Richmond, VA: A truck driver has filed a class action complaint against Swift Transportation Co, a transportation company based in Arizona, for allegedly violating the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
The lawsuit alleges the company failed to properly disclose its hiring practices, including background checks. According to court documents, James Ellis III, the named plaintiff in the class action complaint, applied for a driving job with the transportation company on or around May 15, 2012. The company then procured his consumer report and criminal background check allegedly without his consent.
Ellis claims the company immediately disqualified him from further consideration for employment after receiving the information obtained in his criminal background report. In the lawsuit, Ellis alleges that the company, "Â…does not provide or obtain an appropriate disclosure and authorization from job applicantsÂ… prior to acquiring these criminal background reports."
He also claims that the company did not notify him that he could obtain a free copy of the consumer report within 60 days and that he could dispute the "accuracy or completeness of the information contained in the consumer report directly with the consumer reporting agency."
The lawsuit was filed in the US District Court, Eastern District of Virginia as Case number 3:13-cv-00473-JAG.
The plaintiff is represented by Matthew J. Erausquin of Consumer Litigation Associates PC.
