HKA Enterprises Sued by Job Applicant Over Allegedly Improper Background Check Disclosure

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HKA Enterprises, LLC finds itself as the defendant in a proposed class action that alleges the company not only performed a background check on a prospective employee without the proper authorization to do so but failed to provide him a copy of the report before taking adverse action against him.

The plaintiff, a California resident, applied for a job with the defendant in April 2017, the suit says. According to the case, the defendant’s application included a background check consent form that contained “many other disclosures,” such as a liability waiver. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), consent forms for background checks must be “in a document that consists solely of the disclosure that a consumer report may be obtained for employment purposes,” the case explains.

The man was eventually interviewed and given a conditional job offer that same month, the suit goes on to say. During his interview, the plaintiff supposedly disclosed that he was convicted of two criminal offenses that were in the process of being expunged. The defendant ultimately withdrew its job offer and offered no explanation other than “a problem with the background check,” according to the case.

Under the FCRA, the suit explains, job applicants should be provided a copy of their consumer report and a written summary of their rights prior to any adverse action being taken against them. The plaintiff claims he did not receive this documentation or any notice before his onboarding process was suspended. In fact, the defendant supposedly failed to inform the man that his job offer was revoked for over one month after the decision was made.

“HKA effectively leaves the person who is the subject of the report without any means to challenge the contents of the report or to even know who prepared the background report,” the complaint reads.

The lawsuit was recently transferred from California to federal court in South Carolina, where HKA is headquartered.