You may recall that in October, I issued an update regarding the issuance of the new FCRA “Summary of Consumer Rights” form. Well, the FCRA continues to be a source of confusion and risk. The Act contains a series of steps that one must follow, and the failure to do any of them can create liability.

A federal Court recently held that an employer violated the Act when it failed to provide a copy of a consumer report to an applicant before it took an adverse action against her. In this particular case, the employer rejected three applicants who had prior drug-related convictions. Unfortunately, the employer failed to provide the applicants with copies of their consumer reports and notices of their rights under the Act before making this decision. Continue reading “The Fair Credit Reporting Act Is Tricky” →

If my season-appropriate title did not make you at least a little uneasy, then you aren’t paying attention. I’ll say it again: If you have the authority to hire and fire employees, you may have personal liability under the Fair Labor Standards Act. That means that you may be sued personally in addition to your employer and that a plaintiff may seize your personal stuff (bank accounts, stocks, vehicles, gold bullion that all HR professionals are known to hoard…..).

Obviously, not all HR professionals may be sued individually, and the analysis as to whether or not they can is pretty fact specific. A recent (Nov. 11, 2018) case out of the U.S. District of Arizona offers a good outline of the analysis. Continue reading “If You Have the Authority to Hire and Fire, the DOL Might Play the Grinch This Christmas and Sue You Personally for FLSA Violations” →