CASE STUDY
FOCUS: Employment Law
Keen Understanding Of Federal Rulings Gets Case Dismissed In State Court
CHALLENGE
A multi-state temporary staffing agency required defense in a class action lawsuit based on alleged technical violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act. The lawsuit claimed that the stand alone disclosure form that is required before a job applicant can consent to a background check was improperly stapled to other papers when it was handed to the applicants, defeating the stand alone requirement.
OUR STRATEGY
At GCT, we are big proponents of staying on top of any new or updated laws that may be beneficial in allowing us to provide the best solutions possible for our clients – and that practice made all the difference in this case. The plaintiff’s attorney originally filed the case in state court, but our team quickly removed it to federal court so we could use a brand new US Supreme Court ruling we were aware of that could help rule in the client’s favor. The new ruling stated that a technical violation, without showing that the applicants were confused or misunderstood the information before giving their consent, would not be sufficient to sustain a claim in federal court, thereby dismissing the case.
RESULTS
Although the case was sent back to state court, the GCT team successfully convinced the state court judge that the logic of the federal judge should apply. That was the first time the state court had ever been presented with the rationale of the new federal ruling – the judge promptly agreed and dismissed the case.