The lead plaintiff in the putative class action filed in Tennessee federal court claims that southeastern convenience store chain violated the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) when it never provided him with a copy of his background check after the company decided to not hire him. His background check also erroneously contained expunged criminal convictions and a conviction that did not belong to the plaintiff, according to the complaint.

“Providing a copy of the criminal background report as well as a statement of consumer rights before making a final adverse employment decision arms the nation’s millions of job applicants with the knowledge and information needed to challenge inaccurate, incomplete and misleading public-records-based reports,” the complaint states. “The FCRA is designed to permit individuals whose reports are inaccurate with ample time to identify the inaccuracies and correct them before the employer has made an employment decision."

Furthermore, the complaint claims that Mapco’s background check disclosure forms contained a release of liability and other extraneous information, in violation of the FCRA.

The plaintiff is seeking to establish two nationwide classes of job applicants: one of applicants within the past five years who Mapco elected not to hire based on the results of a background check but were not provided a copy of that check, and a second class of Mapco applicants within the past five years who were provided with the inadequate background check disclosure form.

The case is Blair v. Mapco Express, Inc. case number 2:17-cv-02463 in U.S. District Court for Western Tennessee.

Source: Law360.com, 7/13/2017