A Philadelphia employer conducting background screening may soon have to navigate no less than six federal, state and local laws. Other jurisdictions also have background-check related laws, creating an even larger headache for multistate employers.

Law firms conducting background checks on their own workforces and lawyers who advise employers on hiring must recognize the pitfalls the patchwork of laws cause. This article describes key traps caused by the “alphabet soup” of Pennsylvania background check laws:

  • The federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA);
  • The Pennsylvania Criminal History Record Information Act (CHRIA);
  • The Pennsylvania Human Relations Act (PHRA);
  • The Philadelphia Fair Criminal Record Screening Standards Ordinance (FCRSS);
  • The Philadelphia ordinance that added credit check prohibitions to the Philadelphia Fair Practices Ordinance (FPO); and
  • The Philadelphia ordinance banning inquiries about applicants’ salary histories (SHO—for salary history ordinance).

The FCRA