Class Action May Proceed Against Employer Who Failed to Use Clear, Standalone Disclosure Form for Third Party Background Check

An employer that conducts a background check of its applicants or employees must do so in accordance with the strict requirements imposed by federal and California laws. On January 29, 2019, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in Gilberg v. California Check Cashing Stores held that an employer’s use of a third party to obtain a consumer report on a putative class member violated the “standalone document” and “clear and conspicuous” requirements of the laws by including extraneous information relating to various state disclosure requirements in the same form.