One bad line in a screening report can cost you the offer
You interviewed well. The employer sent an offer letter. Then a background check came back with a felony conviction that wasn't yours — or an old case that was expunged years ago — and the offer disappeared. Or you found the apartment, put down a deposit, and the property manager pulled a RealPage or SafeRent report that attached someone else's record to your name.
This is one of the most common — and most preventable — FCRA problems. Screening companies pull data in bulk from courthouse and vendor sources and then match it to applicants using thin identifiers (often just name and date of birth). When two people share those, records get mixed. When old records get pulled without checking for expungements or dispositions, sealed matters get reported.
The screeners we most often sue
Checkr, HireRight, Sterling, First Advantage, Accurate Background, GoodHire, and Certiphi on the employment side. RealPage, SafeRent, TransUnion SmartMove, and similar services on the tenant-screening side. SambaSafety and other MVR / commercial driver screeners. All are consumer reporting agencies under the FCRA.
What the FCRA requires
Screeners must follow reasonable procedures to assure maximum possible accuracy(15 U.S.C. §1681e(b)). They cannot report obsolete records — generally nothing older than seven years for non-convictions. They must investigate disputes under §1681i. Employers using these reports must give you a copy of the report and a "pre-adverse action" notice before rescinding an offer, and a final adverse-action notice after, with instructions for disputing.
Common cases
- Someone else's criminal record attached to your name (mixed file)
- Expunged, sealed, or dismissed cases still being reported
- Wrong disposition — arrest reported without the acquittal or dismissal
- Old records past the FCRA's 7-year non-conviction reporting limit
- Employers that skipped the pre-adverse action notice
- Tenant screeners reporting inaccurate eviction filings
What you can recover
Actual damages including lost wages from a rescinded offer, the additional rent you paid at a worse apartment, and emotional distress. Statutory damages of $100–$1,000 per willful violation. Punitive damages in the right case. And, again, fee-shifting — the defendant pays your attorney's fees when you win. We represent Maryland residents and workers nationwide.
Related reading
The Standalone Disclosure Rule: The Background-Check Form Employers Keep Getting Wrong
Before pulling a background check, an employer must give a disclosure that "consists solely of the disclosure." Extra fine print — like a liability waiver — violates the FCRA.
Rejected Over a Background Check? The Pre-Adverse Action Notice Is Your Most Important Right
Before an employer denies you a job based on a background check, it must send you the report and a chance to respond. Skipping that step violates the FCRA.