In October, a class action lawsuit was filed against LinkedIn, claiming the company acted as a credit reporting agency by providing premium users (potential employers) with “Trusted Reference” reports. The plaintiffs alleged that LinkedIn violated the FCRA because it did not get consent from consumers for the report, nor did it allow consumers to dispute the information contained in the reports, therefore violating the FCRA.
According to Courthouse News Service, earlier this week LinkedIn motioned for the case to be dismissed because the reports did not meet the definition of a credit report. The judge in this case sided with LinkedIn, but allowed the plaintiffs to amend the complaint, giving them a deadline of May 19 to do so.
This case is unique compared to other FCRA class action lawsuits that we have reported on, since LinkedIn is not a consumer reporting agency (CRA). Most of the FCRA class action lawsuits we have seen have concentrated on employers who are not following adverse action procedures and/or use disclosure forms that plaintiffs claim violate the FCRA because they are not stand alone documents, although some have included complaints against CRAs.
It remains to be seen whether or not the plaintiffs choose to amend their complaint against LinkedIn. Should that happen, Corporate Screening will keep you updated.
