Courtney Jorstad  |  April 23, 2015

Category: Labor & Employment

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Home Depot class action lawsuitA $1.8 million class action settlement has been reached to resolve charges against Home Depot over allegedly violating the Fair Credit Reporting Act by not having proper background check forms for its job applicants.

A motion for preliminary approval was filed in a California federal court on Monday by plaintiff Irene Fernandez, detailing the terms of the class action settlement.

“Following protracted negotiations, the parties, with the assistance of [U.S. District Judge Howard Wiener], were able to reach an agreement on all material terms of the proposed relief to the class,” the Home Depot class action settlement says.

According to the agreement, Class Members will receive anywhere from $15 to $100. The proposed class includes about 120,000 individuals who applied for jobs with Home Depot, in which the alleged illegal background check forms were used, beginning in April 24, 2011 to May 11, 2015.

Class Members who fail to submit a Request for Exclusion on time and don’t submit a claim will be sent $15. Class Members who do submit a Claim Form by the deadline will receive $35 to $100. The amount received by the Class Members will depend the number of Class Members who file claims.

The $1.8 million allotted for the class action settlement only covers 120,000 Class Members receiving $15 without having to file a claim. Home Depot has agreed to pay an additional $630,000 to cover Class Members who file a claim. The minimum they will receive is $35. The maximum is $100.

“In addition to this monetary relief, Home Depot has agreed to no longer use the offending forms, and to use a background check form that complies with the FCRA,” the motion to approve the Home Depot class action settlement says.

The proposed attorneys’ fees is $995,000, which the motion says that Home Depot will not oppose.

Fernandez says that “there is no dispute that Home Depot used forms that included both the disclosure form and a release of liability on one document,” which is an alleged violation of the FCRA, which says that the disclosure form is supposed to be “in a document that consists solely of the disclosure.”

However, she contends that there would still be challenges trying to win this class action in court because she would still have to prove intent and that “Class Members suffered an ‘actual injury.’

“In light of the risks of continuing with this litigation, plaintiff submits that the proposed settlement, which guarantees that all Settlement Class Members will be paid, is fair, reasonable, and adequate,” the Home Depot background check class action settlement agreement says.

Fernandez claimed in her class action lawsuit filed two years ago that when she applied for a job with Home Depot on April 25, 2011 that she “signed two background check authorization forms” that contained more than just the required disclosure when “the form may not include any extraneous information, such as a release of liability for the employer; any release must be separate from the disclosure.”

According to the Home Depot class action lawsuit, the retailer “violated the FCRA by including releases of liability in their preauthorization background and/or credit check disclosure forms.”

The plaintiff is represented by Jordan L Lurie, Robert K. Friedl, Tarek H. Zohby and Cody R. Padgett of Capstone Law APC.

Home Depot is represented by Shon Morgan and Joseph Sarles of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart Sullivan LLP.

The Home Depot Illegal Background Check Class Action Lawsuit is Fernandez v. Home Depot USA Inc., Case No. 8:13-cv-00648, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

UPDATE: On Jan. 22, 2016 a California federal judge officially signed off on a $3 million Home Depot class action lawsuit settlement which will end allegations that the home improvement retailer violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act by using improper background check forms on job applications.

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7 thoughts onHome Depot Reaches $1.8M Class Action Settlement Over Background Checks

  1. Stephen s mckenna says:

    Home Depot Fernandez v.home depot . Class action distribution payment. Min payment was going to be 15.00$ they sent me a check for 12.26 cents. Why only 12.26 cents.why was l led to believe I was going to get 15.00$ Short2.74cents is not much money. When there is 1000 of people that adds up to a lot of money. Could someone explain why I did not get the 15.00$. Well who’s pocketing all that money.

    1. Adam says:

      I believe that settlements paid can be taxed as long as the lawsuit wasn’t in response to injury or illness. The settlement seems more like a punishment for HD rather than damages, so to answer your question, the government is pocketing that money

  2. Stephen M Graham says:

    HOW DO I FILE A CLAIM?

  3. David Johnson says:

    How do I file a claim?

  4. Top Class Actions says:

    UPDATE: On Jan. 22, 2016 a California federal judge officially signed off on a $3 million Home Depot class action lawsuit settlement which will end allegations that the home improvement retailer violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act by using improper background check forms on job applications.

  5. Joseph C Bencivenga says:

    How do you file a claim??

  6. BrooklynTam says:

    I applied for H.D. last yr.When/can we file a claim?

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