Lowe’s Class Action Claims Company Fails To Disclose Background Check Results

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Lowe’s Background Check Class Action Lawsuit Overview: 

• Who: Anthony W. Hale filed a class action lawsuit against Lowe’s Companies, Inc. 
• Why: Hale claims Lowe’s failed to provide him with the results of a background check that caused the company to rescind a job offer to him, as required by the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
• Where: The class action lawsuit was filed in North Carolina federal court.

Lowe’s denies employment based on the results of background checks without first giving job applicants a copy of the report or the chance to explain, a new class action lawsuit alleges. 

Plaintiff Anthony W. Hale claims Lowe’s failed to fulfill its legal requirement to give job applicants the opportunity to “dispute or discuss the information” in the background check that caused them to not be hired.

Hale, who argues Lowe’s alleged actions are a violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act of 1970 (FCRA), wants to represent a nationwide class of individuals who were denied employment by Lowe’s based on background check results they were not given appropriate access to. 

Hale says he was initially offered a job as a sales specialist at Lowe’s after applying in March 2020; however, the offer was “contingent” on his passing a background check.

Hale, who says he quit applying for other jobs at that time, in addition to turning down a job offer from Home Depot, claims he has no “significant criminal history” and, thus, believed there would be no issues with the background check. 

Lowe’s reached out to Hale over text message on around Apr. 10, 2020, however, informing him at that time that his background check had failed to pass and that the job offer was being rescinded, according to the class action lawsuit. 

Hale claims he responded by asking for a copy of the background check, as required by the FCRA, but neither Lowe’s nor the consumer reporting agency it works with provided it to him.

“Plaintiff was not provided with a copy of the consumer report in advance of the termination nor was he provided with a copy of his rights under the FCRA,” the class action lawsuit states. 

Hale argues he was never given an opportunity to explain anything to Lowe’s and that the situation caused him to suffer future lost pay, emotional damages and informational injury since he was never provided with a copy of the report. 

Failure To Provide Results A ‘Systemic’ Problem For Lowe’s

The issue is a “systemic” problem with Lowe’s, the class action lawsuit alleges, citing a similar allegation made against the company in the past. 

“Because of this systemic problem, Defendant repeatedly failed to provide other applicants and employees with a copy of their reports and a description of their rights prior to terminating or denying their employment or making other decisions for employment purposes that adversely affected their current or prospective employment,” the class action lawsuit states.

Hale is demanding a jury trial and requesting declaratory relief along with statutory and punitive damages for himself and all class members. 

In 2019, the Ninth Circuit doubled down on its 2017 ruling that employers need to clearly disclose to job applicants if a background check is going to be part of its hiring process. 

Have you been denied employment based on the results of a background check you were not given access to? Let us know in the comments!

The plaintiff is represented by Brett Dressler of Sellers, Ayers, Dortch & Lyons, PA, and Leonard A. Bennett of Consumer Litigation Associates, P.C. 

The Lowe’s Rescinded Job Offer FCRA Class Action Lawsuit is Hale v. Lowe’s Companies, Inc., Case No. 3:22-cv-00048, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina.

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