Last week, a Florida district court approved a class action
settlement between Whole Foods Market Group Inc. and an employee
class related to Whole Foods' inclusion of a waiver and
liability release in its Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)
disclosure form. This settlement, as well as other recent lawsuits
and decisions, are reminders to employers that rely on background
screening that plaintiffs' lawyers are ready to pounce on their
processes with FCRA class action lawsuits. In light of this risk,
employers should take a close look at their forms and background
screening processes.
The FCRA requires employers who obtain a consumer report for
employment purposes to provide a clear and conspicuous disclosure,
in a document that consists "solely" of the disclosure,
that a consumer report may be obtained for employment purposes. In
addition, the FCRA requires employers using reports for adverse
actions to send "preadverse" and "final"
adverse action notices. Over the past
