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Wrongfully let go?

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Rawchef

New member
I've worked for said employer for two years. They ran a background when I was hired. There are some blemishes on my background but they hired me. Well, they did a random background check on me last week and let me go because of it. Nothing on that report has changed in over 7 years. They saw everything when they first hired me. I don't even have a traffic ticket in the last 7 years. I've been a terrific worker with great numbers. Do I have a case.
 


cbg

I'm a Northern Girl
Not based on your post. I'm not denying that if the facts are as you say (and I have no reason to doubt you) you got a raw deal but there is nothing in your post that clearly violates any US employment law.

If you have additional information that you think might change the answer, I would be happy to re-assess. Please include the name of your state if you post back.

ETA: It IS possible that additional facts would change my answer.
 
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Taxing Matters

Overtaxed Member
I've worked for said employer for two years. They ran a background when I was hired. There are some blemishes on my background but they hired me. Well, they did a random background check on me last week and let me go because of it. Nothing on that report has changed in over 7 years. They saw everything when they first hired me. I don't even have a traffic ticket in the last 7 years. I've been a terrific worker with great numbers. Do I have a case.
Did the employer tell you anything else about the termination? Do you have any reason to believe your termination was based on something other than the credit report? And in what state did this occur?

Firing you because they have now tightened up their requirements or because someone new is in the position of reviewing them and takes a tougher stand on what kinds of credit problems may disqualify you from the job do not not violate federal or state employment law. Some employees believe that the employer has to have a good cause in order to fire you. But they don't have to have good cause to fire an employee. All the company must do is ensure it doesn't fire you for one of the limited reasons prohibited by law.
The prohibited reasons include firing you because:

  • of your race, color, religion, sex (including sexual orientation, gender identity, etc) national origin, citizenship, age, disability, or genetic test information under federal law (some states/localities add a few more categories like marital status, veteran status, etc);
  • you make certain kinds of reports about the employer to the government or in limited circumstances to specified persons in the employing company itself (known as whistle-blower protection laws);
  • you participate in union organizing activities
  • you use a right or benefit the law guarantees you (e.g. using leave under FMLA);
  • you filed a bankruptcy petition;
  • your pay was garnished by a single creditor; and
  • you took time off work to attend jury duty (in most states).
There are some additional reasons prohibited by state law, and state laws vary. I'd encourage you to see an attorney (or perhaps several attornies) who handles wrongful termination cases to see if you might have something to pursue. A lot of firms handling these kinds of cases will provide a free or low cost initial consultation. That would provide you with a much more reliable answer than you can get here. We don't have all the facts, and some of those facts may be things you shouldn't disclose in a public message board forum. If you do decide to see an attorney do it very soon. Some of these claims require that you first make a complaint with the Department of Labor (for federal law claims) or your states employment agency before you may sue the employer. And the time frame allowed for making that agency report is not very long. For example, under federal law you'd be limited to either 180 days or 300 days from the date of termination depending on what the claim is. The state might have even short time limits depending on which state this took place.
 
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Taxing Matters

Overtaxed Member
And, by the way, since you were apparently fired due to the credit report, the employer must tell you which credit bureau(s) it used and you are entitled to a free credit report from those bureaus to make sure that the credit reports are actually correct.
 

cbg

I'm a Northern Girl
Um...Tax. where are you seeing that he is in CA? I'm not seeing any state at all. We're not even altogether sure he is in the US based on the post.
 

PayrollHRGuy

Senior Member
Um...Tax. where are you seeing that he is in CA? I'm not seeing any state at all. We're not even altogether sure he is in the US based on the post.
Assuming the OP is in the US it's federal law. Specifically, the FCRA if they are using a BG reporting company to run the report. They are also required to provide an adverse action letter. Here's a copy of a sample letter. https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/tools-and-samples/hr-forms/pages/fcra-adverse-action.aspx
 
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cbg

I'm a Northern Girl
And I'm still looking for where he said the check was run by a third party.

He MAY have something due to facts not yet provided. I've already acknowledged that and encouraged him to come back with more detail. But on the basis of the FACTS that we have, whether he does or does not is purely speculative.
 

PayrollHRGuy

Senior Member
And I'm still looking for where he said the check was run by a third party.
That too is an assumption but one based on 20 years of working with employers large and small that have such checks run. It simply isn't efficient to do them yourself.
 

cbg

I'm a Northern Girl
At this point we don't even know if he's in the US. If you want to make assumptions you go right ahead.
 

zddoodah

Active Member
Some of this has already been covered, but...

They ran a background when I was hired.
Please clarify what "ran a background" means. I assume you left off the word "check," but not ever background check is the same. Some of the prior responses seem to assume that your background check included (or maybe was limited to) a credit check, but I don't think that's a necessary inference from what you wrote. Were you given a written report regarding the background check?

There are some blemishes on my background
For example?

they did a random background check on me last week and let me go because of it.
Was this new background check identical to the one that was run two years ago? Were you given a written report regarding this new background check? What exactly were you told was the reason for your termination?

Nothing on that report has changed in over 7 years.
Disregarding the odd reference to "7 years," how do you know this? Again, did you receive copies of written reports regarding both background checks? Or are you just assuming nothing has changed? Were the background checks conducted by your former employer or by a third-party company? In what U.S. state did you work for this employer?

They saw everything when they first hired me.
"They" being who? Your immediate supervisor? The HR manager? Are all these people now the same as when you were hired? Has your former employer's policies changed in the two years that you worked there?

I think I've included questions asked by others, but please answer the questions I and the others have asked.
 

Taxing Matters

Overtaxed Member
Um...Tax. where are you seeing that he is in CA? I'm not seeing any state at all. We're not even altogether sure he is in the US based on the post.
I don't know where I got the idea that is where the OP is located. I've corrected my post to remove the reference to California. Thanks for spotting it.
 
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