Ex-Employee Says Circle K Stores Performed Background Check Without Proper Authorization

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A proposed class action alleges that Circle K Stores Inc. conducted an unauthorized background check on a former employee after issuing the man an improper consent form.

The suit says that the plaintiff worked for the defendant—an operator of convenience stores and gas stations—out of Modesto, California from June through July 2018. According to the case, the plaintiff unknowingly consented to a background check when he signed a document included with his job application that stated, in part:

“I authorize, without reservation, any person or entity contacted by Circle K Stores Inc. or its agent(s) to furnish the above stated information, and I release any such person or entity from any liability for furnishing such information."

Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), the complaint explains, background check authorization and disclosures must be executed and signed by a job applicant prior to an employer requesting or procuring a background check. Moreover, this form cannot include any extraneous information in order to “prevent the consumer from being distracted,” the case says.

According to the lawsuit, the background check authorization forms provided to the plaintiff also included a liability waiver. The man claims he did not understand the defendant’s intent to obtain a consumer report, as the disclosure was not in a stand-alone document.