In Sweet v. LinkedIn Corporation, a number of job applicants sued the social networking service for alleged violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act based on LinkedIn’s “Reference Search” function. The Court dismissed the complaint at the pleadings stage, holding that the reports were not “consumer reports” and that LinkedIn was not a “consumer
Background Screening
Class Action Lawsuits Challenging FCRA Disclosure Forms Get Multi-District Treatment
On April 9, the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation ordered that three putative nationwide class actions against Michaels Stores Inc. be centralized in New Jersey. The actions accuse Michaels Stores of violating the Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”) by failing to properly notify job applicants that the company would access their credit reports.
Federal…
Virginia Hops on the “Ban the Box” Wagon for State Employee Hiring
Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe added Virginia to the growing list of states “banning the box” regarding criminal history on state employment applications. Given the growing list of state and even local legislation regarding applicants’ criminal histories, employers must be vigilant to ensure their employment processes comply with these multiple layers of restrictions.
On April 3,…
Food Lion Parent Settles $3 Million Background Check Class Action
On March 2, a class of job applicants requested that the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina approve a nearly $3 million settlement they had reached with Delhaize America LLC, Food Lion LLC’s parent company. The applicants had sued Delhaize – which owns Food Lion, Hannaford, and Bottom Dollar – for…
Class Action FCRA Lawsuit Challenging Whole Foods’ Employment Background Screening Disclosure Form Survives Motion to Dismiss
On March 30, a Florida federal judge refused to dismiss a proposed class action accusing Whole Foods Market Group, Inc. of violating the Fair Credit Reporting Act with its employee background check notification methods, ruling the suit alleged Whole Foods’ liability release was included in a disclosure document. As we previously reported in December, Whole…
District Court Grants Motion to Dismiss FCRA Challenge to Defendant’s Background Screening Disclosure Form
A federal district court in the Northern District of California recently dismissed a lawsuit filed against Paramount Pictures Corporation challenging its alleged failure to provide job applicants with a background check disclosure form that “consisted solely of the disclosure,” as required by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”). Specifically, in addition to making the disclosure…
District Court Denies Summary Judgment on Issue of Release Language in Background Check Disclosure
On March 11, 2015, a district court in the Eastern District of Virginia denied an employer’s motion for summary judgment in a Fair Credit Reporting Act case dealing with the inclusion of release language in a background check disclosure. Employers should review this decision carefully as the case law on this issue develops further.
In…
Food Lion Parent Company Settles Multi-Million Dollar FCRA Background Screening Class Action
On March 2, the plaintiff’s counsel in Brown v. Delhaize America, LLC submitted an unopposed motion for preliminary approval, seeking Court approval of another Fair Credit Reporting Act class action settlement. Employers should treat this settlement as another reminder to verify their compliance with the FCRA.
According to the parties’ settlement paperwork, the Brown…
Multiple Bills to Reform CFPB Again Pending in House of Representatives
By David N. Anthony & Ethan G. Ostroff on
Posted in All Entries, Auto Finance, Background Screening, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), Credit Reporting + Data Brokers, Debt Buyers + Collectors, Events + Webinars, Featured Posts, Mortgage Lending, Servicing + Banking, Payment Processing + Cards, Regulatory Enforcement + Compliance
Following up on the failure in 2014 to implement changes to the CFPB through legislative action, on March 5, U.S. Rep. Sean Duffy (R-Wis.) reintroduced a package of bills seeking to make changes to the CFPB’s leadership structure, how data is collected from consumers, and more.
Representative Duffy is the Chairman of the House Financial…
Did You Hear That? CFPB Report to Congress Sounds Death Knell for Arbitration Clauses
As anticipated, yesterday the CFPB announced the release of its report to Congress following the CFPB’s study of arbitration agreements in connection with offering or providing consumer financial products or services. According to the CFPB, the study’s results “indicat[e] that arbitration agreements restrict consumers’ relief for disputes with financial service providers by limiting class…