Shamrock Foods Class Action Lawsuit Alleges FCRA Violations

Shamrock Foods Company has been hit with a class action lawsuit alleging it violates the Fair Credit Reporting Act by procuring consumer reports on job applicants without providing a clear and conspicuous disclosure on a standalone document notifying them that the background check would be performed.

Plaintiffs Mario Ruiz, Raul Guerrero and Robert Torres filed the Shamrock Foods class action lawsuit earlier this month in California Federal court.

They allege that they applied for a job with Shamrock Foods and, as part of the application process, Shamrock Foods obtained their authorization to perform a pre-employment background check.

However, the background check disclosure and authorization language was included on the same page as a release of liability, which is a violation of the FCRA, the Shamrock Foods class action lawsuit alleges.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act is a federal law that includes provisions that require employers to provide a clear and conspicuous disclosure that a consumer report may be obtained on a job applicant. Under the FCRA, this disclosure must be in writing on a document that consists only of the disclosure, and the consumer must provide authorization before the employer procures the background check.

“Defendant violated these sections when it did not provide Plaintiffs or other putative Class Members with a clear and conspicuous disclosure in writing in a document that consists solely of the disclosure that a consumer report may be obtained for employment purposes,” the FCRA class action lawsuit says.

“In fact, Defendant’s preauthorization is embedded in multi-page employment application that contains a liability release among other extraneous information.”

Additionally, the Federal Trade Commission has reportedly stated that FCRA disclosure forms should not include any extraneous information or be included as part of another document, the Shamrock Foods class action lawsuit states.

Guerrero says he did not know he had a FCRA claim until he requested and obtained his personnel file from Shamrock Foods and consulted with legal counsel. Ruiz and Torres also were unaware they had a FCRA claim until they consulted with an attorney.

The plaintiffs assert the Shamrock Foods’ FCRA violations were willful because the company knew or should have known about its obligations under the law.

Ruiz, Guerrero and Torres filed the FCRA class action lawsuit on behalf of themselves and a putative Class of U.S. residents who were the subject of a consumer report procured by Shamrock Foods within the last five years.

They are seeking statutory damages, attorneys’ fees and costs, and other relief deemed appropriate by the court. According to the Shamrock Foods class action lawsuit, they are entitled to statutory damages of between $100 and $1,000 for each FCRA violation.

Ruiz, Guerrero and Torres are represented by Aashish Y. Desai and Adrianne De Castro of Desai Law Firm PC.

The Shamrock Foods FCRA Class Action Lawsuit is Mario Ruiz, et al. v. Shamrock Foods Company, et al., Case No. 2:17-cv-06017-SVW-AFM, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.