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In response to the use of “uncontrolled digital tracking and opaque decision-making systems,” the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued guidance Thursday warning companies that any third-party consumer reports they use to monitor workers must be used with the consent of the worker.

The CFPB’s criticized reports “increasingly extend beyond background checks,” the federal agency said. This could include, for example, asking workers to download an app on their phones to monitor behavior and evaluate performance.

Other examples provided included reports that claim to predict worker behavior, such as the likelihood of unionizing or leaving a job; programs that can reassign workers based on performance, availability and historical data; automated warnings for disciplinary actions that may not have direct human oversight; and reports that analyze workers’ social media accounts.

The guidance reminded employers to comply with Fair Credit Reporting Act rules, which require transparency about the data used by such tools in any adverse decision and allowing workers to challenge inaccurate information.

Consent and transparency are key aspects of FCRA compliance. Workers may not be aware that such information is even being used by employers, the CFPB said, and many are unaware of what is being collected.

“These protections are essential in an era where employee data is increasingly commercialized and used to make critical employment decisions,” the office said.

In particular, critical information provided by these reports “is often wrong,” the office said.

While the CFPB’s new guidance focuses on newer digital tracking systems, background checks — which are a largely accepted part of many employment processes and are also subject to the FCRA — it can also be frequently inaccurateaccording to research published in Criminology this year. According to research, credit check companies tend to be poorly regulated and often include mistakes in their reports due to misspellings of names, transposed numbers of birthdates, or the existence of common aliases.

ADP in particular has struggled multiple PROCESSES claiming that its background checks contained grossly incorrect information that screened applicants’ job offers and opportunities. TransUnion also settled a lawsuit in October due to an incorrect background check.