News and Announcements

Third Circuit Rules in Plaintiffs' Favor, According to Outten & Golden LLP and Co-Counsel

Sep 11, 2018 / Press Release

The Third Circuit ruled yesterday that job applicants have standing to sue under the Fair Credit Reporting Act in a criminal history lawsuit brought by plaintiffs against their prospective employer, SEPTA, says Outten & Golden LLPand a coalition of legal advocates. Filed in federal court in Philadelphia in 2016, the class action accuses SEPTA, the nation's sixth-largest public transportation system, of routinely rejecting job applicants based on information contained in reports obtained from background check companies. In finding that Plaintiffs have standing to sue, the Third Circuit...

3rd Circ. Breathes New Life Into Job Applicants’ SEPTA Suit

Sep 11, 2018 / News Item

Workers alleging they were improperly denied jobs due to the results of pre-employment background checks have standing to sue the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority under the Fair Credit Reporting Act for not providing them a copy of the reports before turning them down for jobs, the Third Circuit ruled Monday. In a precedential ruling, a three-judge panel upheld part of U.S. District Judge Petrese B. Tucker’s April 2017 decision tossing an allegation that SEPTA failed to properly inform a trio of would-be SEPTA employees of their FCRA rights when they weren’t hired because of...

3rd Circ. Urged To Revive SEPTA Background Check Suit

Dec 12, 2017 / Media Coverage

The Third Circuit was urged during oral arguments on Tuesday to revive class claims accusing the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority of failing to provide job applicants with a chance to respond to consumer reports detailing criminal histories that the agency said disqualified them from employment. Deeptak Guta, an attorney with Gupta Wessler PLLC representing the three lead plaintiffs in the case, argued that the trial court had created an insurmountable hurdle by requiring the would-be SEPTA workers to show that the reports, which they never received copies of, contained...

Pa. Transit Agency's Ex-Drug Convict Hiring Ban Challenged

May 5, 2017 / Media Coverage

A Philadelphia-area public transit agency is facing a putative class action in state court over an employment policy that challengers say illegally bars individuals with drug convictions from working as drivers or holding certain maintenance positions. A trio of would-be Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority workers say the policy violates provisions of the state’s Criminal History Record Information Act allowing employers to consider a candidate’s convictions only so far as they relate to his or her suitability for the position being sought. “Rather than making assessments of...

Plaintiffs Attorney Says SEPTA Hiring Decision Affects Civil and Privacy Rights, Goes Against State Edicts

Aug 29, 2016 / Media Coverage

The use of background checks in making hiring decisions is facing increased scrutiny, according to the lead plaintiffs’ attorney in Long v. the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA). The plaintiffs in the Long case alleged that they were conditionally offered positions as SEPTA bus operators, subject to completion of a background check. As part of that process, the plaintiffs disclosed previous felony convictions for drug offenses. As a result, the plaintiffs claim, SEPTA withdrew the job offers. In the class action lawsuit filed in April in the U.S. District Court for...

SEPTA Applicants Fight To Keep Alive Background Check Suit

Jul 25, 2016 / Media Coverage

Three men fought Friday to keep alive a proposed class action accusing the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority of violating federal law in its use of consumer reports, insisting they suffered real harm by the authority's invasion of their privacy. The plaintiffs, who also claim SEPTA discriminates against job applicants with drug convictions, were responding after the regional public transportation authority recently asked a judge in Pennsylvania's Eastern District to dismiss the lawsuit. SEPTA contends, in part, that the group hasn't shown it was harmed by the alleged...

New allegations, plaintiffs step forward in SEPTA background check violation lawsuit

May 31, 2016 / Media Coverage

More plaintiffs have stepped forward in a case accusing SEPTA of violating federal and state laws when it conducted criminal background checks on prospective employees. The transit agency in late April was hit with a federal lawsuit, where Philadelphia resident and commercial bus driver Frank Long, 56, accused SEPTA of rejecting job applicants based on information contained in reports obtained from background check companies. The original lawsuit alleged SEPTA did not comply with the Fair Credit Reporting Act, FCRA, and it failed to provide applicants with what is called a "clear and...

Fair Credit Reporting Act lawsuit against SEPTA one of rising number, attorney says

May 27, 2016 / Media Coverage

The recent federal class action lawsuit filed against Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority alleging violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act and other laws is one of many making those claims, an attorney knowledgeable of the FCRA said during a recent interview. "More and more class actions are popping up every day in this arena," Kathryn M. Rattigan, an associate with Robinson & Cole in Providence, R.I., said during a Pennsylvania Record email interview. "Private businesses and government alike should be aware of the FCRA’s requirements and stay up to speed on their...

Pa. Transit Authority Sued Over Applicant Background Checks

Apr 27, 2016 / Media Coverage

The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority was hit with a proposed class action in Pennsylvania federal court Wednesday accusing the agency of not sufficiently notifying job applicants of its use of credit checks and of discriminating against those convicted of drug felonies. Named plaintiff Frank Long alleges he and potentially thousands of applicants weren't provided the proper written disclosure that they could be subjected to a consumer report, as required by the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act. SEPTA is also violating Pennsylvania's Criminal History Record Information Act...

SEPTA Hit With Class Action Over Background Checks

Apr 27, 2016 / Media Coverage

A man claiming his offer of employment as a bus driver with the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority was revoked because of his criminal history has filed a class action lawsuit against SEPTA in federal court.

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