest more than one year old as of the date of the request for the exchange, that does not also include a disposition (if any) of that arrest; (B) relating to an adult or juvenile non-serious offense of the sort described in section 20.32(b) of title 28, Code of Federal Regulations, as in effect on July 1, 2009; or (C) to the extent the record or information is not clearly an arrest or a disposition of an arrest.]]>