Background check errors costing consumers jobs and homes: Who’s affected?
If you had an inaccurate background check done in the past two years while looking for a job or a place to live, you may have a legal claim.
Background checks are a part of many of life’s milestones. Consumers are subjected to background checks in many areas of their lives, professional and personal. A background check may be performed for one or more of the following reasons:
- Applying for a job
- Applying to rent an apartment
- Qualifying for a mortgage
- Others
If a person’s background check reflects negatively on them, they could be prevented from getting a job, finding housing, or accessing many necessary services.
As important as background checks are, they are not always accurate. In some instances, inaccurate or outdated information may find its way onto someone’s official record. These inaccuracies can be just as, if not more damaging than, correct negative information and can hold someone back.
Some examples of wrongfully reported information are:
- Expunged/sealed records
- Inaccurate dispositions or sentences
- Arrest or eviction records that are more than 7 years old
*UNDER THE FCRA, CONVICTION RECORDS MAY REMAIN ON YOUR REPORT INDEFINITELY. THIS MEANS A CONVICTION FROM MORE THAN 7 YEARS AGO IS ALLOWED TO APPEAR ON YOUR BACKGROUND REPORT*
Consumers have a right to accurate background check reports under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). However, some companies may not follow the law. These companies may fail to give consumers adequate notice that a background check will be performed or may not give consumers a chance to dispute inaccuracies in a background check.
Do You Qualify for a Claim Concerning Inaccurate Background Checks?
If you were harmed by an inaccurate background check in the last two years, you may have a legal claim.
You may have:
- Lost out on a job opportunity
- Faced a rejected rental application
- Been denied essential services
*NOTE: These services do NOT apply to background checks for firearms or firearms permits*
If your background check came back with errors or incorrect information, you may qualify to participate in a class action lawsuit investigation.
Please fill out the form on this page for more information.
Why do inaccuracies appear on consumer background reports?
Background screening companies process the information of thousands of people. To do this, they use software to scour the internet and databases for information on each person. This software might use outdated information or accidentally pick up information on the wrong person and include it in your report. There are dozens of background check companies throughout the country, including CIC, SafeRent, Rentgrow, First Advantage, Crimshield, Resident Research, Acutraq, Checkr, HireRight, Victiq, Tenant Alert, Sterling Infosystems, Accurate Background, JD Palatine, RealPage and LeaseDesk.
Background check errors can appear in a number of ways.
For instance, if someone who shares your name committed a crime, a background screening company’s software might include a record of this other person’s information in your background report.
Or you may have had a criminal conviction sealed or expunged, but the background screening company is using outdated records.
Maybe a landlord tried to wrongfully evict you, and the background screening report isn’t listing that you won the case.
Because much of the background check process is done by computers, many inaccuracies can find their way onto an official report sent to a potential landlord, a possible employer or another party.
Fair Credit Reporting Act
Inaccurate background checks can take a toll on someone’s quality of life and can affect the following:
- Financial stability
- Career trajectory
- Housing stability
- Emotional well-being
Federal law offers protections to prevent consumers from being harmed by inaccuracies in their credit reports.
The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) requires that a company that orders a background check notify you they are performing a background check and get your authorization to do so.
Additionally, entities that prepare your consumer background check are required to: 1) give you a chance to review your background check; 2) ensure the background check is as accurate as possible; and 3) give you the chance to dispute any inaccuracies. These are key elements of the law that enable consumers to ensure they will not be harmed by inaccurate negative background information.
However, some companies may not follow the law. This can result in a range of injuries to an individual including:
- The loss of a potential job
- Failure to secure housing
- Damage to reputation
- Emotional distress
- Strained relationships
Some companies may not follow the FCRA’s guidelines out of negligence, perhaps because an employee in charge of background checks may not be aware of the law, or the company preparing your report is relying on outdated information.
In other instances, companies may intentionally not follow the law. For example, if a company did not want to hire a specific person for discriminatory reasons and ran a background check on that person, the company might not give that person an opportunity to dispute inaccuracies on a background check. An unfair background report might give a company an excuse to not hire, or to fire, that person.
Both negligent and intentional violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act are illegal and can cause harm to individuals.
Join an FCRA inaccurate background check lawsuit investigation
Attorneys are standing by to help those affected by an inaccurate background check. If you were negatively affected by a background check containing inaccurate information in the last two years, join an FCRA background check investigation. You may be able to take legal action against a party that ran an inaccurate background check and negatively affected you. You may be able to receive compensation for injuries suffered.
If you were negatively affected by an inaccurate background check, you may qualify to participate in an FCRA inaccurate background check investigation.