Plaintiffs in the case argued that they were denied employment due to the employer's background check process. According to the Plaintiffs, the employer never provided them with a pre-adverse action notice, a copy of their consumer report, and their summary of rights under the FCRA. The class-action suit states that this mistake denied potential employees their right to review the report and either dispute the results with the consumer reporting agency (CRA) or provide a consumer statement.

The employer settled the class-action suit to the amount of $60,500, spread across approximately 1,000 qualified class members.

In February, a similar class-action lawsuit was filed against a large home improvement company, alleging that the company failed to provide applicants with a copy of their consumer report or a written summary of their FCRA rights before denying employment.

Employers running background checks should ensure compliance with the hyper-vigilant pre-adverse requirements of the FCRA, which include adverse action notices, a copy of the consumer report, and a summary of the consumer's rights under the FCRA. They must also provide an adequate period of time - typically a minimum of five business days - before finalizing the adverse action.

Certiphi Screening's Consumer Care Portal allows for the streamlined delivery and tracking of consumer compliance notifications and complies with FCRA and state-level requirements for pre-adverse and final adverse action. The portal also provides tools that allow the consumer to dispute the accuracy of their report or add a consumer statement as permissible by the FCRA. For more information on how Certiphi Screening can help your company comply with FCRA requirements, please contact your account manager or sales executive.

Posted: August 9, 2022