In the USA consumer rights are very important and this remains the same when it comes to background screening in the USA. Most specifically employment screening is where federal law makes it clear how pulling public records like criminal records on employment candidates has to work. The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) outlines exactly what must occur when an employer performs criminal background checks on potential or current employees. The employer must get written permission from the candidate giving the employer the right to pull background checks on them. Also if an employer receives criminal records found or other public records found on the individual seeking employment then the company has to give the job applicant an adverse action letter along with a document with the summary of their rights under the FCRA. These safeguards are in place to protect consumers and to provide a fairer environment for job seekers. If a job seeker does not get a job because of say a criminal conviction record found on them then they have the right to know this so they can either dispute it or seek to get such criminal records expunged. To read more about this issue view recent CriminalBackgroundRecords.com press release: http://www.criminalbackgroundrecords.com/news/2014-3-17-Consumers-Rights-with-Background-Screening.html