Christina Spicer  |  September 14, 2017

Category: Labor & Employment

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MOSCOW, RUSSIA-APRIL 4, 2014: Can of Pepsi cola closeup. Pepsi is a carbonated soft drink that is produced and manufactured by PepsiCo. Created and developed in 1893.A subsidiary of PepsiCo Inc. was hit with a class action lawsuit alleging the company obtains background checks on its employees without their knowledge in violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

Lead plaintiff Altareek Grice alleges in his class action lawsuit that Pepsi obtained a consumer report from him without his knowledge or permission when he applied for a job at a bottling plant, Bottling Group LLC. The plaintiff says Pepsi flouted FCRA regulations by failing to use proper disclosures about the background check during the application process.

The plaintiff claims that when he applied for a job with PepsiCo in 2016, the company procured a consumer report from another company, Carco Group Inc.; however, says the plaintiff, he was not properly notified that his consumer report would be pulled as required under the FCRA.

“Pepsi, as standard practice, routinely procures or causes to be procured ‘consumer reports’ from consumer reporting agencies about consumers for employment purposes,” alleges the Pepsi class action complaint.

Under the FCRA, companies can face fines of $100 to $1,000 per violation of the statute that provides for disclosure and consent requirements.

“Pepsi either knew or recklessly failed to know the disclosure requirements of [the FCRA] and that its acts in procuring or causing to be procured a consumer report regarding plaintiff and other class members without providing the required disclosure to them was facially contrary to the express language of [the act] and all administrative guidance available and violated the law,” alleges the Pepsi class action lawsuit.

The FCRA requires companies to meet certain requirements when they want to pull background checks or consumer reports on job applicants for employment purposes, states the complaint. Specifically, points out the complaint, the FCRA requires companies to notify job applications “in a document that consists solely of the disclosure.”

“Pepsi knew or should have known about its legal obligations under the FCRA,” alleges the Pepsi class action lawsuit. “Pepsi obtained or had available substantial written materials that apprised it of its duties under the FCRA. Any reasonable employer knows about or can easily discover these obligations.”

Grice seeks to represent a nationwide Class of those who applied for employment with Pepsi Beverages Company or any of its related companies and had their credit report pulled without clear disclosure required under the FCRA. The Class is limited to those who applied for employment within the past two years, but could include more than 1,000 members, according to the Pepsi class action lawsuit.

Pepsi can identify Class Members because it maintains documents through employment and hiring records, Grice claims. Additionally, Class Members can potentially be notified through documentation retained by Pepsi as well.

The plaintiff is seeking statutory and punitive damages.

Grice is represented by Peter R. Dion-­Kindem of The Dion­-Kindem Law Firm and Lonnie C. Blanchard III of The Blanchard Law Group APC.

The Pepsi FCRA Violation Class Action Lawsuit is Altareek Grice v. Pepsi Beverages Co. et al., Case No. 3:17-­cv-­01842, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California.

UPDATE: On May 2, 2018, PepsiCo subsidiary Bottling Group LLC has agreed to pay $1.2 million to settle a class action lawsuit accusing the company of violating the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

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3 thoughts onPepsi Class Action Says Background Checks Violate Federal Law

  1. freddy says:

    hola Buenos dias, quisiera saber si puedo demandar a pepsi soy owner operator agarre una carga d plant city a pepsi riviera beach para entregar el 8/6/23 a las 23: 59 ya tengo 32 horas esperando q me llamen para descargar y nada. no te dejan entrar hay q parkiar afuera no hay servicios sanitarios ,le digo al broker q voy a devolver la carga y no contesta quiero demandar por falta d respecto

  2. Sabrina Bowser Harlin says:

    I work for Pepsico in Tolleson, Az.

  3. Jasan kloeckner says:

    i have family that worked for pepsi co bottling in illinois. if they are eligible i would like some information on this on how they can sign up for it. email address is jasankloeckner@gmail.com. please and thank you in advance

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