Employers, or prospective employers, may obtain consumer reports on employees and job applications only if they following the requirements of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). The complaint for this class action alleges that Circle K Stores, Inc. obtained reports on both employees and job applicants but did not meet all the requirements of the FCRA prior to obtaining these reports.
The FCRA specifies that no person can procure a consumer report for a consumer for employment purposes unless two requirements are met:
- “[A] clear and conspicuous disclosure has been made in writing to the consumer at any time before the report is procured or caused to be procured, in a document that consists solely of the disclosure, that a consumer report may be obtained for employment purposes; and…”
- “[T]he consumer has authorized in writing (which authorization may be made on the document referred to [above]) the procurement of the report by that person.”
These provisions, the complaint says, put consumers on notice that someone is obtaining a report on them and gives them “the opportunity to exercise substantive rights conferred by the FCRA or other statutes, allowing consumers to decide who accesses their personal, sensitive information.”
The plaintiff in this case, Samuel James, applied for a job with Circle K in October 2018. The Disclosure and Authorization he was given did not meet the requirements of the law because it was not conspicuous and was not on a separate document. The document included a legal liability waiver and a blanket authorization for the company to obtain any or all information it needed, even if the actions ran counter to existing law.
For these and other reasons, the complaint alleges that Circle K violated the law and invaded James’s privacy.
The complaint also claims that the violation was willful because Circle K “is a large and sophisticated employer with access to legal advice through its own attorneys and there is no evidence it determined its own conduct was lawful…”
Two classes have been defined for this action:
- The Background Check Class is all Circle K Stores employees and job applicants in the US who were the subject of a consumer report obtained for employment purposes to whom Circle K did not give a lawful disclosure before it obtained the report, between June 17, 2018 and the date of final judgment in this case.
- The Invalid Authorization Class is all Circle K Stores job applicants in the US who were the subject of a consumer report obtained by Circle K for employment purposes from whom Circle K did not obtain lawful authorization, between June 17, 2018 and the date of final judgement in this case.
Topic: Privacy
Most Recent Case Event
Circle K Employee Consumer Reports Violated Privacy FCRA Complaint
June 17, 2020
Employers, or prospective employers, may obtain consumer reports on employees and job applications only if they following the requirements of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). The complaint for this class action alleges that Circle K Stores, Inc. obtained reports on both employees and job applicants but did not meet all the requirements of the FCRA prior to obtaining these reports.
Circle K Employee Consumer Reports Violated Privacy FCRA ComplaintCase Event History
Circle K Employee Consumer Reports Violated Privacy FCRA Complaint
June 17, 2020
Employers, or prospective employers, may obtain consumer reports on employees and job applications only if they following the requirements of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). The complaint for this class action alleges that Circle K Stores, Inc. obtained reports on both employees and job applicants but did not meet all the requirements of the FCRA prior to obtaining these reports.
Circle K Employee Consumer Reports Violated Privacy FCRA Complaint