Waffle House Background Check Class Action Lawsuit Alleges FCRA Violations

A man who was denied employment has filed a Waffle House background check class action lawsuit.

Many employers perform background checks on potential employees to see if there is a criminal background that would be of concern.

Potential employers must follow the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) rules, which include allowing the job applicant to amend any false information.

Plaintiff William Jones says that Waffle House denied him employment because of information discovered in the background check, but he was not provided a copy of that background check.

He said he feels the report might have included inaccurate information that influenced Waffle House’s decision not to hire him.

Basis of Waffle House Background Check Class Action Lawsuit

Laws specifically regulate the handling of pre-employment background checks. Among the requirements, Waffle House needed to provide job applicants with a variety of notices.

Employers are required to notify job applicants that a background check will be conducted.

This pre-authorization notice needs to appear on its own paper to ensure the job applicant sees and acknowledges that the background check will be done. This notice cannot be added to the application page or to any other pre-employment document.

If the potential employee will be denied employment (or if a current employee will be fired) because of information uncovered in the course of a background check, the employer is required to inform the job applicant of the decision.

The employer is also required to give a copy of the background check results to the employee, along with a current copy of the Federal Trade Commission’s publication, “A Summary of Your Rights Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act.”

In the Waffle House background check class action lawsuit, Waffle House is accused of not supplying the denied job applicant with a copy of the background check that influenced the restaurant’s decision to decline hiring him.

Jones also claims that Waffle House did not provide him with a current publication of his rights written by the FTC.

According to the rules of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, Waffle House also should have provided the name and contact information of the reporting agency that completed the background check.

This would have enabled Jones to contact that agency and start corrective measures of any inaccuracies. As part of this process, the job applicant should be able to obtain an additional report at no charge within 60 days.

Employers who fail to follow the FCRA rules can be sued for up to $1,000 in statutory damages by a job applicant.

In addition to the FCRA violations, Waffle House is accused of using a third party reporting agency called PublicData to perform background checks.

In the Waffle House background check class action lawsuit, PublicData is called “a shady, off-shore consumer reporting agency” that violates “the FCRA in numerous ways” by “providing slipshod consumer reports for literally ‘pennies’ on the dollar.”

The fine print on PublicData’s website clearly states that the company does not follow FCRA rules and regulations. The website includes this statement: “PublicData.com does not constitute a ‘consumer report’ as that term is defined in the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).”

If you were denied employment by a Waffle House restaurant because of a background check performed between October 2010 and today, but were not provided the required documentation, you could be eligible for compensation through a Waffle House background check class action lawsuit.

The Waffle House Background Check Class Action Lawsuit is William G. Jones v. Waffle House Inc. et al, Case No. 6:15-cv-01637, in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, Orlando Division.

Join a Free Waffle House Background Check Class Action Lawsuit Investigation

If at anytime since October 2010 you were denied employment at a Waffle House restaurant because of a background check, you may qualify to participate in a Waffle House background check class action lawsuit. It’s absolutely free to participate, so act now!

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