Why Does FACTA Matter to Me?

FACTA stands for Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act. FACTA is the law which allows any American access to their credit report once per year. The law went into effect Jan. 1, 2005. So what does that mean for you as an employer?

On June 1, 2005, a new provision of FACTA goes into effect. It says that any employer (even if you only employ one person, and you have their personal information so that you can pay social security taxes,) whose action or inaction results in the loss of employee information, can be fined by federal and state government, and sued in civil court.

A USA Today article on FACTA from Jan. 14. 2005, stated "Bet you didn't know that." But you need to know, and need to know what you can do to protect yourself.

Small Businesses affected the most

'"A small businessman who makes a mistake could bear the brunt of a regulation like this," says James Plummer, policy analyst at Consumer Alert, a non-profit group that focuses on a free-market approach to consumer regulations.'

The USA Today article goes on to say that "if you don't shred and information gets out, there are penalties." But what if you do shred all potential employee information, and take all necessary precautions to protect your past, current, and future employees' identities, and the information still gets out somehow? Under FACTA, you could still be held responsible.

You may not think information theft could happen to you, but neither did this short list of companies, universities, government institutions, and businesses that have had employee or customer information stolen from them:

DSW Shoe Warehouse

Lexis Nexis

University of Northern Colorado

California State University (Chico)

University of California ? Berkeley

University of Maryland

Las Vegas Department of Motor Vehicles

Bank of America

Choice Point

Weld County (CO) Employees (information stolen by an inmate while in jail)

How can you, as an employer, minimize your liability?

There are hundreds of things you can do to minimize liability, which are probably things you already do. Document shredding, redaction of electronically stored information, careful screening of employees who will be coming into contact with personal information of customers and employees, physically locking file drawers with sensitive information, and setting up firewalls on computer equipment connected to the Internet, among hundreds of other solutions, are all good ideas.

The old saying that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure is definitely the case when it comes to securing personal information. However, no matter what prevention steps you take, there is no 100% effective way to be sure that employee's information won't be compromised. Even if the information doesn't get out from your company, an employee can claim that it did.

That's a scary thought! What if an employee claims that their information was stolen through the actions of your company, but there's no real proof to back it up? You will end up hiring (or using) an attorney to represent and defend your company in court. At $150 - $200/hour for most attorneys across the United States, how long can you afford to defend your company?

So what can you do?

The only sure solution, or at least the only solution that would at least provide an affirmative defense against the fines, fees, and lawsuits you could incur as an employer, is to offer some sort of Identity Theft protection as a benefit to your employees.

As an employer, you can choose whether or not to pay for this added benefit. However, the most important thing you can do is to make the protection available, and have a mandatory employee meeting, similar to what you probably already do for health insurance, to help employees understand Identity Theft and the protection that you are making available to them. When you make the protection available, and when your employees have been educated on the dangers of Identity Theft, they can either elect to have identity theft coverage as a benefit, or they can decline the coverage as a benefit.

If the employee has Identity Theft coverage and becomes a victim, it is beneficial to your business, because an employee with Identity Theft coverage will spend less time, less money, and will experience less frustration while trying to have their information restored. This will get them back on the job and focused on work more quickly.

If the employee declines the coverage, and later claims that the information was stolen as a result of you or your company's actions, you have a piece of paper, with their signature, saying that they attended the presentation and declined the coverage.

Choosing to not make Identity Theft coverage available leaves you exposed to an unlimited dollar amount that you can be sued for under civil liability, federal fines of up to $2,500.00 per employee per incident, and state fines of up to $1,000.00 per employee per incident.

Recommended course of action? Have a benefits consultant who offers an Identity Theft protection plan present to your employees. Help them set up a 20 minute presentation with your employees, and make it mandatory that all employees attend. You want your employees to be protected from this awful crime. If they choose not to be, but you've given the option of being protected, then the liability becomes theirs, not yours, when they become a victim of identity theft.

Jonathan Kraft is a benefits consultant who specializes in educating people about how they can get affordable access to the legal system. Because of his work in the field of electronic Identity Theft, he has come to be known as Colorado's Foremost Expert on Computer Related Identity Theft. To schedule a time for Mr. Kraft to present Identity Theft and Legal Service protection to your employees, please contact him at (877) 825-7119. You can also find out more on the web at http://www.strive4impact.com/group

In The News:


pen paper and inkwell


cat break through


Identity Theft ? Additional Protection for Soldiers on Active Duty

Congress passed the Fair Credit Reporting Act several years ago... Read More

Addressing Bad Credit Card Debt

Spending HabitsSo you've just got your credit card. The first... Read More

Good Credit is King, When Qualifying for Mortgage Programs

If you want to purchase a new home or refinance... Read More

Do You Know The Top Five Credit Card Mistakes?

When you're dealing with credit cards, you're playing with fire.... Read More

Credit Card Tips

Here are some useful credit card tips for you to... Read More

Choosing The Best Credit Card To Apply For

Always shop around to get the best deal when choosing... Read More

Maximizing Credit Card Rewards

In their quest to get you to sign up for... Read More

Warning: Todays Non Profit Credit Counselors Are Yesterdays Bill Collectors!

Here's a dirty secret, today's "non profit credit counselors" are... Read More

SuperCharged Secret 1 of 5 - Credit Card Utopia

I AM THE CONSUMER. AND I HAVE LOW-RATE SUPER-POWERS!Note: The... Read More

Five Debt Negotiation Facts

These five debt negotiation facts along with a few debt... Read More

How Healthy Is Your Credit

There's only one way to discover the "health" of your... Read More

Establishing Credit ? What You Need To Know Part 1

Establishing credit is one of the most important things you... Read More

10 Simple Steps to Manage Your Credit

By far the greatest invention the banks have ever come... Read More

Home Loans ? Repair Your Credit Before You Buy

Before you take out a home loan or make any... Read More

Credit cards

If gold medals were awarded for marketing consistency, the credit... Read More

Collection Agency Secrets for Collecting on Bad Debt

Getting worried that one of your clients, customers or patients... Read More

Understanding the Function of Credit

What is Credit?Credit is the backbone and the engine behind... Read More

Five Reasons to Repair Your Credit Score - You Can Do It Yourself

There are multiple reasons that tell us why we should... Read More

Two Things You Need To Know About Prepaid Debit Cards

According to the September 2004 issue of the Nilson Report,... Read More

Warning: Free Credit Report Imposter Websites Springing Up on the Web

A recent amendment to the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act... Read More

Small Business Credit Cards

So what do you look for when applying for a... Read More

Rebuild Your Credit the Right Way the First Time

If you are one of the millions of people out... Read More

Finding and Applying for the Right Credit Card Offer Online

Anywhere you go online nowadays, you will see a multitude... Read More

Automobile Credit Report

When applying for a loan to purchase a car, the... Read More

Why Americans Find Predatory Lending Offensive

"Menis - the author translates as "indignant rage" - It... Read More

Dealing With A Collection Agency

Step I - Selecting A Collection AgencySelecting a credit collection... Read More

Different Types of Credit Cards and Features - Part 1

Just as there are too many credit card companies to... Read More

How to Order the Right Credit Reports to Repair Your Own Credit

In this week's article, I am going to offer some... Read More

Start Building Credit Fast!

There are a couple of reasons for this. You can... Read More

How to Dispute Credit Report Errors

Your credit report--a type of consumer report--contains information about where... Read More

Credit Card Balance Transfers Explained

What is a balance transfer ? A balance transfer can... Read More

How to Get Credit Reporting Agencies to Help You

The process of clearing credit can be laborious and frustrating.... Read More

SuperCharged Secret 2, Credit Card Utopia

INTEREST BEWARE, THERE'S SAFETY IN NUMBERS!Note: The following is part... Read More