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HireRight · Employment background checks

HireRight background check cost you a job?

HireRight screens job applicants and gig workers for employers around the world. If its report showed a record that isn't yours, isn't current or shouldn't be there, the Fair Credit Reporting Act lets you sue.

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Who HireRight is and who relies on its reports

HireRight is a background screening company. It offers background checks, identity verification, ongoing workforce monitoring, and drug and health screening, and says it serves approximately 37,000 customers worldwide. Its reports are used by employers making hiring decisions and by gig platforms: Uber’s help center lists HireRight, along with Checkr and Samba Safety, as a company that runs its U.S. background checks.

HireRight is now privately owned. General Atlantic and Stone Point Capital completed their acquisition of the company on June 28, 2024, in an all-cash deal with a total enterprise value of about $1.7 billion, and its stock was delisted from the New York Stock Exchange.

The FTC’s 2012 case against HireRight

In August 2012, the FTC announced that HireRight Solutions, Inc. would pay a $2.6 million civil penalty to settle charges that it violated the FCRA. The FTC said it was the first time it had charged an employment background screening company with violating the FCRA, and the penalty was the second-largest the FTC had obtained under the Act at the time.

The FTC alleged that HireRight:

  • failed to use reasonable procedures to keep information current, including criminal record expungements, so that reports showed convictions that had been expunged;
  • included the same criminal offense in a report more than once;
  • failed to prevent obviously inaccurate information from reaching employers, and included records of the wrong person;
  • failed to complete reasonable investigations of consumer disputes within 30 days, and required consumers to get a copy of their report before it would reinvestigate;
  • closed dispute investigations without giving written notice of the results; and
  • failed to notify consumers in writing when it reported public-record information about them.

These were allegations resolved by settlement in 2012. They describe the kinds of errors the FCRA is designed to stop.

Errors that show up on HireRight reports

  • Expunged and sealed records. A record a court cleared still appears as a conviction.
  • Duplicates. One case reported as several offenses.
  • Wrong-person records. Someone else’s case attached to your name.
  • Stale dispositions. A charge reported without the dismissal or reduction that followed.
  • Verification errors. Prior employment or education reported incorrectly.
  • Dispute failures. Investigations closed with no written results.

How to dispute a HireRight report

  1. Get your report. HireRight has an official request page for a copy of your report, and says it will also provide a list of HireRight customers that may have received your report in the past two years.
  2. Use the right dispute form. HireRight’s official dispute page says you may dispute for free and lists online, phone, mail and fax options. Uber-related disputes go through a separate Uber dispute page.
  3. Identify each record. For a criminal record, include the case number or offense description and the state and county that reported it.
  4. Attach proof. Expungement or sealing orders, final dispositions, ID, and anything showing the record is not yours.
  5. Notify the employer or platform. Tell them you have disputed and ask them to wait for the result.
  6. Keep copies. Save the report, notices, dispute confirmation and every response.
  7. Expect a deadline. HireRight says reinvestigations may take up to 30 days, and up to 45 days in limited circumstances. That matches the timeline in 15 U.S.C. § 1681i(a)(1).

Your rights under the FCRA

  • Accuracy (§ 1681e(b)). HireRight must follow reasonable procedures to assure maximum possible accuracy.
  • Public records for employment (§ 1681k). For adverse public-record information reported for employment, HireRight must either notify you at the time or maintain strict procedures to keep the information complete and up to date. Reporting an expunged case as a conviction is the kind of problem this provision targets.
  • Pre-adverse action notice (§ 1681b(b)(3)). Before acting on a report, an employer generally must give you a copy and a summary of your rights.
  • Reinvestigation (§ 1681i). Disputes must be reasonably reinvestigated, free of charge, with written results sent to you within five business days after completion.
  • Reporting time limits (§ 1681c). Arrest records and other adverse non-conviction information generally cannot be reported after seven years.
  • File disclosure (§ 1681g). You can get your file, its sources, and the employers who received it in the past two years.

What you may recover

For a negligent violation, you may recover actual damages, such as lost wages, lost earnings from a platform and emotional distress, plus attorney’s fees and costs (15 U.S.C. § 1681o). For a willful violation, you may recover actual damages or statutory damages of $100 to $1,000, punitive damages, and fees and costs (§ 1681n).

FCRA Attorneys handles these cases on contingency. No fee unless we win.

Get a free case review

FCRA claims expire. A lawsuit generally must be filed within two years after you discover the violation and within five years after it occurred (15 U.S.C. § 1681p). If a HireRight report cost you a job or your place on a platform, keep your report, the notices and your dispute, and request a free case review. FCRA Attorneys has offices in Dallas, Houston, Chicago, Los Angeles and Atlanta, and files FCRA cases in federal court nationwide, directly or with local counsel.

Questions about suing HireRight

Can I sue HireRight?

Yes, if the facts support it. HireRight prepares consumer reports for employment, so it is a consumer reporting agency under the FCRA. You may have a claim if it reported inaccurate or outdated information without reasonable procedures, or failed to reasonably reinvestigate your dispute.

Uber deactivated me after a HireRight check. Can HireRight get me reinstated?

No. HireRight can correct its own report, but it says it cannot restore your driving status. Uber makes that decision. Dispute the report with HireRight using its Uber-specific dispute process, then send the corrected report to Uber. If the error cost you earnings, you may have a claim.

Is HireRight still a public company?

No. General Atlantic and Stone Point Capital completed their acquisition of HireRight on June 28, 2024, and its stock no longer trades on the New York Stock Exchange. That does not change your rights under the FCRA.

What does it cost to bring a case?

FCRA Attorneys works on contingency, so there is no fee unless we win. The FCRA requires a company that violates it to pay the consumer's reasonable attorney's fees and costs if the consumer succeeds.

Related reading

Sources

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

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