HireRight Includes Outdated Information in Background Reports, Class Action Alleges

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HireRight, LLC is the defendant in a proposed class action that alleges the company routinely furnishes background reports that contain outdated arrest records and other adverse information.

Behind the lawsuit is a Maine resident on whom the defendant ran a background check following his August 2018 application to Apple for a technical specialist job. According to the case, the defendant, in violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), furnished a report that listed the plaintiff’s 2011 arrest records, which stated he was charged—but not convicted—of seven felony counts. The suit explains the inclusion of such information older than seven years oversteps the FCRA.

“The FCRA prohibits, inter alia, the reporting of arrest and other law enforcement records that predate the report by more than seven years, unless those records are a record of conviction,” the complaint reads.

Upon receiving a copy of his report in November, the plaintiff, the suit says, sent a letter to HireRight wherein he disputed the outdated information. The next month, the case continues, the defendant sent the plaintiff a response in which it claimed to have looked into his complaint and stated, “[t]he case is currently reporting accurately per FCRA and State reporting guidelines; therefore, no changes will be made to the report.” As the lawsuit tells it, HireRight’s efforts in looking into the plaintiff’s dispute were inadequate.

“HireRight, consistent with standard industry practices, could have written an algorithm or filter to ensure that all of its reports would exclude non-conviction criminal dispositions older than seven years,” the complaint says, arguing that the defendant could have made a stronger effort to comply with FCRA guidelines. The suit also points out that reporting agencies commonly utilize a “purge date for information in their system that has become outdated.”

In sum, the case argues that HireRight recklessly failed to ensure the maximum possible accuracy of the information it reported.