Background Check Error Lawsuits in Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C. has its own fair chance rules for jobs and housing. Under the District's Fair Criminal Record Screening law, employers with more than 10 employees in D.C. may not ask about arrests or charges that did not lead to a conviction, and may ask about convictions only after a conditional offer. The Fair Criminal Record Screening for Housing Act of 2016 sets similar limits for landlords. After an offer, a housing provider may consider only certain listed offenses from the past seven years.

Montgomery County, Maryland has a Fair Criminal Record Screening Standards law that covers both employment and rental housing. Covered employers and landlords may not ask about criminal records, or run a criminal background check, until after a conditional offer. Prince George's County has its own ban-the-box law for employers with 10 or more full-time employees in the county. These local laws sit alongside the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act. The FCRA requires background check and tenant screening companies to use reasonable procedures for accuracy, and it requires employers to share the report before rejecting someone over it.

Background check cases from the District are filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Northern Virginia cases go to the Eastern District of Virginia in Alexandria, and suburban Maryland cases to the District of Maryland in Greenbelt or Baltimore.

Where Washington, D.C. FCRA cases are filed

FCRA claims are federal, so they go to a United States District Court. Cases from Washington, D.C. are heard in 5 federal districts:

District of Columbiathe District of Columbia. Courthouses: Washington.Filed with local or cooperating counsel
Eastern District of VirginiaArlington, Fairfax, Loudoun, Prince William, Fauquier and Stafford counties and the cities of Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church, Manassas and Manassas Park (Alexandria Division); Spotsylvania County and Fredericksburg (Richmond Division). Courthouses: Alexandria, Richmond.Filed with local or cooperating counsel
District of MarylandMontgomery, Prince George's and Charles counties (Southern Division, Greenbelt) and Frederick County (Northern Division, Baltimore). Courthouses: Greenbelt, Baltimore.Filed with local or cooperating counsel
Western District of VirginiaClarke and Warren counties (Harrisonburg Division) and Culpeper and Rappahannock counties (Charlottesville Division). Courthouses: Harrisonburg, Charlottesville.Filed with local or cooperating counsel
Northern District of West VirginiaJefferson County, West Virginia. Courthouses: Martinsburg.Filed with local or cooperating counsel

Our attorneys are licensed in Texas, California, and Georgia. Where they aren't admitted in your local federal court, we work with local or cooperating counsel who are. You may also be able to sue where the company that reported you is based, in a court where our attorneys are admitted:

Checkr: HQ in N.D. California
First Advantage and Sterling: HQ in N.D. Georgia
RealPage: HQ in N.D. Texas

Which court is right depends on your facts. We'll tell you at your free case review.

Local and state rules in Washington, D.C.

D.C. Fair Criminal Record Screening (employment) (D.C. Code § 32-1341 et seq. (D.C. Law 20-152))
Employers with more than 10 employees in the District may not ask about arrests or non-conviction charges, and may ask about convictions only after a conditional offer. An offer may be withdrawn only for a legitimate business reason, and the applicant may request the records the employer relied on. Read it
D.C. Fair Criminal Record Screening for Housing Act of 2016 (D.C. Code § 42-3541.01 et seq. (D.C. Law 21-259))
Housing providers may not ask about criminal history before a conditional offer and may never consider arrests that did not lead to conviction. After an offer, they may consider only listed offenses from the past seven years, must weigh specific factors, and must explain any withdrawal in writing. Read it
D.C. Fair Credit in Employment Amendment Act of 2016 (D.C. Code § 2-1402.11 (D.C. Law 21-256))
The D.C. Human Rights Act makes it unlawful for most employers to discriminate based on credit information or to require employees to submit credit information. Exceptions include certain law enforcement and financial institution positions and cases where District law requires credit information. Read it
Montgomery County Fair Criminal Record Screening Standards (Montgomery County Code Ch. 27, Art. XII; § 27-15A (housing))
Covered employers and housing providers in Montgomery County may not ask about arrests or convictions, or run a criminal background check, until after a conditional offer. A housing provider that rescinds an offer based on a record must give prior notice. Read it
Prince George's County Access to Employment for Returning Citizens (ban-the-box law) (Prince George's County Code § 2-231.03 et seq. (CB-078-2014, as amended by CB-019-2024))
Employers with 10 or more full-time employees in the county may not ask about criminal records on a job application, or ask about or check a record until after a first interview. They may not consider arrests that did not lead to a conviction, or convictions where the sentence ended more than five years ago for a nonviolent felony or 30 months ago for a misdemeanor. Before rescinding an offer over a record, the employer must give the applicant a copy of the report and written notice and wait seven days so the applicant can point out errors; many positions are exempt. Read it

State laws also apply: see Background Check Error Lawsuits in Maryland and Background Check Error Lawsuits in Virginia and Background Check Error Lawsuits in West Virginia.

Common background check errors

Someone else's criminal or eviction record matched to you by name
Dismissed, sealed or expunged cases still reported
Charges reported as convictions, or misdemeanors as felonies
The same case listed several times
Eviction filings reported without the dismissal or outcome

Learn how these cases work on our background check lawsuits page, or read our lawsuit guides for Checkr, Sterling, HireRight, First Advantage, RealPage, SafeRent, RentGrow and TransUnion Rental Screening.

Frequently asked questions

When can a D.C. landlord look at my criminal record?

Under the Fair Criminal Record Screening for Housing Act, a housing provider may not ask about criminal history until after making a conditional offer. Even then, it may consider only certain listed offenses from the past seven years and must weigh specific factors. If it withdraws the offer, it must explain why in writing.

Does Montgomery County's ban-the-box law apply to rentals?

Yes. Montgomery County's Fair Criminal Record Screening Standards cover rental housing as well as employment. Housing providers may not ask about arrests or convictions, or run a background check, before a conditional offer. The county Office of Human Rights enforces the law.

A background check showed a record that is not mine. What can I do?

You can dispute it with the background check company, which generally must reinvestigate within 30 days and remove information it cannot verify. If you were turned down for a job, the employer should have given you a copy of the report first. A company that matched you to someone else's record may be liable under the FCRA.

How long do I have to file an FCRA lawsuit in Washington, D.C.?

FCRA deadlines are the same everywhere: generally two years from when you discover the violation, and no more than five years from when it happened (15 U.S.C. § 1681p). Waiting can cost you the claim.

Sources

Updated November 2026. This page is general information, not legal advice.