Philadelphia partner Michael P. Daly and New York associate Richard M. Haggerty authored “Background Checks and the FCRA: How Employers Can Mitigate One Risk Without Creating Another” for The Review of Securities & Commodities Regulation.

It is common practice today for employers to conduct background checks on potential employees, particularly when employees may have access to sensitive information. With these background checks comes potential risk for the employers, though many may be unaware of their potentially liability under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).

In this article, Mike and Rick provide a detailed look at the statute, including the possibility of considerable statutory damages, and how the plaintiffs’ bar has used the FCRA to bring a spate of class actions. They also consider what steps employers can take to minimize their litigation risk, as well as how to defend class actions under this statute.

Source: The Review of Securities & Commodities Regulation