Class Action Claims WestCare Conducts Background Checks Without Proper Authorization

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A proposed class action alleges that WestCare, a non-profit healthcare and human services provider, has failed to adequately disclose to potential employees that it procures their consumer reports as part of its background checks.

The eight-page suit claims that WestCare California, Inc.; WestCare Foundation, Inc.; and WestCare Inc. have violated the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) by obtaining consumer reports as part of their background checks on prospective, current and former employees without providing proper disclosures or obtaining proper authorization.

According to the complaint, the FCRA requires that companies reveal that they procure consumer reports for hiring purposes in a “clear and conspicuous” disclosure and “in a document that consists solely of the disclosure.”

However, the complaint argues that WestCare’s disclosure cannot be considered a clear, stand-alone document as required by the FCRA due to its “extraneous and superfluous language.” For instance, the case contends that the disclosure contains an unnecessary paragraph about the pursuit of “investigative consumer reports” and the term ”acknowledged” followed by signature lines. Additionally, the disclosure is not offered on its own, but is included as part of an employment application, the suit says.

The plaintiff looks to represent current, former and prospective WestCare employment applicants in the U.S. for whom a background check was performed at any time within the past five years and until final judgment is entered in this action.

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