Class Action Claims Mednax Services Background Check Process Violates Federal Law

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A proposed class action lawsuit alleges Mednax Services has unlawfully taken adverse action against employees and prospective employees based on the contents of their background reports.

According to the 19-page case, Mednax, a multi-specialty medical solutions group, has run afoul of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), a federal law that makes it illegal for a company to obtain and use a consumer report for employment purposes unless it complies with certain strict notice requirements. More specifically, the lawsuit argues Mednax was not permitted to deny employment to or take any other adverse action against an individual based on the contents of their consumer report without first providing them with a copy of the report and a summary of their FCRA rights.

“Providing a copy of the background report as well as a statement of consumer rights before making a final adverse employment decision arms the nation’s millions of job applicants with the knowledge and information needed to challenge inaccurate, incomplete, and misleading consumer reports,” the complaint relays. “The FCRA is designed to permit individuals whose reports are inaccurate with ample time to identify the inaccuracies and correct them before the employer has made an employment decision.”

According to the case, Mednax has failed to provide prospective employees with an opportunity to discuss the contents of their consumer reports before determining that they are ineligible for hire.

The three plaintiffs claim to have applied for employment with Mednax and authorized the company to procure their consumer reports as part of the background check process. According to the suit, each of the plaintiffs was passed over for employment after Mednax viewed the contents of their respective consumer reports and entered a code in its computer system indicating the individuals were ineligible for hire. The lawsuit alleges that both the entering of the code and subsequent denial of employment were adverse actions as defined by the FCRA.

Per the case, Mednax took adverse action against each plaintiff before providing them with a copy of their consumer report and a written summary of their FCRA rights at least five business days before indicating in its computer system that they were ineligible for hire.

The plaintiffs contend that if they had been provided with a copy of their respective consumer reports before being denied employment, they would have had an opportunity to put the information in context and continue their employment, especially given that each of the individuals had “performed successfully” for multiple years in the same role for which they applied.

The lawsuit looks to cover U.S. consumers who, within the past five years, were subject to a consumer report provided to Mednax and against whom, based on the information in the report, an adverse employment action was taken and to whom Mednax did not provide a copy of their consumer report and a summary of their FCRA rights at least five business days before taking the adverse action.

Initially filed in Broward County Circuit Court in late January, the lawsuit was removed to Florida’s Southern District Court on February 17.

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