Preferred Precision Group, Day Star Staffing Hit with Lawsuit Over Allegedly Unlawful Background Checks

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Preferred Precision Group, LLC and Day Star Staffing LLC have overstepped the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) by obtaining consumer reports on prospective employees without first providing proper disclosures or obtaining authorization to do so, a proposed class action alleges.

According to the 37-page lawsuit, the defendants denied the plaintiff a job opportunity based on the contents of his consumer report without first providing notice, a copy of the report and a summary of his rights. The plaintiff claims he would never have authorized the defendants to obtain his consumer report “if he knew it was being obtained illegally and would be used to deny him employment.”

Per the case, the FCRA prohibits entities from obtaining a consumer report for employment purposes unless they first provide a “clear and conspicuous” disclosure, in a document that consists solely of the disclosure, that states that a consumer report may be obtained and that the consumer has authorized in writing the procurement of the report.

The lawsuit argues that Day Star, a staffing agency, and PPG, a manufacturing company, have failed to meet both requirements before obtaining prospective employees’ consumer reports for employment purposes. 

“Without clear notice as to who is obtaining and accessing their personal, sensitive information, applicants and employees are deprived of the opportunity to make informed decisions, assert protected rights, or maintain control over their personal information,” the complaint argues.

Per the case, the defendants have acted in “deliberate or reckless disregard” of their obligations under the FCRA and consumers’ rights.

The lawsuit claims Day Star and PPG further violated the FCRA by failing to provide pre-adverse action notice to consumers before taking adverse action against them, i.e., denying a job opportunity, based on the contents of their consumer reports.

“By failing to provide Plaintiff and other putative class members with the information required by [the FCRA] before taking adverse employment action against them based on the information contained in such reports, PPG and Day Star willfully disregarded unambiguous regulatory guidance and the plain language of the statute,” the case says.

The plaintiff says he applied in November 2020 for a position with PPG in Pell City, Alabama. Per the case, although the plaintiff was given a purported FCRA disclosure titled “Day Star Staffing Solutions Authorization,” he did not understand that he was authorizing Day Star to procure his consumer report because the company’s intentions were not clearly and conspicuously disclosed in the form. The suit says that any purported notice regarding background checks was “obfuscated by extraneous and irrelevant information.”

The plaintiff says he was extended an offer of employment on the same day he applied and worked a full shift the next day, during which his performance was praised, according to the suit. The following day, the plaintiff received a phone call from PPG in which the company terminated his employment due the results of his background check, the lawsuit says.

The plaintiff says he was “shocked” to learn that Day Star and PPG had obtained his background report, and would not have consented to the companies obtaining it had he been properly informed.

According to the lawsuit, the defendants failed to provide the plaintiff with a copy of his consumer report or a summary of his rights as required under the FCRA before terminating his employment.

“As a result, Plaintiff never saw what was on his consumer report and didn’t know whether it was in fact accurate,” the complaint reads.

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