Job applicants claim inaccurate background check report prevent them from finding a job

Some drivers say they have been wrongly barred from jobs due to inaccuracies in their DAC reports, and that HireRight and its rivals don’t do enough to verify claims or correct mistakes.

In 2011, HireRight paid $28 million to settle a class-action lawsuit with more than 650,000 plaintiffs who accused it of failing to properly notify and provide copies of reports to job applicants, and for failing to resolve disputes. The company didn’t admit wrongdoing as part of the settlement.

In August 2012, HireRight settled a case with the Federal Trade Commission for $2.6 million over claims it failed to reasonably assure the accuracy of information provided to employers. HireRight didn’t admit to wrongdoing in the settlement, but agreed to monitoring by the FTC until next year.

The company has been sued by truck drivers at least 11 times since the FTC settlement, according to a Wall Street Journal search of federal court records, including over some alleged incidents predating the FTC settlement. The suits allege violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act including inaccuracies in HireRight reports and failures by the companies to investigate disputed information.

HireRight has settled six of the lawsuits out of court, according to court filings. The settlements were sealed and results not disclosed. It also won three, and two are still open, according to court records. Some large trucking companies have settled class-action lawsuits over how they used HireRight, including not giving applicants a chance to dispute information contained in their employment history reports.