Class Action Claims Carter’s Obtained Job Applicant Background Reports Without Authorization

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A proposed class action claims children’s clothing retailer Carter’s and several subsidiaries have failed to provide certain statutory disclosures before performing background checks on prospective employees.

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The nine-page complaint alleges Carter’s; Carter’s Retail, Inc.; the William Carter Company; and Oshkosh B’Gosh, Inc. have unlawfully used consumer reports for employment purposes without first disclosing to job applicants that a background check would be performed and informing them of their right to request a summary of their rights under the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).

The lawsuit contends Carter’s has violated prospective employees’ privacy rights by procuring their consumer reports by way of “inadequate disclosures.”

The plaintiff claims to have been employed with the defendants between August and November 2021. According to the suit, Carter’s performed a background investigation on the plaintiff when she applied for employment but failed to provide mandatory disclosures in connection with the background check.

The lawsuit alleges the defendants’ background check disclosures violate the FCRA in that they are not provided in a “clear and conspicuous” standalone document that consists only of the disclosure that a consumer report may be obtained for employment purposes. According to the case, the disclosure provided by the retailers is “embedded with extraneous information,” including “misleading” information concerning an applicant’s FCRA rights and requests for “extensive background information,” along with a disclaimer regarding the use of the requested information.

“Under the FCRA, it is unlawful to procure or cause 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,” the complaint reads.

The lawsuit further alleges that the defendants have failed to provide prospective employees with notice of their right to request a summary of their FCRA rights at the time they are provided with the background check disclosure as required by law.

The case, which was initially filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court on January 20, 2022 before being removed to California’s Central District Court on March 3, looks to represent all  current, former and prospective Carter’s applicants for employment in the U.S. for whom a background check was performed in connection with their job application within the past five years and until the date final judgment is entered in the lawsuit.

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