J.B. Hunt Hit with Class Action Over Background Check Process for Current, Prospective Employees

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A proposed class action claims that J.B. Hunt Transport, Inc. has unlawfully obtained consumers’ background reports for employment purposes without complying with certain state and federal mandates for doing so.

The 25-page complaint alleges J.B. Hunt has procured the consumer reports of current and prospective employees without first providing them with a clear, conspicuous, standalone disclosure that their background report will be obtained and a summary of their rights under the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).

According to the case, the defendant’s background report disclosure form lacked certain legally required information pursuant to the FCRA and several California state laws. Moreover, the suit claims J.B. Hunt failed to provide consumers with the required summary of their FCRA rights before procuring their background reports.

The plaintiff, who worked for J.B. Hunt in California, says that the company procured his consumer report in April 2017 while evaluating him for potential employment. Per the case, the background check disclosure form provided to the plaintiff was not a standalone document, as required by the FCRA, and included “extraneous information.”

Moreover, the plaintiff alleges the defendant routinely fails to, within three days of requesting a worker’s consumer report, inform the individual of their right to request additional disclosures as provided in the FCRA and a written summary of their legal rights.

The lawsuit further alleges that J.B. Hunt violated similar California state laws by failing to provide certain mandatory information, including the identity of and contact details for the agency conducting the investigation, the nature and scope of the investigation, the specific basis under the California Labor Code for the use of the report, the source of the report, and a check box allowing the individual to request a copy of their report.

The case looks to represent anyone in the U.S. for whom J.B. Hunt procured or caused to be procured a background report for the purpose of evaluating them for employment, promotion, reassignment or retention at any time within the past five years and until final judgment is entered. A separate class has been proposed for California residents whose reports were procured within the past seven years and until the time final judgment is entered.

The lawsuit was initially filed in Alameda County Superior Court on April 13, 2022 before being removed to the California’s Northern District Court on May 24.

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