Before an employer procures a background check on you, the FCRA requires two things: a clear and conspicuous disclosure that a consumer report may be obtained for employment purposes, made "in a document that consists solely of the disclosure," and your written authorization. 15 U.S.C. § 1681b(b)(2)(A). That word — solely — has generated an enormous amount of litigation, because employers persistently stuff the form with extra content: liability releases, state notices, acknowledgments, at-will disclaimers.
The Virginia cases
Two decisions from the Eastern District of Virginia — our neighbor in the Fourth Circuit — show how seriously courts take the requirement.
In Milbourne v. JRK Residential America, LLC, 92 F. Supp. 3d 425 (E.D. Va. 2015), a property-management company's disclosure form included a release of liability. The court refused to excuse it:
"The language of the FCRA does not qualify the word 'solely' or otherwise limit its meaning."
In Thomas v. FTS USA, LLC, 193 F. Supp. 3d 623 (E.D. Va. 2016), the court held — in one of the first major post-Spokeo rulings — that receiving a non-compliant disclosure is a concrete injury supporting federal standing:
"Thomas has alleged a concrete informational injury: that is, Thomas has alleged that he was deprived of a clear disclosure stating that Defendants sought to procure a consumer report before the report was obtained."
Why the rule exists
The disclosure is supposed to be impossible to miss and impossible to misunderstand — a clean, one-subject document that lets you make a real choice before an employer digs into your history. Burying it in fine print defeats the point, which is why Congress wrote "solely" and why courts enforce it as written.
What to look for
If you were background-checked for a job — especially if you were later rejected — dig out the paperwork. Red flags include: a disclosure combined with the employment application; liability waivers on the same page; dense multi-state notices wrapped around the disclosure; or no separate document at all. Statutory damages for willful violations run $100–$1,000 per violation, and these cases frequently proceed on a class basis. We review background-check paperwork for Maryland workers at no cost.