Anne Bucher  |  November 15, 2013

Category: Labor & Employment

Top Class Actions’s website and social media posts use affiliate links. If you make a purchase using such links, we may receive a commission, but it will not result in any additional charges to you. Please review our Affiliate Link Disclosure for more information.

Criminal Background Check LawsuitTwo Verisk Analytics Inc. units agreed to pay $18 million to settle three proposed class action lawsuits that allege the company violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) by failing to take reasonable measures to ensure the accuracy of background check reports provided to prospective employers.

The putative class action lawsuits targeted two Verisk units: Intellicorp Records Inc. and Insurance Information Exchange LLC. These companies provide consumer reports including background checks. In their class action lawsuits, the plaintiffs accuse the companies of violating the FCRA by providing incorrect, outdated or incomplete information to potential employers. Specifically, they argue that the defendants failed to provide certain consumers with copies of their consumer reports before delivering them to prospective employers and that the companies failed to take reasonable steps to ensure the accuracy of the reports.

The class action lawsuits alleged a number of issues with the background checks that were sent to prospective employers. Plaintiff Jane Roe (a pseudonym) indicated that a prospective employer received a copy of her background check that omitted material information that was available in public records, claiming that Intellicorp relied on out-of-date information when creating the report.

Plaintiff Michael Thomas, who claims he has no prior criminal history, accused Intellicorp of including the criminal history from other individuals. Due to this error, he claims he was falsely identified as a criminal and was thus disqualified from employment. Plaintiff Mark Johnson raised a similar complaint against Insurance Information Exchange.

The FCRA is a consumer protection statute that requires consumer reporting agencies to create policies that are fair and equitable to consumers with regard to the collection, dissemination and use of their consumer and credit information. In their class action lawsuits, the plaintiffs allege that the companies “fail to use ‘reasonable procedures’ necessary to ensure the ‘maximum possible accuracy’ of the reports they sell.” They also claim that Intellicorp violated the FCRA by failing to notify consumers when it compiles and sells a consumer report to an employer.

The defendants have denied all allegations set forth in the class action lawsuits, insisting that they complied with the FCRA at all times.

By filing the class action lawsuits, the plaintiffs were seeking a statutory damage award between $100 and $1,000 as permitted under the FCRA.

Proposed Class Members include all U.S. residents who were the subject of one or more consumer reports provided to a third party by Intellicorp or Insurance Information Exchange for employment purposes, which contained a “Criminal SuperSearch” result reflecting an arrest or conviction between April 16, 2010 and Sept. 16, 2013.

The parties agreed to a class action settlement amount of $18.6 million, which is equal to the monetary value of free consumer reports to all putative Class Members. The consumer reporting agencies also agreed to update and improve their reporting policies to maximize the accuracy of the reports.

The parties are also seeking to consolidate the three actions into a single class action lawsuit.

The proposed class action settlement is still subject to Court approval.

The plaintiffs are represented by O’Toole McLaughlin Dooley & Pecora Co. LPA, Chavez & Gertler LLP, Consumer Litigation Associates, Lyngklip & Associates Consumer Law Center PLC, The Law Offices of Devin H. Fok, A New Way of Life Reentry Project and Cohen Rosenthal & Kramer LLP.

The class action lawsuits are Jane Roe, et al. v. Intellicorp Records Inc., Case No. 1:12-cv-02288; Michael R. Thomas, et al. v. Intellicorp Records Inc., Case No. 1:12-cv-02433; and Mark A. Johnson, et al. v. Insurance Information Exchange LLC, Case No. 1:13-cv-00616, all in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, Eastern Division.

UPDATE 1: Details on how to file a claim for the Intellicorp Background Check Class Action Settlement are up! Eligible consumers can receive between $50 and $2,000 if they file a valid claim by the April 21, 204 deadline.

EDITOR’S NOTE: The Claim Form for this settlement requires you to enter the last 4 digits of your Social Security Number. This appears to be the way the Settlement Administrator will verify that you were subject to an improper background check by the defendants. We ALWAYS encourage our readers to protect their personal information by confirming with the Settlement Administrator and/or law firms handling a case to ensure that such information  is required. We are NOT a law firm or Settlement Administrator and cannot advise you on if you should submit your SSN. Information on how to contact the Settlement Administrator and law firms for the Intellicrop Background Check Class Action Settlement can be found at www.IntellicorpClassAction.com.

UPDATE 2: A federal judge granted final approval to the Intellicorp background check class action settlement on June 5, 2014. The first round of payments could be going out at the end of the summer/early fall and the second round in early 2015, according to some reports.

We tell you about cash you can claim EVERY WEEK! Sign up for our free newsletter.


222 thoughts onBackground Check Firms Agree to $18M Class Action Settlement

  1. Yolanda Mullen says:

    This is all good and dandy, we received the checks but this information has not been cleared on my record. I am going to have to retain another lawyer to get this off my record. Why has this not be cleared! The agreement was to have this information updated. This may be prohibiting me from getting employment. Unbelievable!!!!

  2. Colin Kesler says:

    I was so happy one week because all the hard work into my Career had finally paid off I was getting were I worked so hard for six years to become the management I was promised but for me to get this promotion my employer had to run my background check to make shed I was the right lawbighting person I need to be to become the newest management member two days later I’m being fired along with my hole crew because my employer had read that a convicted fell on was working and had trained the crew so without any reason they had let me go six years of blood sweet and years littoral down the drain my hole entire life started falling to pieces. Lost my place vehicle and things feansea could not take me being so stressed.out. all the time she ddesided to get with my best childhood friend which was a fellow employee of mine at the time till this day they give me excuses on not hiring me evin.after the Seattlement paperwork I showed to them but they just decide to turn a blind eye well at the time being in a homeless drifter that has given up on any kinda relationship or trust in anybody but maybe that’s due to the most horrible drug habit I have picked up seance then but thank you for the six hundred dallors settlment talk gave me and gave me minty days to cash the check or it would be void telling that to a homeless drug user with no friends or money for family to stick around thanks thanks alot.

1 12 13 14

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. By submitting your comment and contact information, you agree to receive marketing emails from Top Class Actions regarding this and/or similar lawsuits or settlements, and/or to be contacted by an attorney or law firm to discuss the details of your potential case at no charge to you if you qualify. Required fields are marked *

Please note: Top Class Actions is not a settlement administrator or law firm. Top Class Actions is a legal news source that reports on class action lawsuits, class action settlements, drug injury lawsuits and product liability lawsuits. Top Class Actions does not process claims and we cannot advise you on the status of any class action settlement claim. You must contact the settlement administrator or your attorney for any updates regarding your claim status, claim form or questions about when payments are expected to be mailed out.