Partner Timothy St. George was quoted in an SHRM article titled, “FCRA’s Seven-Year Reporting Window Begins with Charge, Not Dismissal.” The article discusses a recent 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that the measuring period for a criminal charge runs from the date of entry rather than the date of disposition under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). Under this decision, criminal charges exceeding the seven-year limit shouldn’t appear in employment screens. St. George stated that, “This interpretation of the reporting rules is consumer-friendly in that it narrows the reporting window and gives specific guidelines of how to treat a non-conviction criminal charge that was ultimately dismissed.” He went on to explain that, “The court provided a lengthy analysis finding a charge is an adverse event upon entry, so it follows that the date of entry begins the reporting window. That interpretation mirrors the opinions put forward by the Federal Trade Commission and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.”
