The Third Circuit Court of Appeals recently provided a warning for employers regarding compliance with the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) via Long v. SEPTA. In the case, which involved three applicants who were denied employment because of prior convicted drug offenses, the court held that an employer violates the FCRA when it fails to provide a copy of the applicable consumer report to prospective employers before taking an adverse employment action. The court rejected SEPTA’s argument that the plaintiffs suffered no legal injury under the FCRA because the reports, after all, were accurate.
