Class Action Says O’Reilly Auto Job Applicants Given Improper Background Check Disclosure Forms

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O’Reilly Auto Enterprises, LLC has been hit with a proposed class action lawsuit that claims the car parts company provided “invalid” disclosure forms to job applicants when trying to obtain permission to run background checks.

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As part of O’Reilly’s application process, job candidates were required to fill out a single form authorizing the company to obtain a consumer report verifying their experience and background, according to the case. The complaint claims, however, that O’Reilly’s form did not comply with Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) standards in that the document failed to provide applicants with a “clear and conspicuous,” standalone disclosure stating that their consumer report may be obtained for employment purposes. The statute mandates that this notice be presented in a form consisting only of the disclosure and signed by the subject of the report before an employer can begin a background check, the lawsuit says.  

According to the case, the standard form the plaintiff received as part of his job application was also filled with “extraneous information” prohibited by the FCRA. Specifically, the lawsuit takes issue with the form’s inclusion of a liability waiver requiring the plaintiff to release O’Reilly from any damages resulting from the background check, as well as the inclusion of information about New York state law on the use of criminal records. The case contends that this extra information confused the plaintiff as to his rights under the FCRA and prevented him from giving “valid authorization” for the defendant to procure his consumer report.

The case contends that O’Reilly was fully aware of the FCRA’s disclosure requirements yet “willfully” violated the statute by providing improper notices and procuring candidates’ consumer reports without valid authorization. The lawsuit seeks to represent all O’Reilly Auto Enterprises employees in the United States who filled out one of the defendant’s “employment application” forms containing a liability release or combined federal and state disclosures within the last five years.

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