FCRA Violations are Dismissed in California Lawsuit

Far too often, we read about the violations of the FCRA that are brought to trial in a class action lawsuit against a company.  These are often times due to the use of a background check, or the forms that are utilized by a company that are perceived by the plaintiff to be against the FCRA.

The plaintiffs that brought the suit against a large department store were arguing that the Consent and Disclosure form and the employment packet were part of the same document, going against the FCRA regulation that the Consent and Disclosure must be a separate and conspicuous document from the job application/employment packet.  In reviewing the documents, the court dismissed the case, stating that the plaintiff signed each document separately, that they each had a separate title, and that each form had its own internal code affixed to it.  Most importantly was the determination that each form served a unique purpose in the employment process, thus adequately satisfying the FCRA regulations.

Other things on the form were up to the standards of the FCRA, and showed that the company had followed proper procedure in creating and using the forms for the background check process.

These are the types of things that declined job candidates and attorneys are looking for in order to bring a suit against a company.  In this case, everything was in line and the entire case was dismissed.  In other cases, however, this has not been the case.  While this is an example of the court recognizing and acknowledging the work of the retail store to abide by the FCRA, it is also a reminder that there are steps that must be followed to ensure compliance when utilizing background checks as a part of the hiring process.