Blog Image
Profile Image Verifile
January 15 2014

Is Mickey in Trouble? Disney Defends its Background Screening Policies

The company known for their signature character, Mickey Mouse, is defending a class action claim based on questions about its background screening policies. A lawsuit was filed against the Walt Disney Co. and the complaint alleges that Disney 's policy for notifying applicants about background checks has violated the FCRA. The plaintiff is alleging that Disney failed to provide notice of adverse action, a process required by the FCRA when an adverse employment decision is based on any portion of a background check pursuant to 15 USC 1681b(b)(3) and 15 USC 1681m(a). The plaintiff 's background check showed a criminal conviction that had later been expunged. The plaintiff 's argument is that Disney did not give him the opportunity to clear up the inaccuracy of the report. Instead, the company took action and made the decision not to hire based on inaccurate information that the Plaintiff never had the opportunity to cure. Employers should make sure to have a policy for adverse action procedures that includes both pre-adverse and adverse action notifications, and that all hiring managers under-stand the need to follow those policies with a uniform process. The best practice is to reasonably evaluate each decision, and when you can, give the job applicant the benefit of notice. By doing so, you might avoid being the next class action defendant.