A major transportation services company recently faced a class action lawsuit. Allegedly, the company took adverse action against workers based on information in their background reports without providing the required disclosures to them.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) requires employers intending to take adverse action against applicants or workers to provide a Notice of Adverse Action and a summary of their rights under the FCRA. Adverse action includes refusing to hire applicants and firing employees based on information obtained from background reports.

The plaintiffs claim the transportation service company did not provide potential or newly hired employees with the required pre-action notice before firing them or refusing to hire them. This failure deprived them of their opportunity to challenge the accuracy of the background reports.

The complaint alleges that the company intentionally disregarded the FCRA requirements. For example, it explains how the company took immediate adverse action against job applicants who had a disqualification in a criminal record and did not give the applicants a chance to review or dispute the issue.

The plaintiff explained being hired by the transportation services company as a driver in March 2022, pending a background check. The lawsuit clarifies that the company purchased a background check from a screening company as part of its standard hiring practices. During the plaintiff’s training under other drivers on March 18, the company called the plaintiff to terminate him.

The company refused to explain why it fired him despite the plaintiff inquiring what happened. The company finally informed him on April 14 why they fired him. Allegedly, he had a felony criminal charge reported in the background screening.

The plaintiff repeatedly requested a copy of the report used by the company but did not receive it until early May. Looking over the information, he realized the criminal record belonged to someone else. Despite this realization, the plaintiff never received a chance to dispute the inaccuracy.

The lawsuit covers applicants and employees of the transportation services company who faced similar adverse action. The affected all suffered harm from adverse employment decisions over the past two years through the resolution of this case. According to the lawsuit, these US residents never received a summary of their FCRA rights nor their copies of the consumer report within the required timeframe.

This case shows how important it is for employers to follow FCRA regulations. It is best to pair with a trusted consumer reporting agency. The right agency will help your company stay up-to-date and follow all the FCRA regulations.

Ensure compliance today by switching to an electronic I-9 management tool with I-9 Compliance.

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