On August 27, 2015, The Weiner Law Firm LLC filed a Class Action Complaint in federal court against ADP Screening & Selection Services, Inc., alleging that the company violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act when it allegedly failed to obtain the certifications required under the FCRA prior to furnishing consumer reports to users.
Specifically, 15 U.S.C. § 1681b(b) regulates the conduct of “persons” who furnish, use, procure or cause to be procured a “consumer report” for employment purposes as follows:
(b) Conditions for furnishing and using consumer reports for employment purposes
(1) Certification from user
A consumer reporting agency may furnish a consumer report for employment purposes only if –
(A) the person who obtains such a report from the agency certifies to
the agency that—
(i) the person has complied with paragraph (2) with respect to the consumer report, and the person will comply with paragraph (3) with respect to the consumer report if paragraph (3) becomes applicable; and
(ii) information from the consumer report will not be used in violation of any applicable Federal or State equal employment opportunity law or regulation; and
(B) the consumer reporting agency provides with the report or has previously provided, a summary of the consumer’s rights under this subchapter, as prescribed by the Bureau under section
1681g(c)(3) of this title.
Thus, according to 15 U.S.C. § 1681b(b), a consumer reporting agency may not furnish to a user a consumer report for employment purposes unless the user has certified to the consumer reporting agency that it has complied with paragraph (2) of Section 1681b(b) with respect to the consumer report and that it will comply with paragraph (3) of Section 1681b(b) with respect to the consumer report. The Complaint alleges that by failing to obtain the required specific certification from the persons to whom it furnished consumer reports before providing the specific consumer report that was the subject of the certification, Defendant violated the express requirement of Section 1681b(b)(1).
Stay tuned for additional updates.