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Retail giant Walmart faces a class action lawsuit alleging the company violates the Fair Credit Reporting Act by using unauthorized background checks.
Lead plaintiff Randy Pitre alleges in his class action lawsuit that Walmart obtained a background check on him without legal authorization under the FCRA and California state law while he was working for the company.
The plaintiff argues in the Walmart class action that the company failed to provide adequate notice of the consumer report as well as failed to secure legal authorization to obtain it.
According to the class action lawsuit, Walmart has “a policy and practice of procuring investigative consumer reports or causing investigative consumer reports to be procured for applicants and employees without properly and legally obtaining authorization as it included other extraneous information other than the disclosure; and without notifying such applicants of their right to request a summary of their rights under the FCRA at the same time as the disclosure explaining that an investigative consumer report may be made.”
Pitre alleges that Walmart violated the FCRA and various California state laws when it obtained background checks on him and others applying with or working at Walmart. The plaintiff says that Walmart did not provide a “clear and conspicuous” disclosure notifying job seekers that it would be obtaining a consumer report on them. The plaintiff further alleges that the disclosures were “embedded with extraneous information” and were “not clear and unambiguous disclosures in stand-alone documents.”
“Under the FCRA, it is unlawful to procure or caused to be procured, a consumer report or investigative consumer report for employment purposes unless the disclosure is made in a document that consists solely of the disclosure and the consumer has authorized, in writing, the procurement of the report,” alleges the Walmart class action complaint.
The plaintiff also points out that the Federal Trade Commission reiterated this policy in a July 2011 report.
“As a result of [Walmart’s] illegal procurement of credit and background reports by way of their inadequate disclosures, as set forth above, plaintiff and class members have been injured including, but not limited to, having their privacy and statutory rights invaded in violation of the FCRA,” alleges the Walmart lawsuit.
The plaintiff seeks to represent a nationwide Class of current, former and prospective job applicants with Walmart who were subject to an unauthorized background check within the past five years. Pitre also seeks to represent a California subclass for alleged violations of state law.
The plaintiff seeks monetary relief on behalf of himself and the Class, along with statutory damages and an injunction on Walmart’s policy of obtaining employee background reports without proper disclosure.
Pitre is represented by Shaun Setareh and Thomas Segal of the Setareh Law Group.
The Walmart Background Check Class Action Lawsuit is Randy Pitre v. Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Case No. 8:17-cv-01281-DOC-DFM, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.
UPDATE: On Oct. 15, 2018, plaintiffs in a class action lawsuit alleging Walmart violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act during its employment process urged a California court to certify the proposed Class of 5 million workers.
UPDATE 2: On Jan. 17, 2019, around 5 million Walmart job applicants have earned Class certification of their lawsuit claiming the company added extra material to background check notifications in violation of federal law.
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64 thoughts onWalmart Class Action Says Background Checks Violate Federal Law
As an associate each member gets a discount card. We get 10% off of general merchandise items. I can go home and get on my computer and go to the website and find that the exact merchandise is listed on the site asking me if I want to restock these items. That includes many of the food items (not discounted) that were in my purchase. Is it okay for wal-mart to use my discount card to collect information about me and my spending habits? Are they giving us a 10% discount on some items and then selling the data back to other companies? I would like to know when they got our permission to do this. I don’t recall filling out any forms when I got my discount card that would inform me that they would be using my spending habits to make more money for the company.
Everyone who has a Walmart account, employee or not, has a sales history on their site. You can either submit receipts manually, such as through Savings Catcher, or by linking a credit card. Any sales made at Walmart with that card get added to your sales history. The Employee Discount card also links any sales made to your account, if you’ve linked your discount card to a Walmart account. So, it’s not something they’re doing specifically to target employess. Whether or not we were properly notified of this is another issue.
In response to if they’re selling our data to other companies; yes. They absolutely are. Every discount/club/shopping card ever made does this. They give you a discount in exchange for your personal information.
My beef was with the stupid survey they had us fill out, which pays the company $20 a pop. They use the want ads to make money.
I wurked at Wally World for too weaks. I wuzz tol iz culdnt werk therre cuznt I cudnt spel.
Hello, in November of 2016 I was physically restrained at the departure door at Wal-Mart in Auburn, WA. The cashier did not put two twelve packs of water in a bag because she did not have one large enough. I am a disabled senior citizen and placed my receipt safely in my purse. In addition, I am a Wal-Mart shareholder. A very large enforcer at the door physically restrained me and prevented me leaving. She grabbed my cart which she said she could do since it was Wal-Mart property and I could not remove it from the store. I spoke with three managers and they all said it was Wal-Mart’s policy to prevent customers from
departing the establishment without providing proof of payment. Of course, there is no indication anywhere in the store stating this. If you want to use this as a Class Action Suit, I will help.
We offer a submission form on our website for you to fill out if you are seeking class action legal help. Attorneys will then review your submission to determine if you have a case. If they feel you qualify, they will contact you directly. You can submit your information here: https://topclassactions.com/start-a-class-action/.
From what I know about Wal-Mart all employees all across the Unoted States go thru this same type of back ground check. I have had several family members work there and were let go for one excuse or another. And usually it has been for something found on a background check. And in the State Of Illinois this is a problem because if you have a traffic violation it is held against you and you can be let go and not have any employment….
Well i appy at every Wal-Mart in Cleveland went for the 1st and 2nd and they wanted 2 give me the job but my background said no in there mine but go other places and get the job no problem
i applied and was tentatively hired at a walmart in ral. nc. but a background check disqualified me due to credit history
i worked at Walmart in rocklin ca and also had backround check
I worked at Walmart in rocklin ca
Worked at Walmart in Buffalo, NY. I had a background check.