Not following the specific rules set out in the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) will cost First Transit, Inc. a whopping $5.9 million dollars. First Transit is a contract public transit company. Also sued was sister company, First Student, Inc., a contract school bus service company, which was part of the settlement. What did they do wrong? Briefly, they did not follow the three-step process required under the FCRA before rejecting applicants based on a background screening report.

This case and several others,portend a litigious trend on the part of the FTC, EEOC and private practice labor lawyers.