As reported in The New York Times, a new federal law, amending the Fair Credit Reporting Act of 1971, requires employers to get written permission from applicants before obtaining a credit report.
Credit reports are one of many options employers can use for pre-employment verification.
Not doing background checks can be costly. If you do not fully screen applicants, you are taking some major risks. Consider what might happen to a trucking company that fails to get a driving record before hiring a driver with 17 prior violations including multiple moving violations and a DWI arrest. A checkered credit history showing consistently late payments and numerous judgments and even liens against the applicant might disqualify the candidate. Fairness is the best policy.