June

"A bill requiring background and credit checks for the navigators who help people sign up for health coverage under the Affordable Care Act won initial approval in the Kansas Senate. Republican supporters say Senate Bill 362 would ensure that consumers can trust the people with whom they are share sensitive health information. But Democrats say the bill is a politically motivated attack on the health care act and would make it more difficult to sign up Kansans for coverage. ""The federal government ignored protection of the consumer and left them open to serious risks of fraud and identity theft,"" said Sen. Mary Pilcher-Cook, R-Shawnee, who carried the legislation. She cited an October report from the conservative news site the Daily Caller that a navigator in Lawrence had an outstanding arrest warrant. But Sen. Laura Kelly, D-Topeka, said that if the bill 's intent was solely to protect consumers, it would merely require a background check and not a credit check, which she said is invasive. The bill also requires navigators to pay an application fee of $100 and an annual filing fee of $250. Kelly said these provisions are meant to discourage people from becoming navigators."

"Two data brokers have agreed to settle FTC charges that they violated the FCRA by providing reports about consumers to users such as prospective employers and landlords without taking reasonable steps to make sure that they were accurate, or without making sure their users had a permissible reason to have them.

The two companies - Instant Checkmate, Inc., and InfoTrack Information Services - have agreed to pay civil penalties and will be prohibited from continuing their alleged illegal practices. According to the FTC 's complaints, both companies operated as consumer reporting agencies under the law but failed to abide by the FCRA.

The FTC charged, among other things, that in many instances InfoTrack provided inaccurate information suggesting that job applicants potentially were registered sex offenders, possibly causing employers to reject their job application. According to the complaint against Instant Checkmate, the company failed to require that users of its reports identify themselves or certify the purpose for which they were seeking consumers ' information. ""Consumers shouldn 't have to worry that they 'll be turned down for a job or an apartment because of false information in a consumer report,"" said Jessica Rich, Director of the FTC 's Bureau of Consumer Protection."

"The provisions of FCRA apply to any business entity that seeks to use a ""consumer report"" - which broadly includes anything from a credit report to a criminal or even motor vehicle background check - for any ""employment purposes."" The consequences of a FCRA violation can be substantial, the statute provides for a civil private right of action and permits recovery of actual damages, statutory damages, punitive damages, and attorneys ' fees and costs. As with many federal consumer protection statutes, the stakes are even higher in a putative class action. This risk includes potential class liability for damages, which could include up to $1,000 in statutory damages per class member for ""willful"" violations, in addition to potential punitive damages. And, unlike other federal consumer protection statutes, there is no cap on the recovery of statutory damages in a FCRA class action. Not surprisingly, there has been an increase in the number of FCRA putative class actions filed against employers for their purported use of consumer reports. For these reasons, any business entity that collects background information for prospective or current employees must be aware of the requirements of FCRA and should design its employment practices in compliance with those requirements."