Equifax Facing Class Action Lawsuit Over Allegedly ‘Unacceptable’ Price Increases for The Work Number

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A proposed class action lawsuit alleges Equifax Workforce Solutions has given itself unilateral discretion to unfairly raise its prices for access to The Work Number database—a service used by businesses, nonprofits and government agencies to verify individuals’ income and employment information.

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According to the 15-page lawsuit, Equifax Workforce Solutions compels clients to enter into contracts that ostensibly permit it to adjust its pricing for The Work Number service with just 30 days’ notice. The case claims that this seemingly unlimited discretion is an abuse of the defendant’s “near-monopoly” position in the payroll verification space and has allowed the company to increase prices by at least 300 percent in the span of several months.

The suit was filed by the St. Louis Housing Authority (SLHA), a federally funded agency that claims to have entered into a contract with Equifax in September 2019 for access to The Work Number database. However, around March 2022, Equifax sent the SLHA a letter detailing a new pricing structure for income and employment verification services that would result in significantly higher fees compared to those specified in its initial contract, the case says.

Per the filing, the defendant notified the SLHA in March 2023 that it was again raising its prices. Equifax also stated that it would begin charging the agency a $125 annual fee and two monthly fees totaling $14.99, the suit shares.

The lawsuit argues that these “unacceptable price increases” have forced the SLHA to curtail its use of The Work Number and obtain employment and income verification information from alternative sources—a feat that has proven difficult due to Equifax’s monopolistic role in the industry.

“[The SLHA] cannot even obtain income verification directly from many employers because employers that use The Work Number reply to [the plaintiff’s] verification request by directing [the SLHA] to use The Work Number,” the complaint says.

The case claims Equifax’s unilateral decision to raise prices manyfold in the span of a few months was made in bad faith and renders its contracts with The Work Number clients null and void.

“An agreement that is subject to unilateral modification or revocation is illusory and unenforceable,” the suit alleges.

The Equifax Workforce Solutions lawsuit looks to represent any United States residents who paid a fee for The Work Number service between July 1, 2019 and July 1, 2024.

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