Background-check glossary

A

Adverse Action: Any decision — including refusal to hire — based in whole or in part on a consumer report. FCRA §615 requires a pre-adverse notice with a copy of the report and the FCRA Summary of Rights, a waiting period (SafestHires uses 5 business days), then a final adverse-action notice.
Article 23-A (NY Correction Law): The eight-factor analysis a New York employer must document before disqualifying a candidate based on a conviction. SafestHires generates the worksheet inside the report face-sheet.

Ban the Box: Statutes and ordinances restricting when an employer may ask about criminal history — typically until after a conditional offer.

CFPB: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau — co-enforces FCRA alongside the FTC; has issued advisory opinions on tenant and employment screening since 2022.
Continuous Monitoring: Ongoing post-hire screening that re-checks criminal, MVR, or sanction databases on a defined cadence and pushes alerts when new records appear.

DOT 49 CFR Part 40: The federal drug-and-alcohol testing rules that govern safety-sensitive transportation employees, including the Clearinghouse query.

E-Verify: DHS/SSA system to confirm employment eligibility. Separate from I-9 — E-Verify enrollment is mandatory in some states (AZ, GA, MS, NC, SC, TN, UT) and for federal contractors.

FCRA: Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. §1681). The federal statute governing consumer reports, including pre-employment background checks.
FACIS: Fraud and Abuse Control Information System — a database of state and federal healthcare-licensure and exclusion sources, sold in Levels 1M, 2M, and 3.
Fingerprint Background Check: A search against the FBI's NGI database (and state repository) based on submitted fingerprints. Required for many K-12, healthcare, and government roles.

ICRAA: Investigative Consumer Reporting Agencies Act — California's parallel statute to FCRA for investigative consumer reports.
Individualized Assessment: The EEOC-recommended (and in some states, mandatory) analysis of an applicant's specific circumstances before denying employment based on a criminal record.

MVR: Motor Vehicle Report — the driving-history record pulled from a state DMV.

Nondisclosure Order: A court order limiting public access to a criminal record. Treatment varies by state; SafestHires honors nondisclosure orders in all jurisdictions that recognize them.

OFAC / SDN: Office of Foreign Assets Control — the SDN (Specially Designated Nationals) list is checked for financial services and healthcare hires.
OIG / SAM Exclusion: Federal lists of individuals barred from receiving Medicare/Medicaid (OIG-LEIE) or federal contracts (SAM.gov). Required check for healthcare employers.

PBSA: Professional Background Screening Association — SafestHires is an Accredited Background Check Agency under the PBSA standard.
Pre-Adverse Action Notice: The first of the two-letter FCRA §615(a) sequence — sent before the employer makes a final decision.
Primary Source Verification: Confirming a credential (license, degree, employment) directly with the issuing institution rather than through a database.

Rap Back: FBI program providing subsequent-arrest notifications for individuals enrolled after an initial fingerprint check.

Salary History Ban: Prohibition on asking a candidate about prior compensation. Now law in 22+ states and many cities.
SOC 2 Type II: Audit standard for service organizations' controls over security, availability, and confidentiality. SafestHires holds a current Type II report.
Statewide Repository: A centralized state criminal-record system. Coverage and freshness vary widely; SafestHires routes to county courts when the statewide repository is known to lag.

Tier (K-12): Statutory categories that group disqualifying offenses for school employment, typically Tier 1 (automatic), Tier 2 (board review), and below-tier (individualized assessment).