# Background screening software that runs consent, adjudication and adverse action on one clock

![A screening compliance lead reviewing an adverse action notice sequence against a candidate report file](https://neurobird.com/background/background-hero.webp)
*The search is the easy part. Proving the notice went out on time is the business.*

> 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.

- URL: https://neurobird.com/background/
- Product: Neurobird Background Screening Operations Platform
- Niche: background screening
- Buyer: background screening firms and HR teams
- Status: in development, open for early access
- Updated: 2026-08-25

## What Neurobird Background Screening does

- 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
- Apply the adjudication matrix consistently and record which rule produced the outcome

## How it works

1. **Establish purpose before the pull** Client certification and consumer authorisation recorded against the report they authorise.
2. **Adjudicate to a rule, not a mood** The matrix applied is recorded with the outcome, so consistency is demonstrable.
3. **Run notices as two stages** Pre adverse, waiting period, then adverse action, with the clock on the record rather than in a diary.

## From the source material

> 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.

Source: EEOC, background checks what employers need to know, https://www.eeoc.gov/laws/guidance/background-checks-what-employers-need-know

## Industry context

- **1681b** The FCRA section limiting when a consumer report may be furnished, including the certification and authorisation conditions attached to employment purposes. (source: 15 USC 1681b, https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/15/1681b)
- **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. (source: 15 USC 1681m, https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/15/1681m)
- **2 agencies** EEOC and FTC publish joint guidance for employers on background checks, because the same decision engages both anti discrimination and consumer reporting law. (source: EEOC, background checks, https://www.eeoc.gov/laws/guidance/background-checks-what-employers-need-know)
- **1022** Regulation V, the CFPB regulation implementing the Fair Credit Reporting Act. (source: CFPB, Regulation V, https://www.consumerfinance.gov/rules-policy/regulations/1022/)
- **1 sequence** Adverse action based on a consumer report is a 2 stage process, with a pre adverse notice and a waiting period before the final notice. (source: FTC, background checks, https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/background-checks-what-employers-need-know)

## Pricing

- In house team: 119 per month
- Screening firm: 319 per month
- Enterprise: 749 per month

## Questions

### 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.

## Sources

- [EEOC, background checks what employers need to know](https://www.eeoc.gov/laws/guidance/background-checks-what-employers-need-know)
- [FTC, background checks what employers need to know](https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/background-checks-what-employers-need-know)
- [15 USC 1681b, permissible purposes of consumer reports](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/15/1681b)
- [15 USC 1681m, requirements on users of consumer reports](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/15/1681m)
- [CFPB, Regulation V, Fair Credit Reporting](https://www.consumerfinance.gov/rules-policy/regulations/1022/)

## Contact

- office@neurobird.com
- https://neurobird.com/