PRIVACY POLICY
Introduction
Swailes & Company is a Consumer Reporting Agency governed by the Federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), and various State Laws. Swailes & Company is committed to protecting your privacy and abiding by the Safe Harbor Principles.
This Privacy Policy covers Swailes & Company’s web site, and Swailes & Company’s practices for handling personal information provided to Swailes & Company over the Internet by the general public using Swailes & Company’s publicly available web site. This Policy also covers personal information provided by Swailes & Company’s clients, and their job applicants and employees using Swailes & Company’s online background investigation process (SwailesOnline), that is accessible only with prior authorization and password protected. Swailes & Company collects, stores, and uses personally identifiable information that is compliant with applicable law, which includes the FCRA.
Information Collection
When you browse Swailes & Company’s publicly accessible web site, you do so anonymously. Swailes & Company collects personally identifiable information from you only if you choose to provide this information to us. In some instances, Swailes & Company may collect non-personal (e.g., aggregate or demographic) data through cookies. This information is used to better understand and improve the usability, performance and effectiveness of the Swailes.com web site, as is further described below under “Cookies and Tracking Technology”.
If you choose to provide information to Swailes & Company, the types of personal information we may collect about you through our publicly accessible web site includes the following: (1) contact and identifying information, such as name, address, phone and facsimile numbers, Social Security Number, date of birth, and employer; (2) your resume information and employment application information in response to Swailes & Company job openings; and (3) any other personal information that you may voluntarily provide to us in an online form or through an e-mail.
Access to certain Swailes & Company web pages and online services by clients and their employees or job applicant’s is not available to the general public. It requires a login code and password provided by Swailes & Company. The use of those web pages, and the information that may be downloaded to and/or from these pages, are governed by a written agreement between Swailes & Company and its clients. Swailes & Company collects only information that the user voluntarily shares with Swailes & Company.
If you are using this web site to open an employment background investigation account with Swailes & Company, we collect the information requested on our account application form, including contact information. This information is used for internal purposes, such as establishing an account, taking orders, billing, and for general customer service needs.
Personal Information
Swailes & Company may use personal information received in an account application to set up and maintain your account. Swailes & Company also may use the personal information you provide to answer your questions and inquiries, to support Swailes & Company’s own recruitment activities in response to your inquiries for Swailes & Company employment opportunities.
If personal information is provided over the Swailes & Company web site in connection with a pre-employment background investigation ordered by Swailes’ client, Swailes & Company may use your personal information to perform your background investigation for that client. Swailes & Company will not use your information to conduct a background investigation nor create a report unless Swailes & Company’s client completes a Certification of Use Agreement required by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). The Certification of Use Agreement ensures that Swailes & Company’s client certifies to Swailes & Company that it has a legally permissible purpose for ordering the background investigation, and obtained the informed consent of the applicant to conduct the background investigation.
Information Sharing and Disclosure
Swailes & Company does not sell, disclose, or release personal information to third parties without your permission, except as described in this Privacy Policy.
Swailes & Company may disclose personal information as necessary or appropriate in connection with any of the purposes for which we use personal information as described above in “Personal Information” above.
When Swailes & Company conducts a background investigation about you, Swailes & Company may disclose to your employer or prospective employer information that you submit through this web site. Swailes & Company may disclose your information to a third-party representative or subcontractor authorized by the company to assist in the background investigation. These third parties include service providers that provide technical assistance, court researchers, and other service vendors. Swailes & Company provides to these representatives and subcontractors only the personal information they need to deliver to Swailes & Company the requested product or service. Swailes & Company prohibits these third parties from using that information for any other purpose. Swailes & Company requires that these parties maintain commercially reasonable measures to protect the confidentiality of your information.
Swailes & Company may disclose personal information and any other additional information available to them for any of the following purposes; (1) to investigate, prevent or take action regarding actual or suspected illegal activities or fraud; (2) situations involving potential threats to the physical safety of any person; (3) violations of Swailes & Company’s terms of use; (4) to respond or defend against subpoenas, court orders, or other legal process; (5) establish or exercise Swailes & Company’s legal rights; or (6) otherwise comply with applicable law.
Swailes & Company may acquire other businesses, or be acquired. If that occurs, the information Swailes & Company collects may be one of the assets examined or transferred as part of the transaction. Swailes & Company will not permit another business to examine the information Swailes & Company has collected without a confidentiality agreement and then, only to the extent permitted by law. Swailes & Company will not transfer the information it has collected unless the recipient agrees to provide privacy protections equal to or exceeding those established by this Privacy Policy.
Cookies and Tracking Technology
Swailes & Company’s web site may use the standard technology called a “cookie” to collect information about how you use the web site.
A cookie is a small data file that is transferred to your hard drive and used for record-keeping purposes. A cookie file can contain information such as the URL used, your computer’s IP address, domain type (.com or .org, etc.), your browser type, the country, state and telephone area code where your server is located, the pages of our site that were viewed during a visit, and any search terms that you entered on our site. This information is used for internal purposes only, and we do not link your URL or IP address to any personal information unless you have logged into our web site with a Swailes & Company account login and password.
If you would prefer not to receive cookies, you can alter the configuration of your browser to refuse cookies, although it is possible that some areas of our web site will not function properly if you do so. In particular, you may be required to accept cookies in order to complete certain actions on Swailes & Company’s web site.
Security
Swailes & Company is dedicated to protecting consumer information received. While we cannot guarantee the security of that information, we utilize a combination of online and offline security technologies, procedures and organizational measures to help safeguard consumer information against loss, misuse, and unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration and destruction.
We employ Secure Socket Layer (SSL) data encryption when data is transmitted over the Internet to our web site. Layered firewalls and other security technologies to help prevent unauthorized access to our systems have been utilized. Strong password protection protocols are used on our computers, and employees are kept up-to-date on our security and privacy policies. The servers used to store consumer information are maintained in a secure environment with appropriate security measures, including access controlled with 24/7 alarm monitoring and camera protection.
Link Issues
Swailes & Company’s web site may provide links to third party web sites. Third-party web sites are outside of our control and influence and are not covered by this Privacy Policy. If you have questions about how another site uses your information, consult that site's privacy statement and/or the third party directly.
Reviewing and Modifying Information.
Swailes & Company strives to protect the quality and integrity of your personal information. If you have provided personal information, including such items as address, telephone number, and an email address to Swailes & Company while browsing Swailes & Company’s publicly accessible web site, and wish to update such personal information that you have provided, e-mail us at info@swailes.com. If you are a Swailes & Company client with a registered account, you may review and update your account information by logging into your account. If you are an employee or job applicant of a Swailes & Company client and have submitted personal information to Swailes & Company at their request for the purpose of procuring a background report, you can review your Swailes & Company file in accordance with disclosure rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. You can review a summary of your consumer rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act by accessing http://www.ftc.gov/os/2004/11/041119factaappf.pdf.
Safe Harbor Framework and Dispute Resolution
Swailes & Company, Inc. complies with the U.S.-EU Safe Harbor Framework as set forth by the U.S. Department of Commerce regarding the collection, use, and retention of personal information from European Union member countries. Swailes & Company, Inc. has certified that it adheres to the Safe Harbor Privacy Principles of notice, choice, onward transfer, security, data integrity, access, and enforcement. To learn more about the Safe Harbor program, and to view Swailes & Company, Inc.’s certification, please visit http://www.export.gov/safeharbor/.
Furthermore, Swailes & Company, Inc. has agreed to refer unresolved complaints under the U.S.-EU Safe Harbor Privacy Principals to a third party to act as an independent recourse mechanism for dispute resolution. We at Swailes & Company have agreed to cooperate and comply with the EU Data Protection Authorities (DPAs) to investigate unresolved complaints. If your inquiry has not been satisfactorily addressed, you may contact the EU DPAs panel ec-dppanel-secr@ec.europa.eu or individual EU DPAs directly using the infomation provided at https://ec.europa.eu/commission/index_en.
Privacy Policy Updates
Swailes & Company may revise this policy from time to time. If there is a material change to this Privacy Policy, the revised policy will be posted at this location. Swailes & Company encourages you to periodically review this Privacy Policy to stay informed of the efforts Swailes & Company provides for protecting your information. Swailes & Company is governed by FCRA regulations subject to the enforcement by the Federal Trade Commission. Additionally, as a licensed Private Investigation Company incorporated in the State of Texas, Swailes & Company is governed by the laws of the State.
If you have any questions regarding our privacy policy, please contact us at:
Swailes & Company, Inc.
1800 Saint James Place, Suite 625
Houston, Texas 77056
Attn: Ted Swailes, Chief Operating Officer
Effective Date: May 4, 2007
