Reference Investigative Information
Tea2Sea LLC is NOT a consumer reporting agency. Tea2Sea LLC promotes the responsible use of information that it provides and reserves the right to withhold any information which Tea2Sea LLC determines to be outside the scope of an acceptable purpose as defined by the Commonwealth of Virginia Law, or federal laws and regulations. “Confidential Information” shall not include such information as it is currently or becomes part of the public domain through no action of Tea2Sea LLC. The client is responsible for protecting the information provided from unauthorized third-party disclosure as defined by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA), Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA), Drivers Privacy Protection Act (DPPA), and Right to Financial Privacy Act (RFPA) and applicable state and federal laws and regulations. It is paramount for the Client and Client’s representatives to be fully knowledgeable about the laws and regulations and/or seek legal counsel prior to the broadcasting of reported information. Furthermore, the Client affirms that the information requested and/or learned during the investigation will NOT be used for illegal purpose(s).
Some Information Regarding the FCRA and The FACT Act
"The Act (Title VI of the Consumer Credit Protection Act) protects information collected by consumer reporting agencies such as credit bureaus, medical information companies and tenant screening services. Information in a consumer report cannot be provided to anyone who does not have a purpose specified in the Act. Companies that provide information to consumer reporting agencies also have specific legal obligations, including the duty to investigate disputed information. In addition, users of the information for credit, insurance, or employment purposes must notify the consumer when an adverse action is taken on the basis of such reports. The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act added many provisions to this Act primarily relating to record accuracy and identity theft. The Dodd-Frank Act transferred to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau most of the rulemaking responsibilities added to this Act by the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act and the Credit CARD Act, but the Commission retains all its enforcement authority."
https://www.ftc.gov/legal-library/browse/statutes/fair-credit-reporting-act
EEOC/What Employers Need to Know
"If you get background information (for example, a credit or criminal background report) from a company in the business of compiling background information, there are additional procedures the FCRA requires beforehand:
-
Tell the applicant or employee you might use the information for decisions about his or her employment. This notice must be in writing and in a stand-alone format. The notice can't be in an employment application. You can include some minor additional information in the notice (like a brief description of the nature of consumer reports), but only if it doesn't confuse or detract from the notice.
-
If you are asking a company to provide an "investigative report" - a report based on personal interviews concerning a person's character, general reputation, personal characteristics, and lifestyle - you must also tell the applicant or employee of his or her right to a description of the nature and scope of the investigation.
-
Get the applicant's or employee's written permission to do the background check. This can be part of the document you use to notify the person that you will get the report. If you want the authorization to allow you to get background reports throughout the person's employment, make sure you say so clearly and conspicuously.
-
Certify to the company from which you are getting the report that you:
-
notified the applicant and got their permission to get a background report;
-
complied with all of the FCRA requirements; and
-
won't discriminate against the applicant or employee, or otherwise misuse the information in violation of federal or state equal opportunity laws or regulations."
-
https://www.eeoc.gov/laws/guidance/background-checks-what-employers-need-know
Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003
"This Act, amending the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), adds provisions designed to improve the accuracy of consumers' credit-related records. It gives consumers the right to one free credit report a year from the credit reporting agencies, and consumers may also purchase, for a reasonable fee, a credit score along with information about how the credit score is calculated. The Act also requires the provision of "risk-based-pricing" notices and credit scores to consumers in connection with denials or less favorable offers of credit. The Act also adds provisions designed to prevent and mitigate identity theft, including a section that enables consumers to place fraud alerts in their credit files, as well as other enhancements to the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Certain provisions related to data security ("red flags" of possible identity theft) were amended by the Red Flag Program Clarification Act of 2010, Pub. L. 111-319, 124 Stat. 3457, to clarify and narrow the meaning of "creditor" for purposes of those provisions. The Dodd-Frank Act transferred most rulemaking and one ongoing study requirement under this Act to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, but the Commission retains responsibility for two data security rules ("red flags" and "disposal") as well as all rulemaking under the Act relating to certain motor vehicle dealers."