FCRA Compliance & Defense

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) imposes several duties on employers who make employment decisions based on consumer reports from third party consumer reporting agencies. In the employment law context, the FCRA applies any time an employer obtains background information on a prospective or current employee from a third party consumer reporting agency in the form of a consumer report or an investigative consumer report.

Over the past decade, the number of class action lawsuits brought under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) against employers has increased dramatically. Due to the complex and technical nature of the FCRA, it is not uncommon for employers’ background check policies and procedures to be noncompliant with the statute. Additionally, due to the sheer number of applicants and employees being screened by large companies each year, the potential class sizes of these class actions can be substantial, resulting in significant exposure for employers.

Lewis Brisbois’ FCRA Practice is composed of a highly-experienced team of attorneys dedicated to assisting employers maintain full compliance with the FCRA. Our objective is to offer clients the most expedient and efficient representation, focusing on preventative measures as well as aggressively defending employers in litigation.

We offer advice and counseling on FCRA-related issues, including, but not limited to:

• Auditing employers’ application and onboarding forms for FCRA and state law compliance;
• Counseling employers on FCRA compliance issues when taking an adverse action against an applicant or employee based on a consumer report (e.g., background check, credit report, etc.);
• Reviewing employers’ policies and procedures for compliance with FCRA and state background check laws;
• Drafting FCRA and state background check disclosure and authorization forms;
• Training Human Resources personnel on FCRA compliance in hiring and termination procedures;
• Defending individual and class action lawsuits involving FCRA employment-related claims and state background check laws.

Lewis Brisbois’ attorneys have significant experience defending employers in FCRA class actions, including successfully defeating motions for class certification at an early stage and resolving lawsuits on favorable terms for our clients.