Under a new California law that took effect on January 1, 2016, California employers may face civil penalties of up to $10,000 for misusing E-Verify, the federal electronic employment verification system some employers use to verify employment eligibility of newly…
Posts by Category: Background Check Laws
Background Checks More Cumbersome Than Ever
With companies facing hacking and age-old threats like workplace violence, a thorough system for screening out problem employees is more important than ever. But a laudable push by policymakers to get people “back to work” and make progress on issues such…
Gill-Turner Bill to End Employment Discrimination Based on Credit History Clears Senate
A bill sponsored by Senator Nia H. Gill and Senator Shirley K. Turner that would end employment discrimination based on an individual’s credit history or financial status was approved by the full Senate. The bill (a substitute for S-524 and S-1130) would prohibit an…
Sterling Background Check Class Action Settlement Gets Final OK
U.S. District Judge Lorna G. Schofield agreed to the terms of the Sterling class action settlement, which ends allegations that the background check company violated the FCRA by providing outdated information to employers, which resulted in a loss of employment. Lead…
California Law and Background Screening
The California Supreme Court has agreed to consider whether the Investigative Consumer Reporting Agencies Act (ICRAA) is unconstitutionally vague when applied to employee background checks because of its overlap with another California law, the Consumer Credit…
Bad Background Check Leads to Class Actions, Including Against Freeman Webb
A man who says he was wrongfully fired over false information in a background check has filed a pair of class-action lawsuits in federal court, including one against the prominent real estate firm Freeman Webb. Tyrone Jude was hired as a maintenance man at a Lebanon…
Amazon Hit With Another Background Check Class Action Lawsuit
A recent class action lawsuit against Amazon is at least the second of its kind to be filed against the company in the last six months. Plaintiff Theo Feldstein alleges he was initially offered a job working for Amazon but the offer was withdrawn after the company…
Goodlatte, Sensenbrenner and Conyers Praise House Passage of Legislation to Strengthen Privacy Protections for Individuals
The House of Representatives approved the Judicial Redress Act of 2015 (H.R. 1428) by voice vote. Introduced by Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations Chairman Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.) and House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member…
Class Suit Targets Uber’s Pre-Employment Background Checks
Uber Inc. has been hit with a putative class action in federal court in Newark claiming it violates the Fair Credit Reporting Act by using background reports in hiring decisions without allowing applicants to dispute entries in their reports. The case, Cuccinello v….
Background Check Completion Act Introduced in House of Representatives
A South Carolina Congressman has introduced the Background Check Completion Act in the U.S. House of Representatives to close a loophole that allowed the purchase of a gun allegedly used to kill nine people at a church in Charleston in June 2015, according to a press…




