California Court Issues Favorable Background Check Ruling for Employer
2-13-2023 by Shannon Cahill & Spencer Waldron @ www.shrm.org
Employers in California are frequently faced with class-action lawsuits brought by current or former employees. Oftentimes, these actions are brought for alleged wage and hour violations, but we've seen an uptick in suits claiming violations of state and federal background check laws — even for minor technical errors.
However, in an occurrence that may be as rare as a unicorn sighting, a California Court of Appeal recently delivered some good news for employers. The court affirmed a decision to dismiss a former employee's class action, claiming that a convenience store chain's background check forms were defective. Notably, the court did not actually decide whether the forms were defective, and instead dismissed the case because the worker could not show he suffered an actual harm or injury.