Similar situations recently befell grocery chains Wholes Foods and Publix. Plaintiffs in the Publix case accrued over $6.8 million in settlements.
The class action alleges that lead plaintiff Michael Peikoff had applied to work at Paramount in 2011, only to discover years later that Paramount had obtained a consumer report for employment purposes after he had filled out an application that failed to supply him with the FCRA-mandated authorization and disclosure forms on pages separate from the application.
According to the FCRA, companies must disclose to applicants that it may obtain a consumer report for employment purposes on “a document that consists solely of that disclosure.”
Furthermore, the lawsuit contends that the application’s authorization forms contained language seeking to release Paramount from all liability for information received or provided during the background check – a practice that also infringes on the FCRA.
The suit seeks to represent a class of upwards of 500 individuals, seeking damages ranging from $100 to $1,000 for each member, as well as punitive damages and legal fees.
Source: Deadline.com, 1/7/2015
Posted: February 2, 2015