Terms of Service

PLEASE READ THESE TERMS CAREFULLY. THEY CONTAIN A BINDING ARBITRATION PROVISION, A CLASS-ACTION WAIVER, A JURY-TRIAL WAIVER, A LIMITATION OF LIABILITY, A RELEASE OF CLAIMS, AND AN ASSUMPTION OF RISK THAT AFFECT YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS. BY CREATING AN ACCOUNT OR USING THE SERVICES, YOU AGREE TO BE BOUND BY THEM.

1. Agreement to These Terms

These Terms of Service (the "Terms") constitute a legally binding agreement between you, and, where you act on behalf of an organization, that organization (collectively, "User," "you," or "your"), and ScreenForge Labs LLC, a Florida limited liability company that owns and operates VolunteerBadge, with its principal office at 7191 Cypress Lake Drive STE 3 #1159, Fort Myers, FL 33907 ("ScreenForge Labs," "VolunteerBadge," "we," "us," or "our"), governing your access to and use of the VolunteerBadge platform, website, application programming interfaces, and all related products and services (collectively, the "Services").

By creating an account, accessing or using the Services, clicking "Create Free Account," "I Agree," or any similar control, or by otherwise indicating assent, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agree to be bound by these Terms and our Privacy Policy, which is incorporated by reference. If you are entering into these Terms on behalf of an organization, you represent and warrant that you have the authority to bind that organization. If you do not agree, you must not access or use the Services.

2. Definitions

• "FCRA" means the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1681 et seq., and its implementing regulations, as amended.
• "Consumer Report" has the meaning given in the FCRA and includes the background screening reports furnished through the Services.
• "Consumer" means an individual who is the subject of a Consumer Report, including any volunteer, applicant, or prospective volunteer screened through the Services (a "Volunteer").
• "Organization" or "End User" means the nonprofit, church, charitable, civic, or other entity (and its administrators) that uses the Services to request, receive, and act upon Consumer Reports.
• "CRA" means a consumer reporting agency as defined by the FCRA.

3. Description of Services; ScreenForge Labs as the Consumer Reporting Agency

VolunteerBadge is a software platform that enables Organizations to create volunteer applications, collect applicant disclosures and authorizations, order background screening, manage compliance documentation, and make volunteer-suitability decisions.

ScreenForge Labs LLC acts as a Consumer Reporting Agency. When ScreenForge Labs assembles, evaluates, and furnishes Consumer Reports to an Organization through the Services, ScreenForge Labs does so in its capacity as a CRA under the FCRA, and the Organization receives those reports as an end user of a CRA. ScreenForge Labs is the CRA of record for VolunteerBadge screening services. The Organization is solely responsible for its own conduct as the end user of Consumer Reports, including all obligations described in Section 7.

4. Our Compliance Commitment, Reasonable Procedures & Certified Personnel

ScreenForge Labs is committed to compliance with the FCRA and to following reasonable procedures to assure maximum possible accuracy of the information in the Consumer Reports it prepares, consistent with 15 U.S.C. § 1681e(b). We take every commercially reasonable measure available to us to source, match, evaluate, and deliver accurate screening information, including layered identity matching, jurisdictional and date-of-birth logic, recency and disposition filtering, and human-in-the-loop review of potential records.

Our compliance personnel have completed FCRA training through the Consumer Data Industry Association (CDIA) appropriate to their roles, and collectively bring more than ten (10) years of professional background-screening experience.

You acknowledge, however, that no background screening process is perfect. Our commitment to reasonable procedures is a commitment of effort and process, not a guarantee of any particular result, and it does not enlarge our liability beyond the limits set out in these Terms or applicable law. The standards described in this Section are aspirational statements of our practices and do not create any contractual warranty, representation, or duty beyond those expressly imposed by the FCRA.

5. Eligibility & Account Security

To use the Services, you must be at least 18 years old, have legal capacity to contract, not be barred from receiving the Services under applicable law, and provide accurate, current, and complete registration information.

You are responsible for safeguarding your credentials and for all activity under your account. You may not share credentials. Notify us immediately at support@screenforgelabs.com of any unauthorized use. We may suspend or terminate accounts we believe are shared, compromised, or misused.

6. Fees and Payment

VolunteerBadge operates on a pay-per-check model. Screening reports are purchased using credits processed through our payment processor. Credits are non-refundable except as expressly stated or as required by applicable law. Current pricing is displayed on the website and in your dashboard. We may modify pricing on at least thirty (30) days' notice; continued use after a change constitutes acceptance. Unused credits do not expire unless stated at purchase.

7. Organization (End User) FCRA Obligations and Certification

As an end user of Consumer Reports, the Organization certifies, for each report it orders, that it will comply with the FCRA and all applicable federal, state, and local laws. Without limitation, the Organization agrees that it will:

• Permissible Purpose. Order Consumer Reports only for the permissible purpose of evaluating a person's suitability as a volunteer, and for no other purpose.
• Disclosure & Authorization. Provide each Consumer with a clear and conspicuous, stand-alone written disclosure and obtain the Consumer's written authorization before any report is ordered.
• Pre-Adverse and Adverse Action. Before and when taking any adverse action based in whole or in part on a Consumer Report, provide the Consumer with the pre-adverse notice, a copy of the report, the CFPB "Summary of Your Rights," and the final adverse-action notice required by the FCRA.
• Individualized Assessment. Not automatically reject any Consumer based solely on the presence of a record, and conduct an individualized assessment of nexus to the volunteer role and applicable nature-and-gravity, time-elapsed, and ban-the-box requirements.
• No Improper Use or Disclosure. Not use, share, sell, or re-disclose Consumer Report information except as permitted by the FCRA and for the screening decision for which it was obtained.
• Recordkeeping. Retain disclosures, authorizations, and adverse-action records as required by law.

The Organization is solely responsible for its screening policies, its volunteer decisions, and its own FCRA compliance. ScreenForge Labs is not responsible or liable for the Organization's failure to comply with the FCRA or any other law, and the Organization's violation may result in immediate suspension or termination.

8. Inherent Limitations of Background Screening; No Guarantee of Completeness or Accuracy

You expressly acknowledge and agree that background screening has inherent limitations and that, even with reasonable procedures and our best efforts:

• Public records and third-party databases are incomplete, are updated on varying schedules, may contain errors at the source, and may omit records that exist;
• Records may be missed, mismatched, delayed, mis-indexed, sealed, expunged, or unavailable in a given jurisdiction, and identity matching depends on the accuracy and completeness of information provided by the Consumer and the Organization;
• A Consumer Report reflects only information reasonably available at the time it is prepared and is not a representation about a person's character, future conduct, fitness, or safety; and
• A "clear" or record-free report is not a certification that a person has no record, has never committed an offense, or is safe to serve in any role.

A Consumer Report is one input into the Organization's independent decision. It is not a substitute for the Organization's own judgment, supervision, reference checks, interviews, or other safeguards. The Organization remains solely responsible for deciding whether to accept, reject, place, or supervise any Volunteer.

9. Assumption of Risk and Release (Organizations)

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, THE ORGANIZATION KNOWINGLY AND VOLUNTARILY ASSUMES ALL RISK arising from its use of the Services and its volunteer program, including the risk that a Consumer Report may be inaccurate, incomplete, or may omit a record, and the risk that a Volunteer (whether or not screened, and regardless of the contents of any report) may cause injury, loss, or damage to any person or property.

The Organization, on behalf of itself and its officers, directors, employees, members, agents, volunteers, successors, and assigns, hereby RELEASES, WAIVES, AND FOREVER DISCHARGES ScreenForge Labs and its members, officers, directors, employees, contractors, and agents (the "Released Parties") from any and all claims, demands, damages, losses, liabilities, costs, and expenses of every kind — whether known or unknown, in contract, tort, or otherwise — arising out of or relating to (a) any inaccuracy in, omission from, delay in, or error in any Consumer Report; (b) any decision the Organization makes (or declines to make) about any Volunteer; or (c) any act or omission of any Volunteer, including any harm a Volunteer may cause. The Organization further covenants not to sue the Released Parties on any released claim. This release does not apply to liability that cannot be released as a matter of law.

10. Volunteer/Consumer Acknowledgment and Assumption of Risk

Each Volunteer who submits information through the Services acknowledges and agrees that the Services facilitate a screening requested by an Organization; that any volunteer-suitability decision is made solely by the Organization and not by ScreenForge Labs; that screening has the inherent limitations described in Section 8; and that ScreenForge Labs does not control, employ, supervise, or vet Organizations or Volunteers and is not responsible for the relationship between them.

To the maximum extent permitted by law, the Volunteer assumes the risks inherent in participating in a volunteer program and releases the Released Parties from claims arising out of the Organization's volunteer decisions and the conduct of the Organization and other volunteers. Nothing in these Terms waives, limits, or releases any right or remedy of a Consumer that may not be waived under the FCRA or other applicable law. A Consumer's rights concerning the accuracy of a Consumer Report are addressed through the dispute and reinvestigation process described in Section 11.

11. Disputing the Accuracy of a Report (FCRA Reinvestigation)

A Consumer who believes that information in a Consumer Report is inaccurate or incomplete may dispute it, free of charge, and ScreenForge Labs will conduct a reasonable reinvestigation and correct or delete information as required by 15 U.S.C. § 1681i. This dispute process is the primary mechanism for resolving questions about report accuracy. To file a dispute, contact disputes@screenforgelabs.com. Consumers also have the rights described in the CFPB "A Summary of Your Rights Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act," provided with each report.

12. AI-Assisted Analysis

The Services use automated and artificial-intelligence tools to assist with record matching, classification, summarization, compliance drafting, and similar functions. AI-assisted analysis is applied to record metadata and screening attributes to support — not replace — human review and the Organization's decision. You acknowledge that AI output is provided for convenience and informational purposes only, does not constitute legal advice, may contain errors, and must be reviewed by a qualified person before reliance. ScreenForge Labs makes no warranty that AI-assisted output is accurate, complete, or fit for any particular purpose.

13. Volunteer Applications & API Access

Organizations may create application forms that include FCRA disclosure and authorization language and are responsible for ensuring their forms and policies comply with applicable law. Organizations with API access may integrate screening into their systems subject to the same obligations in Section 7 and must ensure valid Consumer authorization is on file before any request is submitted.

13A. Immunization Records & SMART Health Cards (Optional Value-Added Feature — Not a Consumer Report)

As an optional, value-added convenience, the Services allow a Volunteer to attach a SMART Health Card — a digitally signed immunization credential issued by a third party such as a state health agency, pharmacy, or health system — to their volunteer submission, and allow an Organization to request that Volunteers do so. This feature is entirely optional for the Volunteer and may be skipped without affecting the volunteer application or any screening.

Immunization records made available through this feature are NOT Consumer Reports, are NOT part of any Consumer Report, and are NOT assembled, evaluated, compiled, or furnished by ScreenForge Labs in its capacity as a Consumer Reporting Agency. The FCRA does not govern this feature, and this feature is separate from, and has no bearing on, any background screening.

What "verification" means — and does not mean.When a SMART Health Card is submitted, the Services check the issuer's digital signature to confirm the credential was issued by the stated issuer and has not been altered since issuance. That is the entire scope of "verification." ScreenForge Labs does notconfirm, and makes no representation or warranty as to, the medical accuracy, truthfulness, completeness, or currency of the credential's contents, the Volunteer's actual health, immunization, or infection status, or the Volunteer's fitness or safety for any role. A verified signature is not medical advice and is not a health clearance.

Not a medical provider.ScreenForge Labs is not a health-care provider, laboratory, pharmacy, or a "covered entity" or "business associate" under HIPAA, and provides no medical, clinical, or public-health advice. This feature is an information-carrying convenience only.

Volunteer consent and control. A Volunteer decides whether to share a SMART Health Card. By submitting one, the Volunteer authorizes ScreenForge Labs to verify it and to make it and its contents available to the requesting Organization, and represents that the credential is their own and that they are entitled to share it.

Organization responsibilities.An Organization that requests, receives, stores, or acts on immunization information is solely responsible for doing so lawfully, including compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA), Title VII, and applicable state and local disability, health-privacy, vaccination, exemption, and accommodation laws, including any obligation to provide religious or medical exemptions and reasonable accommodations. The Organization must not use immunization information to unlawfully discriminate against, exclude, or harass any person. The decision whether to request such information, and how to use it, is the Organization's alone, and ScreenForge Labs strongly recommends the Organization consult its own legal counsel before requesting, requiring, or acting on immunization information.

"As is"; assumption of risk; release; limits.This feature and all immunization information are provided "AS IS" and "AS AVAILABLE," without warranty of any kind. The disclaimers of warranties (Section 17), limitation of liability (Section 18), indemnification (Section 19), and assumption-of-risk and release provisions (Sections 9 and 10) apply fully to this feature. To the maximum extent permitted by law, each Organization and each Volunteer assumes all risk arising from the request, submission, verification, sharing, use of, or reliance on any immunization information — including any inaccuracy in a credential, any decision an Organization makes or declines to make, and any harm arising from a Volunteer's actual health status — and releases the Released Parties from all related claims. ScreenForge Labs may modify, suspend, or discontinue this feature at any time.

13B. Character References & Reference Verification (Optional Tool — Not a Consumer-Reporting Service)

As an optional feature, the Services allow an Organization to invite character referencesthat a Volunteer applicant selects and authorizes, and to collect those references' voluntary responses — which may include answers to character questions, the reference's identity verification, and a short video testimonial. This feature exists so an Organization can gather personal, character referencesas part of its own volunteer screening.

Character references — not employment or work-history verification.This feature is for a reference's personal opinionabout an applicant's character, reliability, and suitability as a volunteer. It is not an employment, work-history, or background verification, and it must not be used to solicit information a former employer is legally restricted from providing.

ScreenForge Labs acts solely as a neutral technology conduit. With respect to this feature, ScreenForge Labs (a) transmits invitations to references the applicant selected and authorized, and (b) relays those references' own voluntary statements to the requesting Organization. ScreenForge Labs does NOT solicit on its own initiative, interview, investigate, assemble, evaluate, score, rank, edit, or verify the accuracy of reference statements, and does NOT prepare, compile, or furnish any report, rating, or score about the applicant based on them.

Accordingly, reference information collected through this feature is NOT a "consumer report" or an "investigative consumer report," and ScreenForge Labs is NOT acting as a "consumer reporting agency," as those terms are defined in the FCRA. This feature is separate and independent from the background-check (Consumer Report) Services ScreenForge Labs provides as a CRA under Section 3, and reference information is never combined into a Consumer Report.

Applicant authorization; references respond voluntarily.A reference is contacted only because the applicant provided that reference's contact information and authorized the outreach; the applicant represents a good-faith basis to list each reference. Each reference participates voluntarily, provides their own honest opinions, and may decline to answer any question or to record a video. ScreenForge Labs does not compensate references and does not verify the truth, accuracy, or completeness of anything a reference says — reference responses are the reference's opinions, not statements of fact by ScreenForge Labs.

Identity verification & video; consent and release. Where a reference completes identity verification or records a video testimonial, the reference consents to that verification and recording and grants the Organization and ScreenForge Labs a limited, revocable license to store the recording and display it to the requesting Organization for volunteer-screening purposes only. Reference content is shown only to the requesting Organization, is not public, and is not used by ScreenForge Labs for advertising.

Organization responsibilities.The Organization is solely responsible for how it requests, uses, retains, and acts upon reference information, including compliance with the FCRA (to the extent it applies to the Organization's own conduct), Title VII and other equal-opportunity and anti-discrimination laws, and applicable state and local laws. The Organization must not use reference information to unlawfully discriminate and must make its own independent volunteer decisions. If the Organization elects to use this feature in connection with an employment or other FCRA-covered decision, the Organization — not ScreenForge Labs — is solely responsible for any resulting legal obligations.

"As is"; assumption of risk; release; limits.This feature and all reference information are provided "AS IS" and "AS AVAILABLE," without warranty of any kind. The disclaimers of warranties (Section 17), limitation of liability (Section 18), indemnification (Section 19), and assumption-of-risk and release provisions (Sections 9 and 10) apply fully. To the maximum extent permitted by law, each Organization, applicant, and reference assumes all risk arising from the request, submission, verification, sharing, use of, or reliance on reference information, and releases the Released Parties from all related claims. ScreenForge Labs may modify, suspend, or discontinue this feature at any time.

14. Prohibited Conduct

You agree not to:

• Use the Services for any unlawful purpose or in violation of any law;
• Use Consumer Report information for any purpose other than its permissible purpose;
• Discriminate against any Consumer on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age, disability, familial status, or any other protected class;
• Submit false, misleading, or fraudulent application or screening information;
• Circumvent, disable, or interfere with security features;
• Scrape, harvest, or data-mine the platform; or
• Reverse engineer, decompile, or disassemble any portion of the Services, or transmit malware or unsolicited communications.

15. Intellectual Property

All content, features, software, models, and functionality of the Services are owned by or licensed to ScreenForge Labs and are protected by intellectual-property laws. You may not reproduce, distribute, modify, create derivative works of, or exploit any part of the Services without our prior written consent. You retain ownership of content you submit and grant us a non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide license to use, store, and display it to provide the Services.

16. Third-Party Services

The Services rely on third-party data sources and processors. ScreenForge Labs is not responsible for the acts, omissions, accuracy, availability, or content of third parties, and your use of any third-party service is governed by that party's terms.

17. Disclaimer of Warranties

THE SERVICES AND ALL REPORTS, DATA, AND OUTPUT ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE," WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, NON-INFRINGEMENT, AND ANY WARRANTY OF ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS, OR UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE OPERATION. WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT THE SERVICES WILL MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS, THAT ANY RECORD IN ANY JURISDICTION WILL BE FOUND, OR THAT ANY REPORT IS ACCURATE OR COMPLETE. NO ADVICE OR INFORMATION OBTAINED FROM US CREATES ANY WARRANTY NOT EXPRESSLY STATED HERE. SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW CERTAIN DISCLAIMERS, SO SOME MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.

18. Limitation of Liability

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, THE RELEASED PARTIES SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR FOR ANY LOSS OF PROFITS, DATA, GOODWILL, OR BUSINESS, OR FOR ANY DAMAGES ARISING FROM BODILY INJURY, DEATH, OR PROPERTY DAMAGE CAUSED BY ANY VOLUNTEER OR THIRD PARTY, ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THE SERVICES OR ANY REPORT, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES AND EVEN IF A REMEDY FAILS OF ITS ESSENTIAL PURPOSE.

EXCEPT FOR LIABILITY THAT CANNOT BE LIMITED UNDER APPLICABLE LAW (INCLUDING NON-WAIVABLE LIABILITY UNDER THE FCRA), THE TOTAL AGGREGATE LIABILITY OF THE RELEASED PARTIES FOR ALL CLAIMS ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THESE TERMS OR THE SERVICES SHALL NOT EXCEED THE GREATER OF (A) THE AMOUNT YOU PAID TO SCREENFORGE LABS FOR THE SPECIFIC REPORT GIVING RISE TO THE CLAIM, OR (B) ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS ($100). THESE LIMITATIONS ARE AN AGREED ALLOCATION OF RISK AND ARE A MATERIAL BASIS OF THE BARGAIN.

19. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless the Released Parties from and against any and all claims, liabilities, damages, losses, judgments, settlements, costs, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising out of or relating to: (a) your use of the Services; (b) your violation of these Terms or any law, including the FCRA; (c) your screening policies, volunteer decisions, or failure to provide required disclosures or adverse-action notices; (d) the acts or omissions of any Volunteer associated with your Organization; or (e) any claim brought by a Volunteer or third party arising from your conduct or decisions. We may assume the exclusive defense of any matter subject to indemnification, and you agree to cooperate.

20. Dispute Resolution; Arbitration; Class & Jury Waiver

Binding Arbitration. Except for the FCRA reinvestigation process in Section 11 and claims that cannot be arbitrated as a matter of law, any dispute, claim, or controversy arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Services shall be resolved exclusively by final and binding arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association under its Commercial Arbitration Rules, seated in Fort Myers, Florida. Either party may seek injunctive or equitable relief in court to protect intellectual-property rights or confidential consumer data.

Class-Action & Jury Waiver. To the maximum extent permitted by law, you and we each waive any right to a jury trial and any right to bring or participate in a class, collective, or representative action. Arbitration will be conducted only on an individual basis.

Time Limitation. To the extent permitted by law, any claim must be brought within one (1) year after it accrues, or it is permanently barred.

Governing Law. These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Florida, without regard to conflict-of-law principles, and, where applicable, by federal law including the FCRA.

21. Termination

We may suspend or terminate your account and access at our sole discretion, with or without notice, for any reason, including violation of these Terms, FCRA violations, fraud, or inactivity. Upon termination, your right to use the Services ceases. Provisions that by their nature should survive — including Sections 8 through 20 (including Sections 13A and 13B) and 22 — survive termination.

22. General; Severability; No Third-Party Beneficiaries

If any provision of these Terms is held unenforceable, it shall be modified to the minimum extent necessary to make it enforceable, or severed, and the remaining provisions shall remain in full force. The release, waiver, limitation-of-liability, and indemnification provisions are intended to be given the broadest enforceable effect and to be blue-penciled rather than voided. Except for the Released Parties, these Terms create no third-party beneficiary rights. We are not liable for any failure or delay caused by events beyond our reasonable control (force majeure). You may not assign these Terms without our consent; we may assign freely. These Terms, with the Privacy Policy, are the entire agreement between you and us regarding the Services and supersede prior agreements.

23. Changes to These Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. We will post the updated Terms and revise the effective date, and material changes may be communicated through the Services. Your continued use after the effective date constitutes acceptance. If you do not agree, you must stop using the Services.

24. Contact