I have read the Disclosure Regarding Employment Background Report provided by Mecklenburg County (“COMPANY”) and this Authorization to Obtain Employment Background Report. By my signature below, I hereby consent to the preparation by Sterling Infosystems, Inc. (“STERLING”), a consumer reporting agency located at 4511 Rockside Road, 4th Floor, Independence, OH 44131, 800-899-2272, www.sterlingcheck.com, of background reports regarding me and the release of such reports to the COMPANY and its designated representatives, to assist the COMPANY in making an employment decision involving me at any time after receipt of this authorization and throughout my employment, to the extent permitted by law. To this end, I hereby authorize, without reservation, any state or federal law enforcement agency or court, educational institution, motor vehicle record agency, credit bureau or other information service bureau or data repository, or employer to furnish any and all information regarding me to STERLING and/or the COMPANY itself, and authorize STERLING to provide such information to the COMPANY. I agree that a facsimile (“fax”), electronic or photographic copy of this Authorization shall be as valid as the original.

I acknowledge receipt of a copy of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s “A SUMMARY OF YOUR RIGHTS UNDER THE FAIR CREDIT REPORTING ACT.”

Mecklenburg County (“COMPANY”) may obtain from Sterling Infosystems, Inc. (“STERLING”), 4511 Rockside Road, 4th Floor, Independence, OH 44131, 800-899-2272, www.sterlingcheck.com, a consumer report (“REPORT”) that contains background information about you in connection with your employment or employment application. If you are hired, to the extent permitted by law, COMPANY may obtain from STERLING further reports throughout your employment for an employment purpose without providing further disclosure or obtaining additional consent.

The REPORT may contain information about your character, general reputation, personal characteristics and mode of living. The REPORT may include, but is not limited to, credit reports and credit history information; criminal and other public records and history; public court records (e.g., bankruptcies, tax liens and judgments); motor vehicle and driving records; educational and employment history, including professional disciplinary actions; drug/alcohol test results; and Social Security verification and address history, subject to any limitations imposed by applicable federal and state law. This information may be obtained from public record and private sources, including credit bureaus, government agencies and judicial records, former employers and educational institutions, and other sources.

Mecklenburg County (“Company”) may request an investigative consumer report about you from a third-party consumer reporting agency, in connection with your employment or application for employment (including volunteer assignment(s), as applicable) and throughout your employment if you are hired or retained, as allowed by law.

A consumer report is a background report which may include but is not limited to, credit report, criminal background, driving records, character, general reputation, personal characteristics and mode of living.

An “investigative consumer report” is a background report that includes information from personal interviews (except in California, where that term includes background reports with or without information obtained from personal interviews). The most common form of an investigative consumer report in connection with your employment is a reference check through personal interviews with sources such as your former employers and associates, and other information sources. The investigative consumer report may contain information concerning your character, general reputation, personal characteristics, or mode of living.

You have the right, upon written request made within a reasonable time, to request from the Company (1) whether an investigative consumer report has been obtained about you, (2) disclosure of the nature and scope of any investigative consumer report and (3) a copy of your report. These reports will be prepared by Sterling Infosystems, Inc. ("STERLING") 4511 Rockside Road, 4th Floor, Independence, OH 44131; Tel. # 800-899-2272; www.Sterlingcheck.com.

Washington State Applicants only: You also have the right to request from the consumer reporting agency a written summary of your rights and remedies under the Washington Fair Credit Reporting Act.

California, Minnesota, and Oklahoma Applicants Only: Please check the below box if you would like a free copy of any REPORT obtained by COMPANY from Sterling.

New York Applicants Only: By signing the authorization, you acknowledge that you have received a copy of New York Correction Law Article 23-A. You have the right, upon written request, to be informed whether an investigative consumer REPORT was requested. If such a REPORT was requested, you will be provided with the name and address of the consumer reporting agency that prepared the REPORT and you can contact that agency to inspect or receive a copy of the REPORT.

Para information en espanol, visite www.consumerfinance.gov/learnmore o escribe a la Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, 1700 G Street N.W., Washington, DC 20552.

The federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) promotes the accuracy, fairness, and privacy of information in the files of consumer reporting agencies. There are many types of consumer reporting agencies, including credit bureaus and specialty agencies (such as agencies that sell information about check writing histories, medical records, and rental history records). Here is a summary of your major rights under FCRA. For more information, including information about additional rights, go to www.consumerfinance.gov/learnmore or write to: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, 1700 G Street N.W., Washington, DC 20552.

• You must be told information in your file has been used against you. Anyone who uses a credit report or another type of consumer report to deny your application for credit, insurance, or employment – or to take another adverse action against you – must tell you, and must give you the name, address, and phone number of the agency that provided the information.
• You have the right to know what is in your file.You may request and obtain all the information about you in the files of a consumer reporting agency (your “file disclosure”). You will be required to provide proper identification, which may include your Social Security number. In many cases, the disclosure will be free. You are entitled to a free file disclosure if:

• a person has taken adverse action against you because of information in your credit report;
• you are the victim of identity theft and place a fraud alert in your file;
• your file contains inaccurate information as a result of fraud;
• you are on public assistance;
• you are unemployed but expect to apply for employment within 60 days.

• You have the right to ask for a credit score. Credit scores are numerical summaries of your credit-worthiness based on information from credit bureaus. You may request a credit score from consumer reporting agencies that create scores or distribute scores used in residential real property loans, but you will have to pay for it. In some mortgage transactions, you will receive credit score information for free from the mortgage lender.
  
  
• You have the right to dispute incomplete or inaccurate information.If you identify information in your file that is incomplete or inaccurate, and report it to the consumer reporting agency, the agency must investigate unless your dispute is frivolous. See www.consumerfinance.gov/learnmore for an explanation of dispute procedures dispute procedures.
  
  
• Consumer reporting agencies must correct or delete inaccurate, incomplete, or unverifiable information. Inaccurate, incomplete, or unverifiable information must be removed or corrected, usually within 30 days. However, a consumer reporting agency may continue to report information it has verified as accurate.
  
  
• Consumer reporting agencies may not report outdated negative information. In most cases, a consumer reporting agency may not report negative information that is more than seven years old, or bankruptcies that are more than 10 years old.
  
  
• Access to your file is limited.. A consumer reporting agency may provide information about you only to people with a valid need – usually to consider an application with a creditor, insurer, employer, landlord, or other business. The FCRA specifies those with a valid need for access.
  
  
• You must give your consent for reports to be provided to employers. A consumer reporting agency may not give out information about you to your employer, or a potential employer, without your written consent given to the employer. Written consent generally is not required in the trucking industry. For more information, go to www.consumerfinance.gov/learnmore.
  
  
• You may limit "prescreened" offers of credit and insurance you get based on information in your credit report.Unsolicited “prescreened” offers for credit and insurance must include a toll-free phone number you can call if you choose to remove your name and address form the lists these offers are based on. You may opt out with the nationwide credit bureaus at 1-888-5-OPTOUT (1-888-567-8688).
  
  
• The following FCRA right applies with respect to nationwide consumer reporting agencies:

You have a right to place a “security freeze” on your credit report, which will prohibit a consumer reporting agency from releasing information in your credit report without your express authorization. The security freeze is designed to prevent credit, loans, and services from being approved in your name without your consent. However, you should be aware that using a security freeze to take control over who gets access to the personal and financial information in your credit report may delay, interfere with, or prohibit the timely approval of any subsequent request or application you make regarding a new loan, credit, mortgage, or any other account involving the extension of credit.

As an alternative to a security freeze, you have the right to place an initial or extended fraud alert on your credit file at no cost. An initial fraud alert is a 1-year alert that is placed on a consumer’s credit file. Upon seeing a fraud alert display on a consumer’s credit file, a business is required to take steps to verify the consumer’s identity before extending new credit. If you are a victim of identity theft, you are entitled to an extended fraud alert, which is a fraud alert lasting 7 years.

A security freeze does not apply to a person or entity, or its affiliates, or collection agencies acting on behalf of the person or entity, with which you have an existing account that requests information in your credit report for the purposes of reviewing or collecting the account. Reviewing the account includes activities related to account maintenance, monitoring, credit line increases, and account upgrades and enhancements.

• You may seek damages from violators.. If a consumer reporting agency, or, in some cases, a user of consumer reports or a furnisher of information to a consumer reporting agency violates the FCRA, you may be able to sue in state or federal court.
• Identity theft victims and active duty military personnel have additional rights. . For more information, visit www.consumerfinance.gov/learnmore.

States may enforce the FCRA, and many states have their own consumer reporting laws. In some cases, you may have more rights under state law. For more information, contact your state or local consumer protection agency or your state Attorney General. For information about your federal rights, contact: