ESTABLISHED IN 1982
Your Trusted Partner for Comprehensive Background Screening Solutions
BROWSE SOLUTIONS BY:
Search their past. Protect your future.
A GLOBAL LEADER
Providing Decision Data and Risk Assessment Analytics
By isolating the important factors pertaining to background screening and drug testing, such as compliance, accuracy, integrity, and turnaround times, PRIORITY has delivered unparalleled results for over three decades.
A True Industry Leader
Priority Remains at the Forefront of Technology
Continually expanding system functionality and service line.
Optimal efficiency is achieved with confident decisions made. The PRIORITY in-house verification and research team now serves an impressive client base of 1,500 plus worldwide, encompassing multiple industry segments.
Whether you are a large organization conducting thousands of screens a month, or a smaller company with occasional screening needs, PRIORITY will implement a plan that is right for you.
OUR CORE VALUES
SET US APART
Our mission at PRIORITY BACKGROUND Solutions, Inc. is to provide the most accurate reports, in a timely manner, at an affordable price, demonstrating full compliance procedures while providing excellent customer service for each and every client.
Our Team
Leadership Team
“Here at PRIORITY, we say what we’re going to do, and then do exactly what we said.”
— Steve Patterson, CEO
CHAIRMAN
MBA, CEO
President & Director of Client Relations
Support Team
Client Relations Manager
Verification Specialist
Researcher
Client Relations Specialist
Researcher/Verification Specialist
National Accounts Manager
Ethics and Compliance
We are committed to upholding highly compliant and ethical standards.
Our business practice strongly endorses compliance with the FCRA. At PRIORITY, we pride ourselves on maintaining the highest level of compliance at all times. Our team continually works to educate and make clients aware of compliance requirements and stay up-to-date with U.S. federal and state laws regarding background screening.
As your background screening provider, we supply the necessary tools and education regarding the FCRA to enable our clients to maintain compliance with important legislation.
The key to ensuring compliance and understanding the requirements under the FCRA is following these basic steps:
To start, your organization must have a “Permissible Purpose” for running the background check as defined under Section 604 of the FCRA. The defined permissible purposes include, but are not limited to, employment, tenant, and volunteer screenings.
Disclosure and authorization is a required step under the FCRA. The Disclosure and Authorization form is the documentation used to obtain the applicant’s signed authorization for the background check on any individual. The signed Disclosure and Authorization form, regardless of your decision, should be kept on file for a minimum of five years as allowed under the federal statute of limitations for civil filings of non-compliance.
If employment is denied (in whole or in part) based on the results of the background check, the following steps are required:
Pre-Adverse and Adverse Action letters give the applicant the opportunity to dispute information provided in their report that they believe is erroneous. These next steps were designed to protect applicants from mistakes stemming from human error, mistaken identity, outdated information, etc. Both of these letters must include contact information for your background screening provider in case your applicant has any reason to question the background screening results.
A Pre-Adverse Action Notification letter must be sent to the applicant. With this letter, a copy of the complete background check report, as well as, the Summary of Consumer Rights Under The FCRA must be included. Information regarding the hiring decision cannot be disclosed in this notification.
Following the Pre-Adverse Action Letter, an Adverse Action Letter must be sent to the applicant. The final decision to deny employment based on the results of the background check is disclosed in this notice. In this letter, you must include a copy of the completed background report, as well as, the Summary of Consumer Rights Under The FCRA.
BUSINESS ETHICS
Your Ethical Responsibility
Organizations must notify individuals about the purposes for which they will collect and use information about them. They must provide information about how individuals can contact the organization with any inquiries.
Organizations must give individuals the opportunity to choose (opt out) whether their personal information will be disclosed to a third party or used for a purpose incompatible with the purpose for which it was originally collected or subsequently authorized by the individual. For sensitive information, affirmative or explicit (opt in) choice must be given if the information is to be disclosed to a third party or used for a purpose other than its original purpose or the purpose authorized subsequently by the individual.
Individuals must have access to personal information about them that an organization holds and be able to correct, amend, or delete that information where it is inaccurate.
Organizations must take reasonable precautions to protect personal information from loss, misuse and unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration and destruction.
Personal information must be relevant for the purposes for which it is to be used. An organization should take reasonable steps to ensure that data is reliable for its intended use, accurate, complete, and current.
Here’s a list of some of the industry-governing Acts, organizations and laws which we comply with:
FCRA Compliance
The Federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) is designed to protect individuals by promoting accuracy, fairness, and privacy of information in the files of every Consumer Reporting Agency (CRA). Companies that perform pre-employment screening services, such as PRIORITY BACKGROUND Solutions, Inc., are also governed by the FCRA, as are the employers that use PRIORITY BACKGROUND Solutions, Inc. screening services.
ADA Compliance
PRIORITY BACKGROUND Solutions, Inc. operates in compliance with the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA), which prohibits employers from discriminating against people with disabilities who are qualified to perform essential job functions.
California Consumer Credit Law Compliance
PRIORITY BACKGROUND Solutions, Inc. operates in compliance with the California Consumer Credit Law (Speier Act), which restricts the reporting of age, marital status, race, color or creed on employment reports for consumers that have a current California address.
California Consumer Credit Law Compliance
PRIORITY BACKGROUND Solutions, Inc. operates in compliance with the California Consumer Credit Law (Speier Act), which restricts the reporting of age, marital status, race, color or creed on employment reports for consumers that have a current California address.
California Legislator’s AB655 and AB1068
On January 1, 2002 the California Legislature’s AB655 became effective, amending both the California Consumer Reporting Agencies Act and Investigative Consumer Reporting Agencies Act (”ICRA”). This bill changed a number of provisions affecting the provision of Investigative Consumer Reports for employment purposes.
Additional Compliance
PRIORITY BACKGROUND Solutions, Inc. reports allow employers to comply with the screening requirements of various government agencies and legislation, including:
- Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
- Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)
- Department of Transportation (DOT)
- Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
Human Resources
We appreciate Priority and their efforts to meet our needs. Their service fits seamlessly into our screening process. We have been extremely satisfied with the accuracy of their reports, staff receptiveness, and turnaround times. Priority is a valuable piece to success. Thanks for doing such a great job.
Human Resources Manager
We have been very impressed with Priority. Their reports are accurate, easy to read, and we are able to get assistance at any time. Thanks for all you do.
Business Manager, Manufacturing
Priority Background Solutions offers an amazing and valuable service. My department relies on Priority to screen potential new hires for our organization. Priority is diligent, thorough, and effective. Customer service is readily available. The price is great compared to other companies. My department is impressed with the quality, efficiency, and excellent service of Priority. I highly recommend their services.