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Two Verisk Analytics Inc. units agreed to pay $18 million to settle three proposed class action lawsuits that allege the company violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) by failing to take reasonable measures to ensure the accuracy of background check reports provided to prospective employers.
The putative class action lawsuits targeted two Verisk units: Intellicorp Records Inc. and Insurance Information Exchange LLC. These companies provide consumer reports including background checks. In their class action lawsuits, the plaintiffs accuse the companies of violating the FCRA by providing incorrect, outdated or incomplete information to potential employers. Specifically, they argue that the defendants failed to provide certain consumers with copies of their consumer reports before delivering them to prospective employers and that the companies failed to take reasonable steps to ensure the accuracy of the reports.
The class action lawsuits alleged a number of issues with the background checks that were sent to prospective employers. Plaintiff Jane Roe (a pseudonym) indicated that a prospective employer received a copy of her background check that omitted material information that was available in public records, claiming that Intellicorp relied on out-of-date information when creating the report.
Plaintiff Michael Thomas, who claims he has no prior criminal history, accused Intellicorp of including the criminal history from other individuals. Due to this error, he claims he was falsely identified as a criminal and was thus disqualified from employment. Plaintiff Mark Johnson raised a similar complaint against Insurance Information Exchange.
The FCRA is a consumer protection statute that requires consumer reporting agencies to create policies that are fair and equitable to consumers with regard to the collection, dissemination and use of their consumer and credit information. In their class action lawsuits, the plaintiffs allege that the companies “fail to use ‘reasonable procedures’ necessary to ensure the ‘maximum possible accuracy’ of the reports they sell.” They also claim that Intellicorp violated the FCRA by failing to notify consumers when it compiles and sells a consumer report to an employer.
The defendants have denied all allegations set forth in the class action lawsuits, insisting that they complied with the FCRA at all times.
By filing the class action lawsuits, the plaintiffs were seeking a statutory damage award between $100 and $1,000 as permitted under the FCRA.
Proposed Class Members include all U.S. residents who were the subject of one or more consumer reports provided to a third party by Intellicorp or Insurance Information Exchange for employment purposes, which contained a “Criminal SuperSearch” result reflecting an arrest or conviction between April 16, 2010 and Sept. 16, 2013.
The parties agreed to a class action settlement amount of $18.6 million, which is equal to the monetary value of free consumer reports to all putative Class Members. The consumer reporting agencies also agreed to update and improve their reporting policies to maximize the accuracy of the reports.
The parties are also seeking to consolidate the three actions into a single class action lawsuit.
The proposed class action settlement is still subject to Court approval.
The plaintiffs are represented by O’Toole McLaughlin Dooley & Pecora Co. LPA, Chavez & Gertler LLP, Consumer Litigation Associates, Lyngklip & Associates Consumer Law Center PLC, The Law Offices of Devin H. Fok, A New Way of Life Reentry Project and Cohen Rosenthal & Kramer LLP.
The class action lawsuits are Jane Roe, et al. v. Intellicorp Records Inc., Case No. 1:12-cv-02288; Michael R. Thomas, et al. v. Intellicorp Records Inc., Case No. 1:12-cv-02433; and Mark A. Johnson, et al. v. Insurance Information Exchange LLC, Case No. 1:13-cv-00616, all in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, Eastern Division.
UPDATE 1: Details on how to file a claim for the Intellicorp Background Check Class Action Settlement are up! Eligible consumers can receive between $50 and $2,000 if they file a valid claim by the April 21, 204 deadline.
EDITOR’S NOTE: The Claim Form for this settlement requires you to enter the last 4 digits of your Social Security Number. This appears to be the way the Settlement Administrator will verify that you were subject to an improper background check by the defendants. We ALWAYS encourage our readers to protect their personal information by confirming with the Settlement Administrator and/or law firms handling a case to ensure that such information is required. We are NOT a law firm or Settlement Administrator and cannot advise you on if you should submit your SSN. Information on how to contact the Settlement Administrator and law firms for the Intellicrop Background Check Class Action Settlement can be found at www.IntellicorpClassAction.com.
UPDATE 2: A federal judge granted final approval to the Intellicorp background check class action settlement on June 5, 2014. The first round of payments could be going out at the end of the summer/early fall and the second round in early 2015, according to some reports.
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222 thoughts onBackground Check Firms Agree to $18M Class Action Settlement
I was terminated from a job after 3 months employed, a new healthcare company took over and I received this settlement letter before my reason for termination and you bet I filled out my letter and returned it, I was wrongfully accused of something I had no knowledge of and YES it is legit, not a scam and definitely worth filling out…I’m patiently waiting on my reward, and that will be well worth my 3 months at 7.35 an hour
I thought it was a scam too. I requested a copy of the background check. They included info about someone else with similar name. Person was in jail and had a long criminal record.
I filled out my papers and I sent them in yesterday and I think it is not a scam.
I think were owed more than just $50 or $2000. My time isn’t cheap, and since they screwed up I think we all should be paid a whole hell of lot more than just $2000! I’m filing my paper work. Good luck to all you guys out there that got screwed. I also want some damn answers about this claim.
just call the number if you don’t trust this. I did and I got a copy of what was sent to the employer and who the employer was. Mine was criminal information for 2 people with similar names and different gender. You can also look up the case. Do it. We deserve to get it straight and get compensated.
who did you call pat?
Thats right !!! James !!!
this isn’t a scam i did my paper online as well i also lost several jobs bc of false information from background checks which left me puzzled.down to the job i’am working now first time i applied got turned down applied again got the job damn sure wasnt going to say no the first time i apllied i was denied bc of my background check.i have recently re ocated and was blown with all the jobs denied bc of my background check coming back with who knows what.PLEASE SIGN MAIL IN OR DO OVER THE INTERNET THE MORE THE BETTER CHANCE WE HAVE I WANT WHAT IS OWED TO ME ITS NOT FAIR.P.S SIGN IT!
Tjanks for sharing this i did do mines on line ! A few weeks ago and i was also denied jobs and let go of one ! This has been a thorn in my side !
I received my paperwork last month. I filled it out online and requested a copy of the criminal background report that Intellicorp sent to a possible employer. It did in fact have a injury to personal property charge that was dismissed because they had the wrong person and the defendant never showed up for court. It is not on my report as being dismissed. If you have applied to a job between April 2010 and Sept 2013, and was denied employment because of your background, then you need to fill out these form so that you can get some of the settlement and they HAVE to fix your background report also. Even if I only get $50, it is worth it.
true!
Thanks for sharing this ! And yes ! I really was ! And need that cash !
I don’t feel this is a scam. I have been mailed the same paperwork. In the past I was mailed paperwork in the same context where you have to put your full ssn. That class action claim was a gift card company who failed to tell callers there call was being recorded. I did receive $500. It wasn’t a scam even how skeptical I was. This as well, do your research. I have recently been applying to many jobs that last few months. It states they are agreeing to pay 18Mil to the claim. I’m going to send these papers to my employee law attorney just to get his advice too.
i agree jessica
Since NONE of these people getting this letter have any Idea WHY they are getting it, Seems like a dead giveaway that this is a SCAM.
I’m going with it’s a scam, I worked for the same employer from 2000 to the end of 2012, and have worked for myself since, and I didn’t do a background check on myself.
Don’t do it if you do not feel comfortable. It sounds too good to be true! I got something similar in the mail a few months ago- it was called a prayer rug- they wanted me to pray on a piece of paper with Jesus on it and then send them money and they claimed it would bring about money for me in the “future” I must be on some list that preys on old ladies- geez- I also got a “million dollar bill” in the mail from another church organization- telling me my reward will come in heaven and to support their mission with money now- must have lived at this address too long- getting weird mail- scams get more and more sophisticated