Rite Aid Seeks Dismissal of Job Applicant Background Check Class Action

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Rite Aid is seeking to dismiss a job applicant background check class action lawsuit, telling the court that the plaintiff should not be allowed to pursue claims since she already settled with the background reporting company.

Kyra Moore initially filed two class action lawsuits, one against LexisNexis Screening Solutions Inc. and one against Rite Aid as well as an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission proceeding in 2013.

Moore’s initial complaint was dismissed and she submitted an amended complaint seeking Class certification in 2016, charging that Rite Aid “willfully” violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act through its use of LexisNexis Screening Solutions.

Specifically, the amended complaint contends that Rite Aid failed to provide disqualified job applicants a copy of their background check report within the appropriate time frame of five business days.

But, according to Rite Aid, Moore settled all of her FCRA claims against LexisNexis for $900, and is now attempting to recover damages for the same background report yet again, this time from Rite Aid.

Rite Aid argues that in her amended complaint, Moore alleges that LexisNexis acted as Rite Aid’s agent for purposes of the FCRA. As a result of settling with Rite Aid’s alleged agent, LexisNexis, she has already extinguished claims against Rite Aid and has no standing to bring claims against Rite Aid relating to that same 2011 background report.

Furthermore, Rite Aid argues that the case should be dismissed because Moore cannot show injury resulting from any FCRA violation by the drugstore chain. Judicial admissions contained in Moore’s amended complaint describe no harm other than a “lost job opportunity” or “being rejected for employment” by Rite Aid and were, according to Moore’s own complaint, caused “solely” by LexisNexis acting as Rite Aid’s agent, the drugstore chain argues.

Since Moore settled claims with LexisNexis, any claims arising from the acts of Rite Aid’s agent, releases the company from alleged FCRA violations.

Rite Aid says Moore is now trying to milk her claims for maximum personal benefit, pointing to the fact that Moore already filed two class actions and a EEOC proceeding.

“It is said that ‘l’appétit vient en mangeant,’ or appetite comes with eating. Plaintiff Kyra Moore apparently has not been sated, despite having dined at the table on multiple occasions,” Rite Aid told a Pennsylvania federal judge last week.

Prior to applying for a job at Rite Aid, Moore was employed by CVS from 2006 to 2010. She signed a statement and was dismissed from her employment with CVS when a loss prevention officer confronted Moore about missing store stock.

In 2011, Moore applied for a store supervisor position at Rite Aid, which subjected her to a background screening by LexisNexis using the “Esteem” database, which searches for any record of a job applicant’s involvement in retail theft when working for any other LexisNexis client companies.

Moore contends she was disqualified from employment at Rite Aid in April 2011 because of her signed statement regarding the alleged theft at CVS. However, according to Moore, a copy of that statement was not provided to her along with Rite Aid’s adverse action notice.

Moore is represented by David Searles, Erin Novak, John Soumilas and James Francis of Francis & Mailman PC, Irv Ackelsberg of Langer Grogan & Diver PC, and Nadia Hewka and Sharon Dietrich of Community Legal Services Inc.

The Rite Aid Job Applicant Background Check Class Action Lawsuit is Moore v. Rite Aid Hdqtrs Corp., et al., Case No. 2:13-cv-01515, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.