Michaels Asks Judge to Dismiss Background Check Class Action

Michaels Stores, Inc. wants an illegal background check class action lawsuit filed against the craft store chain dismissed, saying that the plaintiff consented to the background check during the online application process.

According to Michaels’ motion to dismiss the class action lawsuit, when plaintiff Christina Graham of New Jersey was applying for a job at the craft store, she clicked on a box that said “I Agree,” which meant that she was granting consent to the online application’s terms and conditions.

Included in the terms and conditions was a liability waiver, the motion to dismiss the Michaels class action lawsuit explains.

In addition, Graham can’t rightfully claim that the background check that Michaels performed on her caused her to suffer any harm, since she was hired by the craft store where she worked for several months before quitting of her own volition.

“Plaintiff suffered no adverse consequences as a result of the background check,” Michaels stated in its motion to dismiss the illegal background check class action lawsuit.

“Plaintiff’s sole claim is that she did not receive what she considers to be an adequate, statutorily required disclosure before the background check was conducted. But that is not the case,” Michaels contends.

Graham filed her illegal background check class action lawsuit on Dec. 4, 2014, alleging that Michaels did not give proper notification that the craft store performed background checks on job applicants, in violation of both federal and state laws, specifically the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act.

She claimed in her Michaels class action lawsuit that Michaels does state that it does perform background checks on prospective employees on the job application, but that the background check disclosure is not clearly and properly displayed but buried along with other information.

Since Graham filed her illegal background check class action lawsuit in December, two more class action lawsuits have been filed against Michaels making similar claims.

A Missouri woman says in her illegal background check filed in January that Michaels violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act because the Michaels’ disclosure about the background check was part of “one long continuous web page . . . [with] a liability release, among reams of other extraneous information.”

A California woman filed a similar Michaels class action lawsuit in a Texas federal court in late January, making similar claims that are nearly identical to those cited by the Missouri woman.

Michaels is not the only company to face class action lawsuits over alleged illegal background checks.

Whole Foods Market Group Inc. was hit with an illegal background check class action lawsuit recently as well. Dollar General Corp. and Publix Super Markets have also faced similar class action lawsuits. Dollar settled for $4 million and Publix settled for $6.8 million.

While Michaels has defended its background check disclosure during its job application process, it has offered a proposal to Graham to settle her claims for $12,000 as well as legal fees. The offer is the maximum amount allowed for a violation of the FCRA.

The plaintiffs are represented by Patricia A. Barasch of Schall & Barasch LLC, E. Michelle Drake and Joseph C. Hashmall of Nichols Kaster PLLP and Jeffrey M. Gottlieb and Dana L. Gottlieb of Gottlieb & Associates.

Michaels is represented by Robert Szyba and Pamela Devata of Seyfarth Shaw LLP and Keith Miller of Robinson Wettre & Miller LLC.

The New Jersey Michaels Illegal Background Check Class Action Lawsuit is Graham v. Michaels Stores Inc., Case No. 2:14-cv-07563, in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.