Lawsuit: Botched background check cost Madison man a job
A Madison man who was denied a job by a local beer distributor after another man's criminal convictions were erroneously included on his background check has filed suit in federal court against the consumer reporting firm and the distributor.
According to the lawsuits:
H&M Distributing Co. offered Troy Richard Burnette a sales job in June 2006 pending successful completion of a background check. LexisNexis Risk & Information Analytics Group, Inc. conducted Burnette's background check, but incorrectly included criminal convictions for Troy Thomas, Troy R. Thomas and Thomas Howard Richard, IV.
H&M's representative told Burnette on June 7, 2006 that his job offer had been withdrawn because of the results of his criminal background check. Burnette contended, to no avail, that the report was inaccurate.
Burnette contacted LexisNexis, which revised and updated its report by June 27, 2006. Burnette took it to H&M, which at that point had no job openings.
The Federal Fair Credit Report Act requires companies that produce or buy consumer credit or employment background reports to ensure they contain the "maximum possible accurate information," according to the statute.
"It's obvious (LexisNexis) didn't do some basic checking because the report listed my client was white when he is black and it's typical that employers don't question the report even though the person may be standing in front of them and there's some glaring inaccuracies," said Gordon Leech, Burnette's attorney.
Federal law also requires employers to inform the job applicant which reporting firm they used to conduct a background check, Leech said. However, H&M allegedly didn't give Burnette LexisNexis' name or a copy of the criminal background check until he specifically requested it.
Leech is seeking unspecified actual damages for Burnette's lost wages and punitive damages alleging that the violations were willful and could have been easily avoided.
"Obviously, Troy was never able to change his color, and any reasonable person checking to ensure the accuracy of the report should have seen there were both Caucasian and black persons listed in the same report," Leech said.
A person returning a call to H&M declined to comment on the suit or even to give his name to a reporter. A call to LexisNexis seeking comment on the suit wasn't immediately returned.
