A class action lawsuit was filed against Whole Foods in Florida alleging Violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). The suit filed on December 4, 2014 by a Tampa-based Whole Foods employee claims that the company’s background screening process violated the FCRA by failing to make proper disclosure and failing to obtain proper authorization of the pending background check.
According to the FCRA an employer must disclose to job applicants in a document that consists solely of the disclosure – that it may obtain a consumer report on them for employment purposes before performing a background screening report. The Plaintiff goes on to say “While the use of consumer reports information for employment purposes is not per se unlawful, it is subject to strict disclosure and authorization requirements under the FCRA.” The lawsuit further alleges that Whole Foods unlawfully inserted liability release provisions into forms purporting to grant Whole Foods authority to obtain and user consumer report information for employment purposes. This allegation violates the “plain language of the FCRA” and the class action lawsuit explains that this resulted in Whole Foods not having proper authorization to obtain consumer report on its employees since the disclosure forms did not comply with the FCRA.
The plaintiff in the case wishes to bring a class action suit again Whole Foods representing all employees or prospective employees who were subject of a consumer report that was procured by Whole Foods within five years of the filing of the complaint through the date of final judgment in this action.
