A new putative class action against Petco Animal Supplies Inc. was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California.  The complaint challenges Petco's form of disclosure for employment background checks. 

"By embedding its purported disclosure in an employment application and including extraneous information within and around the disclosure, defendant disregarded well-established case law and regulatory guidance from the FTC," the complaint read.  The complaint alleges that the background check disclosure was "hidden" among other pages of "fine print" and did not constitute the "stand alone" disclosure required by law. 

The suit is one of a number of such recently filed lawsuits alleging that companies violated this provision of the FCRA.  For instance, as we previously reported, Whole Foods Market Group, Inc. was also recently hit with putative class actions for allegedly violating the FCRA.  Additionally, a Tennessee federal judge finally approved a roughly $6.8 million settlement that put to rest a class action involving similar claims against Publix Super Markets.

Troutman Sanders LLP has extensive experience in FCRA litigation and compliance with respect to challenged disclosure forms.  This growing body of lawsuits challenging employer disclosure forms warrants careful review of such forms by companies.  Troutman Sanders will continue to monitor this area of law.

The Troutman Sanders' Consumer Financial Services Law Monitor blog offers timely updates regarding the financial services industry to inform you of recent changes in the law, upcoming regulatory deadlines and significant judicial opinions that may impact your business. To view the blog, click here

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.