The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, in the case of Rivera v Allstate Ins. Co., 907 F.3d 1031 (7th Cir. 2018), recently wrestled with a novel question under the FCRA – whether an investigation conducted by third party into employee misconduct could be considered a consumer report under the FCRA. Ultimately, the Court did not rule on the issue, but it appeared skeptical that the FCRA would apply.
The Seventh Circuit overturned the FCRA verdict on Spokeo grounds, but not before expressing great skepticism for the applicability of the FCRA in these circumstances. It noted that this appeared to be a novel question of law and was an “odd application” of FCRA. Specifically, the Court questioned whether an investigation could be a “consumer report,” largely because it was conducted by a law firm which did not appear to be a “credit reporting agency.”
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