On Tuesday, July 20, 2021, Sterling started experiencing turnaround time delays for county criminal searches in Los Angeles County, California. We anticipate turnaround times to be delayed by at least 48 to 72 hours. We will continue to monitor, and will supply updates as they become available. Thank you for your patience.
On May 26, 2021, the California Court of Appeals, 4th A.D issued a decision in a case, All of Us or None of Us v. Hamrick, that provides for the removal of significant identifiers such as date of birth or driver’s license number from criminal court records.
The plaintiff, All of Us or None of Us, filed suit against defendants, Superior Court of California, County of Riverside (Riverside Superior Court), and its Executive Officer and Clerk, W. Samuel Hamrick, Jr. alleging that the Riverside Superior Court’s practices in maintaining criminal court records violated their right to privacy as embodied in the California Constitution. The trial court found in favor of the defendants, and on appeal, plaintiff challenged the trial court’s summary judgment rulings. The Court of Appeals reversed the trial court decision, resulting in the trial court’s grant of judgment as a matter of law on plaintiff’s remedial causes of action.
The pertinent part of the Court’s opinion on Riverside County’s rules for indexing criminal records states:
“After considering the text, history, and purpose of Rule 2.507 [(Electronic access to court calendars, indexes, and registers of actions)], we agree that the rule prohibits the Riverside Superior Court from allowing searches of its electronic criminal index by use of an individual’s date of birth or driver’s license number. We further conclude that the trial court erred in sustaining defendants’ demurrer to this cause of action.”
The case is pending before the California Supreme Court on a petition for review on a separate issue, but due to the far reaching impact of the court access issue, several trade industry organizations, employers groups, property managers, volunteer organizations and private employers submitted an amicus letter on July 15, 2021, urging the California Supreme Court to take the removal of identifiers from criminal records issue up for review. If the court does not revisit this issue, the use of identifiers in the search process will be severely impacted, posing a threat to public safety and making it extremely difficult for the public to identify the subjects of criminal court records in California. Sterling is closely monitoring this situation and will communicate any notable updates as they emerge.
The Information contained herein is for informational purposes only. Sterling is not a law firm, and none of the information contained in this notice is intended as legal advice. Clients are encouraged to consult with their legal counsel about the impacts of any requirements. This and other important legislative updates can be found on the Sterling website: https://www.sterlingcheck.com/resources/compliance-updates/.
Sterling is not a law firm. This publication is for informational purposes only and nothing contained in it should be construed as legal advice. We expressly disclaim any warranty or responsibility for damages arising out this information. We encourage you to consult with legal counsel regarding your specific needs. We do not undertake any duty to update previously posted materials.
On June 25, 2021, the US Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in the case of Transunion LLC v. Ramirez and remanded it for further proceeding consistent with its opinion.
To recap, the case involved an individual (Ramirez), along with a class of 8,185 other members, who sued Transunion under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) for failing to use reasonable procedures to ensure the accuracy of information in their credit files.
The plaintiffs’ initial argument was that information indicating a possible name match on the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) terrorist watch list was included in the credit files. The plaintiffs claimed that use of a name match alone did not meet the FCRA standard for accuracy. In addition, the plaintiffs complained that their credit files were improperly formatted with incomplete information (OFAC information omitted). Transunion then provided the file a second time, but did not include the Summary of Rights.
While the District Court ruled that 8,185 class members, including Ramirez, had Article III standing on all 3 claims, meaning, “concrete harm” was imposed, and awarded $40 million in punitive damages, the US Supreme Court reversed the Ninth Circuit’s court decision.
The US Supreme Court addressed what constitutes “concrete harm” for purposes of Article III standing, and whether class members could pursue recovering damages. The court applied the fundamental standing requirement of “concrete harm”, stating, “Only plaintiffs concretely harmed by a defendant’s statutory violation have Article III standing to seek damages against that private defendant in federal court.”
Among the class member’s credit files, 1,853 contained inaccurate OFAC terrorist alerts which were sent to third parties; therefore, those members could claim harm, as these actions resemble defamation. The fact that the credit files were improperly formatted did not cause any harm or limit their ability to dispute the information in their credit files.
The court found that since the remaining 6,332 class member’s credit files that contained OFAC terrorist alerts were not sent to third parties, they did not have a valid claim of concrete harm and similarly, the fact that the credit files were improperly formatted did not cause any harm or limit their ability to dispute the information in their credit files.
The US Supreme Court’s decision stated that individuals (plaintiffs) are not charged with enforcing a defendant’s compliance with the law. The violation of a law is not evidence of injury, and If there is no concrete harm, there is no standing.
The plaintiffs also argued that the “risk of future harm” established Article III standing, but the US Supreme Court dispensed the argument and agreed with Transunion that the risk must materialize in the form of actual harm in order to establish “concrete harm”.
The decision may limit “no harm” class actions in federal court, but employers can expect the potential for FCRA claims to continue or even increase in state courts.
The full text of US Supreme Court case can be found here: Transunion v Ramirez.
The Information contained herein is for informational purposes only. Sterling is not a law firm, and none of the information contained in this notice is intended as legal advice. Clients are encouraged to consult with their legal counsel about the impacts of any requirements. This and other important legislative updates can be found on the Sterling website: https://www.sterlingcheck.com/resources/compliance-updates/.
Sterling is not a law firm. This publication is for informational purposes only and nothing contained in it should be construed as legal advice. We expressly disclaim any warranty or responsibility for damages arising out this information. We encourage you to consult with legal counsel regarding your specific needs. We do not undertake any duty to update previously posted materials.
Starting Tuesday, July 13, 2021, Sterling started experiencing some turnaround time delays for Michigan county criminal search requests due to an online source issue. Impacted Michigan counties include Macomb, Oakland and Washtenaw. Turnaround times are expected to be delayed at least 48 hours. We will continue to monitor, and will supply updates as they become available. Thank you for your patience.
As part of Sterling’s ongoing commitment to strengthen our Form I-9/E-Verify offering, we are excited to announce four new feature enhancements in July. Effective immediately, you can take advantage of the following new Form I-9 features and benefits:
To opt-in to new preferences, please contact your dedicated Sterling Client Success representative. Thank you for your continued trust in Sterling!