INDUSTRY NEWS
Class action accuses Sears of using improper background check disclosure forms
The chain of American department stores allegedly failed to clearly and conspicuously disclose that they would be obtaining consumer reports on applicants for employment purposes – a violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
According to the complaint, the forms that Sears did supply to prospective employees contained extraneous information – a practice prohibited under the requirements of the FCRA. Under the FCRA, businesses who wish to procure consumer reports on current or prospective employees are required to provide those individuals with “a clear and conspicuous disclosure…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.”
Source: Legal Newsline Legal Journal, 6/19/2015