According to the Federal Trade Commission, an employer may perform a background on check on you before deciding whether or not to hire you or when deciding whether or not to keep you at your current position. A background check may entail the employer looking at your employment history, education, criminal record, financial history, medical history, and your use of online social media. Some employers conduct background checks through background reports, commonly criminal background reports and credit reports. Note that the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) regulates these background reports. The FCRA regulates both the consumer reporting agencies (CRA) and the reports themselves.
[Last updated in June of 2020 by the Wex Definitions Team]