Uber under attack for potential violations of the FCRA

  • 9/18/2015
  • Mandy Haynes
This past year, the transportation company Uber has been under fire for their pre-employment screening policies and practices. Many people have argued that Uber does not perform adequate background checks on their employees, putting passengers who use their services in harm’s way. Now, Uber is under attack again for their pre-employment screening practices, this time regarding their alleged failure to comply with the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).

On September 2, a putative class action lawsuit was filed against Uber in a federal court in Newark, New Jersey. The suit, Cuccinello v. Uber, was filed “on behalf of persons who applied for jobs with Uber and were subjects of an adverse employment action based on information from a consumer reporting agency” and alleges that Uber “violated the FCRA by failing to give each applicant a copy of their report and a summary of their rights under the FCRA” before adverse action was taken. The damages sought by the suit include “statutory damages of not less than $100 and not more than $1,000 per class member, plus unspecified punitive damages, actual damages and legal fees and costs.” This suit is one of several suits that have been filed against Uber in regards to its use of consumer credit reports and practices surrounding background checks.

The plaintiffs, Joseph Cuccinello and James Brooks, applied for driving positions with Uber in 2014 and were denied employment based on the results of their background reports. The suit claims that Uber, along with Hirease, the company who provided the background reports, did not provide the plaintiffs with copies of the background reports before adverse action was taken. The suit alleges that this failure to provide copies of the report violates 15 U.S.C. Section 1681 b(b)(3) of the FCRA. The suit also claims that Uber and Hirease failed to provide the plaintiffs with copies of the online consent form they signed consenting to a background check and that the consent forms themselves “unlawfully attempted to obtain future protection for defendants for any unlawful actions, and included other limitations on consumer protection and other extraneous language.” According to the suit, this form violates the FCRA because the FCRA prohibits employers from including anything other than authorization of a background check on the disclosure form.

Because it failed to comply with the FCRA, Uber is now facing several class action lawsuits that may end up costing the company hundreds or thousands of dollars. The case of Uber shows the importance of knowing and complying with the regulations set forth by the FCRA. Employers can ensure that they never face legal action due to violations of the FCRA by obtaining background checks from companies that are in full-compliance with the FCRA. At PDA Investigations, all our employees who perform background checks are FCRA certified and help ensure all clients are receiving background checks that are fully compliant with the FCRA. Full article: http://www.njlawjournal.com/id=1202736495349/Class-Suit-Targets-Ubers-PreEmployment-Background-Check...