HireRight

(Redirected from Powerchex)

HireRight is a global family of background screening companies based in Nashville, Tennessee.

HireRight
Company typePublic
NYSEHRT
IndustryPre-employment screening
Founded1995[1]
HeadquartersNashville, Tennessee
Key people
Guy Abramo
ProductsBackground Check
Websitewww.hireright.com

Acquisitions and mergers edit

Powerchex edit

On June 23, 2010, HireRight announced that it had acquired Powerchex, a UK-based pre-employment screening company specialising in the financial services sector in the City of London.[2] Powerchex was a full member of the UK chapter of the National Association of Professional Background Screeners or NAPBS,[3] and was started by Alexandra Kelly in 2005 who is the former managing director and owner of the company.

In October 2010, Powerchex was rebranded as HireRight.[4]

Both Powerchex and Kroll Background Screening (below) are now fully owned subsidiaries of HireRight.

Kroll edit

On August 3, 2010, HireRight then-parent company Altegrity Risk International announced it had completed the acquisition of Kroll Inc. from Marsh & McLennan Companies in an all-cash transaction valued at US$1.13 billion. In October 2010, Kroll Background Worldwide was rebranded as HireRight.[4]

On March 13, 2018, it was reported that Duff & Phelps Corp. would buy Kroll, Inc. (which did not include background screening portion of the former Kroll business that had been rebranded with HireRight brands).[5] On June 4, 2018, the transaction was completed.[6][7]

General Information Services edit

On Friday, May 25, 2018, HireRight and General Information Services (GIS) announced their intent and agreement to a merger.[8] The companies announced the closing of the merger on July 12, 2018.[9] The resulting combined group is the largest provider of background screening services in the United States. Following the merger, HireRight rebranded, with both HireRight and GIS using the new branding.[10]

J-Screen and PeopleCheck edit

On October 12, 2019, HireRight announced the acquisition of J-Screen in Japan and PeopleCheck in Australia.[11]

Legal issues with service edit

HireRight was the subject of a number of class-action and Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) lawsuits.[12][13] In 2011 the company paid $28 million to plaintiffs who accused HireRight of failing to provide copies of reports to job applicants and failing to resolve disputes.[12] And on August 8, 2012, the US Department of Justice announced HireRight settled charges of violating the FCRA for $2.6M.[12][14]

Companies that use background check services must follow FCRA procedures or face class-action liability with millions of dollars in exposure.[15] According to a Wall Street Journal investigation into hiring practices in the trucking industry, class-action lawsuits were brought against trucking companies over how they use HireRight.[12][16] HireRight customer U.S. Xpress settled in 2013 for $2.75M, and Swift in 2014 for $4.4M over their failure to disclose hiring practices.[17][18][19][20]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "Fact Sheet". Retrieved 11 May 2019.
  2. ^ "Third of applicants tell lies to get a job". ERT Weekly. September 1, 2005.
  3. ^ Powerchex Joins the National Association of professional background Screeners [dead link]
  4. ^ a b "Kroll Background Worldwide And Powerchex Unite Under HireRight Brand". HireRight. Retrieved 11 October 2019.
  5. ^ Banerji, Gunjan (March 13, 2018). "Duff & Phelps to Buy Corporate-Investigations Firm Kroll". The Wall Street Journal. The New York Times, New York City, United States. Retrieved March 17, 2018.
  6. ^ "Duff & Phelps Announces New Business Unit After Completing Kroll Acquisition".
  7. ^ "Kroll's History". Kroll. Retrieved 11 October 2019.
  8. ^ "HireRight and GIS to Merge". HireRight. Retrieved 11 October 2019.
  9. ^ "HireRight and GIS Ownership Complete Merger". HireRight. Retrieved 11 October 2019.
  10. ^ "New HireRight, New Look". HireRight. Retrieved 11 October 2019.
  11. ^ "HireRight Strengthens Global Offering with Two Key Acquisitions in Japan and Australia". HireRight. Retrieved 11 October 2019.
  12. ^ a b c d Chao, Loretta (19 October 2016). "Driver-Screening Firms Draw Scrutiny". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 10 May 2019.
  13. ^ "Litigation: Wirt v. Altegrity, Inc. & HireRight, Inc". Legal Action Center. Archived from the original on 2019-05-11. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
  14. ^ Office of Public Affairs (8 August 2012). "Employment Screening Services Provider Settles Charges of Violating Fair Credit Reporting Act". www.justice.gov. Department of Justice. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
  15. ^ Holland, Ron; Batten, Jonathan (20 October 2017). "FCRA 101: How to Avoid Risky Background Checks". SHRM. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
  16. ^ "Job applicants claim inaccurate background check report prevent them from finding a job | New York Consumer Law Blog". Law Office of Adam G. Singer. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
  17. ^ Kell-Holland, Clarissa. "U.S. Xpress settles for $2.75 million in lawsuit over background checks". Land Line Magazine. Archived from the original on 2019-05-11. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
  18. ^ Barradas, Samuel (11 April 2013). "Illegal Background Checks Cost U.S. Xpress $2.75 Million". TruckersReport.com. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
  19. ^ Jaillet, James. "Swift makes $4.4 million settlement with 160,000 driver applicants over background checks". Overdrive. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
  20. ^ Miller, Arnall Golden Gregory LLP-Montserrat C. "Swift Transportation Company, background checks and the FCRA | Lexology". Lexology. Retrieved 11 May 2019.

External links edit