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Friday, March 29, 2024

Sears allegedly performed illegal background checks

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (Legal Newsline) - A Missouri man is suing a major retailer for allegedly improperly using consumer reports to determine employment for applicants.

Scott Hopfinger, of Raytown, filed the lawsuit May 8 in Cole County Circuit Court in Missouri against Sears Roebuck, alleging the company violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act when it used consumer reports and background checks on employees.

The defendant removed the case to federal court on June 10.

The suit said the illegal acts were done when Sears failed to provide written documentation that it might complete a consumer report and background check on potential employees. The plaintiff alleges the company has based employment solely on the consumer report.

Hopfinger said he was offered a job Sept. 19 and completed a disclosure form. However, the application was not completed even a month after being verbally offered the job, the suit says, and it wasn't until Oct. 25 that Sears' human resources said it wasn't hiring Hopfinger due to his background check.

The suit seeks class status for those who applied to work at Sears Roebuck starting May 6, 2013, running through the present. The suit also seeks an unspecified amount in damages, plus court costs. Hopfinger is represented by attorneys Charles Jason Brown and Jayson A. Watkins of Brown & Associates in Gower, Missouri.

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