Our Legal Team
American DataBank has an experienced in-house legal team. Our General Counsel is a Wall Street-trained attorney with 15 years of experience in the background screening industry. He is supported by three outside law firms that specialize in employment and privacy law issues. Retaining our own counsel allows us to stay ahead of legal trends that will affect your business. It allows us to spot potential issues before they arise and keep our clients apprised of any legal changes that will affect their hiring or admission process.
There are a number of local, state and federal regulations that every organization must follow when utilizing background checks in the hiring or admission process. The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) imposes obligations on employers and other users of background screening reports. EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission), FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act), WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) all have rules that create additional requirements. Moreover, state and local regulations that impact the hiring process (e.g. Ban-the-Box and Fair Chance laws) are increasing rapidly and can be quite burdensome.
Failure to comply with these laws can be costly. Even unintentional, technical violations can result in penalties or, even worse, a class action lawsuit costing millions of dollars.
American DataBank cannot provide official attorney-client advice but our legal department is pleased to review your questions and provide informal guidance on compliance issues. In addition, American DataBank publishes a newsletter periodically to update our clients on important new laws and legal trends.
Our Legal Counsel
Roger Adams is a seasoned business attorney with 30 years of experience as a corporate advisor for business development and legal affairs. He graduated from Columbia Law School. Roger worked 12 years as a corporate attorney in New York City before moving to Denver and starting his own practice. His wealth of knowledge and experience in employment law has been an asset to American DataBank since he joined us in 2004.
Maintaining Legal Compliance:
Maintaining compliance with Federal agencies and regulations that govern consumer reporting agencies (CRAs) can be a complex task, not to mention the ever-changing State laws regarding background checks. Our legal counsel provides updates on upcoming State regulations and offers guidance on compliance with the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).
