Caddell & Chapman is representing Regmon Hawkins, individually and on behalf of a class of similarly situated persons against consumer reporting agency S2VERIFY, for disclosing numerous inaccuracies in his background check as well as information that the Federal Credit Reporting Act mandates be excluded from reports after seven years, resulting in illegitimate denial of his employment application.
S2VERIFY routinely and systematically violates multiple provisions of the Fair Credit Reporting Act by reporting old charges that were dismissed even though the FCRA explicitly prohibits the inclusion of this information in background checks, and by failing to use reasonable procedures to assure maximum possible accuracy of the reported information.
Recognizing the content of background checks can have a significant impact on people’s lives, Congress created the FCRA to ensure that consumer reporting agencies report information in a manner which is “fair and equitable to the consumer,” and “with regard to the confidentiality, accuracy, relevancy, and proper utilizing of such information.” 15 U.S.C. § 1681(b).
In its background check, S2VERIFY included three criminal cases of which Regmon Hawkins was never convicted. Not only did S2VERIFY disclose prohibited information in its reports about Mr. Hawkins, it also erroneously disclosed single convinctions multiple times, which leaves employers with the incorrect impression that consumers’ criminal histories are worse than they truly are.
IPC International, the employer in this case, denied Mr. Hawkins’ application without first providing him with a copy of his background check and a summary of his FCRA rights. As a result of these violations, S2VERIFY and IPC International are liable to Mr. Hawkins’ and others similarly situated individuals for statutory damages from $100 to $1,000, plus punitive damages for the FCRA violations, and for attorneys’ fees and costs.
S2VERIFY’s practices and procedures affected and continue to affect Mr. Hawkins and other consumers whose criminal charges have been dismissed or expunged, or who have obtained similar post-conviction relief, and consumers who have been found not guilty of the charges leveled against them.