Walker v. Fred Meyer, Inc.

Daniel Walker (plaintiff) applied for a job with Fred Meyer, Inc. (Meyer) (defendant). Walker was offered a job contingent on successfully passing a background check. Meyer gave Walker a five-paragraph disclosure form, which (1) explained that Meyer would obtain consumer reports for employment purposes including hiring, promotion, and termination and identified the types of information included in consumer reports; (2) identified General Information Services, Inc. (GIS) as Meyer’s chosen consumer-reporting agency; (3) explained the types of information GIS would investigate; (4) stated that applicants could inspect GIS’s files; and (5) stated that applicants could obtain disclosure regarding GIS’s investigation in certain circumstances. Meyer also required Walker to sign a form authorizing GIS’s investigation. Walker eventually learned from GIS that Meyer had decided not to hire Walker based on the information in GIS’s report. However, when Walker contacted Meyer to discuss Meyer’s decision, a Meyer human-resources director did not know about the background investigation or that Walker’s offer of employment was rescinded. Walker sued Meyer in federal district court, alleging that Meyer had violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) because Meyer’s consumer-report disclosure form was unclear and complicated by extraneous information. Meyer moved to dismiss. The district court granted Meyer’s motion, concluding that the disclosure form met the FCRA’s requirements. Walker appealed.