District Court Denies Summary Judgment On Issue Of Release Language In Background Check Disclosure

On March 11, 2015, a district court in the Eastern District of Virginia denied an employer's motion for summary judgment in a Fair Credit Reporting Act case dealing with the inclusion of release language in a background check disclosure.  Employers should review this decision carefully as the case law on this issue develops further.

In Milbourne v. JRK Residential America, LLC, the plaintiff argued that the disclosure form at issue did not comply with the FCRA's requirement that an employer disclose to an applicant, in a document that consists solely of the disclosure, that a consumer report may be obtained for employment purposes.  The plaintiff claimed that the disclosure violated this "solely of the disclosure" requirement because it included a liability release, releasing several parties from "any liability in connection with any information they give or gather and any decisions made concerning my employment based on such information."