If an employer violates the FCRA, such as by failing to give notice, not providing a copy of the report, not allowing time to dispute the information, or taking an adverse action without notice, job seekers and employees are deprived of their rights
Baton Rouge, LA (PRWEB) September 23, 2014
A class action lawsuit was filed on behalf of Mariah Roman and a class of similarly situated individuals against STAPLES, Inc. (case 0:14-cv-61731-RNS) in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida Fort Lauderdale Division over allegations that the office supply agent deprived them of certain rights by failing to follow guidelines set forth by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).
The lawsuit, which was filed on July 29, 2014, claims that STAPLES failed to properly disclose to applicants and employees of its use of consumer reports. According to the Louisiana trial lawyers of Bohrer Law Firm, when companies fail to provide applicants and employees with proper notice of their plans to use consumer reports about them for employment purposes, they are in violation of the FCRA.
“The FCRA protects employees from a company’s unauthorized access to consumer reports and background checks,” said Louisiana trial lawyer Scott E. Brady. “If an employer violates the FCRA, such as by failing to give notice, not providing a copy of the report, not allowing time to dispute the information, or taking an adverse action without notice, job seekers and employees are deprived of their rights, including privacy rights. In such situations, employees and job seekers may be entitled monetary damages.”
Bohrer Law Firm represents plaintiffs in individual lawsuits and class actions who believe they were treated unfairly or denied employment from any company based upon information wrongfully obtained in a consumer report.
Consumer reports, also known as background checks, criminal checks or credit reports, contain personal background information, including employment history, consumer credit reports, education verifications, motor vehicle records and criminal and civil records.
Although it is not illegal for a company to use consumer reports to make decisions about hiring, promotions and layoffs, there are strict requirements that a company must follow in order to protect applicants’ and employees’ privacy rights when doing so. If a company fails to follow the guidelines set forth by the FCRA, affected individuals may be eligible to sue for monetary damages.
Violations may include a company’s failure to provide applicants and employees with written documentation of its intention to use consumer reports for employment purposes prior to doing so; failure to give the applicant a reasonable opportunity to dispute information found in the report; and failure to provide the applicant with notice after an adverse action has been taken.
To learn more about laws governing fair use of credit reports, please visit our website. To speak with an attorney about a possible lawsuit, contact our law office today.