Background screening software that runs consent, adjudication and adverse action on one clock
Background screening is the procurement of consumer reports about applicants or employees for employment purposes, governed in the United States by the Fair Credit Reporting Act. 15 USC 1681b limits when a report may be furnished and 15 USC 1681m sets duties on users, including a 2 stage pre adverse and adverse action notice process. EEOC and FTC publish joint guidance for employers. Neurobird holds consent, purpose, adjudication and notice clocks on one record across 22 client employers.
Neurobird Background Screening in short
- Track pre adverse and adverse action as a 2 stage process with a waiting period, not a single letter
- Hold permissible purpose certification against the client and the report it authorised
- Manage disputes and reinvestigation deadlines on the same record as the report disputed
- 1681b The FCRA section limiting when a consumer report may be furnished, including the certification and authorisation conditions attached to employment purposes. 15 USC 1681b
- 1681m The section imposing duties on users of consumer reports, including providing the consumer a copy of the report and a summary of rights before adverse action. 15 USC 1681m
- Pricing runs 119 to 749 US dollars per month across 3 tiers. Early access is free.
What background screening firms and HR teams actually deal with
Why it stays broken
Screening is a compliance process wearing a hiring process costume. Consent, permissible purpose, adjudication, 2 notices and a dispute window all attach to a single report, and every one of them has a deadline. The applicant tracking system knows none of it.
One adverse action taken without the pre adverse notice is a defect on a single report that no later fix can undo.
However, any time you use an applicant's or employee's background information to make an employment decision, regardless of how you got the information, you must comply with federal laws that protect applicants and employees from discrimination.
The firm, report by report
A working preview. Tick a report to pull its consent and notice history.
| Requirement | Status | Next due | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Report 8790, adjudication matrix applied | current | in 42d | |
| Candidate 8814, pre adverse action sent, 5 day clock running | due soon | in 9d | |
| County search, 3 jurisdictions pending | current | in 120d | |
| Dispute opened, reinvestigation due in 30 days | overdue | 3d late | |
| Permissible purpose certification, client 22 | current | in 64d |
Tick a requirement to file evidence against it.
Neurobird Background Screening Operations Platform
Make the report the record. Consent, purpose, adjudication rationale, notice stages and dispute status attach to it, so each clock is visible rather than tracked by hand.
- 1Track pre adverse and adverse action as a 2 stage process with a waiting period, not a single letter
- 2Hold permissible purpose certification against the client and the report it authorised
- 3Manage disputes and reinvestigation deadlines on the same record as the report disputed
- 4Apply the adjudication matrix consistently and record which rule produced the outcome
What changes with Neurobird Background Screening?
The same work, read left to right: how it runs today, and how it runs once the record is in one place.
| Today | With Neurobird Background Screening |
|---|---|
| Pre adverse and adverse action are 2 separate notices with a waiting period between them, and the clock is per candidate | Track pre adverse and adverse action as a 2 stage process with a waiting period, not a single letter |
| Permissible purpose has to be established before a report is pulled, and the certification lives in a client contract nobody reads at pull time | Hold permissible purpose certification against the client and the report it authorised |
| Disputes trigger reinvestigation duties with their own deadline, arriving while the hiring manager is still asking for the report | Manage disputes and reinvestigation deadlines on the same record as the report disputed |
Who is this for?
Three screeners, three reasons the clock is the product.
Purpose before the pull
Client certification recorded against the report it authorised, so permissible purpose is evidence rather than an assumption.
Reinvestigation on the same record
A dispute and the report it concerns are handled together, with the statutory deadline visible.
Two notices, one clock
Pre adverse, waiting period and adverse action tracked as one sequence per candidate rather than as separate emails.
How does Neurobird Background Screening work?
Establish purpose before the pull
Client certification and consumer authorisation recorded against the report they authorise.
Adjudicate to a rule, not a mood
The matrix applied is recorded with the outcome, so consistency is demonstrable.
Run notices as two stages
Pre adverse, waiting period, then adverse action, with the clock on the record rather than in a diary.
What the FCRA actually asks of a screener
Useful if you run screening or use reports to hire. Each source links out.
The FCRA section limiting when a consumer report may be furnished, including the certification and authorisation conditions attached to employment purposes.
15 USC 1681bThe section imposing duties on users of consumer reports, including providing the consumer a copy of the report and a summary of rights before adverse action.
15 USC 1681mEEOC and FTC publish joint guidance for employers on background checks, because the same decision engages both anti discrimination and consumer reporting law.
EEOC, background checksRegulation V, the CFPB regulation implementing the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
CFPB, Regulation VAdverse action based on a consumer report is a 2 stage process, with a pre adverse notice and a waiting period before the final notice.
FTC, background checksBackground screening software questions, answered
Key terms
- What is background screening?
- Background screening is the procurement of consumer reports about applicants or employees for employment purposes. In the United States it is governed by the Fair Credit Reporting Act, which imposes duties on both the screening firm and the employer using the report.
- What is pre adverse action?
- Before taking adverse action based wholly or partly on a consumer report, the user must provide the consumer with a copy of the report and a summary of rights. 15 USC 1681m sets out the requirements on users of consumer reports, and the practical effect is a 2 stage notice process with a gap between them.
- What is permissible purpose?
- 15 USC 1681b limits when a consumer report may be furnished. Employment is a permissible purpose, but it depends on certification and, generally, written authorisation from the consumer. It is established before the pull, not after.
What happens when a candidate disputes a result?
A dispute triggers reinvestigation obligations with statutory timing. The dispute and the original report have to be handled together, which is difficult when they live in different systems.
Does this replace our ATS?
No. Requisitions and candidate workflow stay in the applicant tracking system. What lives here is the compliance layer: consent, permissible purpose, adjudication rationale, notice stages and dispute clocks.
Why we are building this
Background screening looks like a search business. It is actually a notice business. The searching is commoditised. What creates liability is whether the right person got the right document at the right moment, and whether you can prove it a year later.
Two notices with a gap between them. A permissible purpose established before the pull. An adjudication that has to be consistent across candidates. A dispute clock that starts without warning. None of that lives in an applicant tracking system.
So we are building the compliance record. If you run screening, tell us which clock you watch most closely.
Where the requirement comes from
The statute and the agency guidance behind it.
- EEOC, background checks what employers need to know Joint guidance on using background information lawfully.
- FTC, background checks what employers need to know The FTC half of the same joint guidance.
- 15 USC 1681b, permissible purposes of consumer reports When a report may lawfully be furnished.
- 15 USC 1681m, requirements on users of consumer reports Adverse action duties, including the notice requirements.
- CFPB, Regulation V, Fair Credit Reporting The implementing regulation.
How much does Neurobird Background Screening cost?
Priced per firm, not per report. A busy hiring quarter should not cost more.
- 1 employer
- Consent and purpose records
- Notice sequencing
- Adjudication matrix
- Up to 40 clients
- Client certification tracking
- Dispute queue
- Compliance reporting
Get free early access
We are building this with firms and HR teams who own FCRA exposure.
Straight answer on where this is: The software is in development and not purchasable today. Early access means your process shapes the compliance record, and you see it first.
Prefer email? Write to office@neurobird.com and a person will reply. No autoresponder.