Whether individuals are hired, promoted, retained or allowed to volunteer often depends on information revealed in a background check. Companies conduct background checks on prospective employees and volunteers for many reasons including

• public safety
• legal requirements
• liability
• protecting vulnerable populations
• customer assurance
• avoiding a business loss

Yes they can. Bankruptcies are public record, however, employers can’t discriminate against you because you filed for bankruptcy. 

First, you should check the files at the court where you were tried and make sure the information is correct and up-to-date.

Next, you’ll want to follow the steps in our guide: Dealing with Errors on Your Background Check.

It depends. Ban the Box laws are state and local laws that limit the questions that an employer can ask on a job application (usually about your past criminal record). They can sometimes be complex and vary depending on the state, county or city. To see what the laws are in your area, you can check The National Employment Law Project’s Ban the Box Guide.

Not in most cases. California’s Ban the Box law prohibits an employer from asking you about

Yes, if someone has stolen your child’s personal information, it’s possible for accounts to be opened in your child’s name. To determine whether this has happened, you can contact the three major credit bureaus (Experian, TransUnion, Equifax) to see if your child has a file. Children won’t have a file with the credit bureaus unless they’re a victim of identity theft.

Yes. The first thing you can do is freeze your credit. Next, you can follow some of the other steps in our guide: Reducing Your Risk of Identity Theft.

If you're getting a job in California, a law called the Investigative Consumer Reporting Agencies Act (ICRAA) provides you with more background check protections than the federal

With more than 11 billion individual records breached in the U.S. since 2005 and the numerous scandals exposed just last year, companies that collect, use and share our information have given us little reason to trust them. It’s time for Californians to stop feeling helpless when it comes to protecting their information—it’s time we had Privacy for All.

This proposed law (AB 1760) builds upon the California Consumer Privacy Act—closing loopholes by

We have signed on to two letters urging Washington legislators to reject the Protecting Consumer Data Act, as it is far too weak to adequately safeguard Washingtonian’s private information.

While people around the country are demanding stronger privacy protections—such as those in Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation and California’s Consumer Privacy Act—Washington’s Protecting Consumer Data Act would instead entrench paper thin protections based largely upon assessments and voluntary decisions made by the very companies the law is seeking to regulate.