Application Verification respects the privacy of our offline/online visitors and clients. It is our policy to maintain the confidentiality and privacy of any personal data voluntarily submitted to us in writing or while visiting our website. We will use the information obtained from our visitors and clients for internal purposes only, so that we may respond to your inquiries in a complete and timely manner and provide regular updates on new products and services available from our company. PRIVACY IN THE PERFORMANCE OF OUR SERVICES As one of the nation’s leading providers of sensitive public records information, Application Verification operates in full compliance with the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). The FCRA governs the privacy of personal data that is collected, adapted, organized, altered, recorded, used, disclosed, combined, destroyed, or simply being held. Principles of Data Protection Application Verification is committed to the following eight Data Protection Principles outlined in the Fair Credit Reporting Act:

  1. Personal data shall be processed fairly and lawfully, and only where
    • (a) the subject of the data has given his or her permission;
    • (b) processing is necessary to carry out a contract the individual has entered into;
    • (c) Application Verification is required to process the data by law;
    • (d) processing of the data is in the subject’s best interest;
      or
    • (e) processing is in furtherance of justice or governmental procedures.
  2. Personal data shall be obtained only for one or more specified and lawful purposes, and shall not be further processed in any manner incompatible with that purpose or those purposes.
  3. Personal data shall be adequate, relevant, and not excessive in relation to the purpose or purposes for which they are processed.
  4. Personal data shall be accurate, and where necessary, kept up to date.
  5. Personal data processed for any purpose or purposes shall not be kept for longer than is necessary for that purpose or those purposes.
  6. Personal data shall be processed in accordance with the rights of data subjects under the Act.
  7. Appropriate technical and organizational measures shall be taken against unauthorized or unlawful processing of personal data and against accidental loss or destruction of, or damage to, personal data.
  8. Personal data shall not be transferred to a country or territory outside the United States.

The Individual’s Right to Access Personal Data Being Processed

Upon individual written request, Application Verification will inform you of whether any personal data of which you are the subject is being processed. If personal data of this nature is being processed, you have the right to receive: (1) a description of the personal data, (2) the purposes for which the data is being processed, (3) a list of the recipients to whom the data may be disclosed, (4) and (5) information regarding the source of the data. The information provided to you will be in a format that is easy to understand. All such written requests must be sent by letter or e-mail to the primary contact person listed at the end of this policy. Exceptions to the Right to Access Personal Data There are several situations in which an individual does not have the right to request personal data. For example, you may not receive information located in your personal data which identifies another individual, unless either (1) the other individual provides permission or (2) it is reasonable to comply with the request without the consent of the individual. In addition, you do not have a right to personal data processed for the prevention or detection of crime, the apprehension or prosecution of offenders, or the assessment or collection of any tax or duty. Furthermore, parts of the personal data containing information constituting a trade secret or providing the logic involved in any decision-making may be withheld from disclosure. The Secretary of State may provide or order additional exemptions relating to health, education, social work, or government functions.

  1. Notice Application Verification gathers and maintains consumer data, which it provides to employers or their agents (such as recruiters or staffing firms) for use in making employment-related decisions, such as who to hire, retain, promote, or re-assign. Provided below is an illustrative list of common ways in which employers use the data provided by our services:
    • Performance of background checks
    • Verification of the credentials of job applicants and current employees
    • Investigation into a suspicion of work-related misconduct or wrongdoing
    • Investigation into matters of employee compliance with employer policies, or
    • Investigation into matters of employee compliance with Federal, State, or local laws and regulations.

    The scope of this notice covers consumer report data that Application Verification has obtained on behalf of employers by contacting the appropriate sources of the data (court records, references, licensing bureaus, etc.). More information regarding the nature and scope of consumer data inquiries is available by contacting Application Verification in writing or by e-mail at the addresses listed below.

  2. Choice Application Verification affords individuals the opportunity to choose whether their personal information will be disclosed to a third party or will be used for a purpose incompatible with the purpose for which it was originally collected or subsequently authorized by the individual. Therefore, consumer data may be disseminated under these circumstances unless the consumer explicitly opts-out. Where a consumer chooses to opt-out, the data is not necessarily erased or deleted. Various laws require that the data be maintained on file for a specified period of time for consumer protection purposes. A consumer can opt-out by contacting Application Verification in writing or by e-mail at the addresses listed below. With respect to sensitive information, however, an individual must opt-in to the disclosure of the information to a third party or to the use of this information for a purpose other than its original purpose or that purpose authorized subsequently by the individual. In other words, unless a consumer chooses to provide explicit consent, a disclosure of sensitive information to a third party or for an unauthorized purpose will not be made.
  3. Onward Transfer (Transfers to Third Parties) With respect to the transfer of consumer data to third parties, the principles of Notice and Choice apply. Accordingly, data is only provided to an employer or its agent for purposes described in the Notice section, and will not be disseminated to a third party where a consumer has opted-out or, in the case of sensitive information, failed to opt-in. Application Verification will disclose consumer data to employers or their agents who certify full compliance with the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) directives. In the alternative, Application Verification will also disclose consumer data to employers or their agents who enter into a written agreement with Application Verification, in which the third party agrees to provide at least the same level of privacy protection outlined in the Access Security Requirements sections of the agreement.
  4. Access A consumer may request, in writing, access to all data collected and maintained about him or her. Application Verification affords the consumer a reasonable opportunity to correct, amend, or delete information that is inaccurate or incomplete, except where the burden or expense of providing access would be disproportionate to the risks to the individual’s privacy, or where the rights of persons other than the individual would be violated. Pursuant to the United States federal Fair Credit Reporting Act, any citizen of the United States may obtain a copy of their consumer report free of charge. We reserve the right, however, to charge an administrative fee not to exceed $15 to cover the cost of reviewing our records and obtaining and forwarding any information for consumers who are not citizens of the United States. Application Verification reserves the right to engage in reasonable efforts to confirm the identity of the individual requesting the data to ensure the information is provided only to the subject of the data. Application Verification makes every effort to ensure that the data we collect and store is as accurate as possible. We cannot guarantee, however, that third parties are committed to making the same efforts, and therefore, we deny any responsibility for the accuracy of the data they provide. How to Apply for Access to Personal Data. To request information relating to your personal data you may contact Application Verification in writing or by e-mail at the addresses listed below. In addition, you will be asked to provide sufficient evidence of your identity so we may ensure that information is being released to the correct individual.
  5. Security Application Verification takes all reasonable procedures to protect personal and identifiable information from loss, misuse and unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration and destruction. The service utilizes SSL encryption to protect sensitive information online; we also do everything in our power to protect user-information off-line. All of our users’ information, not just the sensitive information mentioned above, is kept strictly confidential in our offices. Only employees who need the information to perform a specific job are granted access to personally identifiable information. Strong password protection protocols are used on all computers. Furthermore, all employees are kept up-to-date on our security and privacy practices. Finally, the servers that are used to store personally identifiable information are kept in a secure environment, with appropriate security measures. If you have any questions about the security of our service, you can send a letter or an e-mail to the contact person listed below.
  6. Data Integrity Application Verification takes reasonable steps to ensure that data collected is accurate, complete, current, and reliable for its intended use. We only collect data that is strictly necessary for the purposes listed under the section entitled Notice, including (but not limited to) information that is necessary to identify the consumer.
  7. Enforcement Application Verification verifies adherence to this Privacy Policy via in-house verification by the management of this company.

Personal Information Disclosure Overseas Application Verification does not transfer information to third parties outside the United States or its territories. CONTACT INFORMATION You may send any question regarding our Privacy Policy to the following address and contact person: Mr. David Reed Application Verification 825 East Pittsburgh Plaza East Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania United States of America dreed@applicationverification.com