Dive Brief:
- The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday handed a narrow victory to Spokeo Inc. over the online people-search company's bid to avoid a class action lawsuit for including incorrect information in its database.
- In the case, Spokeo published data that said Thomas Robins, a Virginia resident, was in his 50’s, married, wealthy and held a graduate degree. None of it was accurate. The 29-year-old man filed a lawsuit, claiming the false data damaged him. The Court, in a 6-2 decision, sent the case back to a lower court to decide if Robins actually had suffered "real" harm.
- A legal expert says that when you are in search of information of a prospective employee, you may use the services of Spokeo or similar online credit reporting companies, but inaccuracy could lead to problems, especially if an employee misses out on a job opportunity because of it.
Dive Insight:
Emily Keimig, a partner at the national law firm Sherman & Howard, which specializes in labor and employment, says that employers who might use Spokeo and other companies like it should be careful, particularly when making decisions about matters such as employment, because missing out on the new job will almost certainly illustrate a "concrete harm" to a job seeker.
For now, the positive to come out of the decision for employers, she adds, is defending class action lawsuits. Based on this case, the named plaintiffs representing the class will not be able to avoid the issue Robins confronted. That is, employees looking to file a class action will need to show a “concrete harm” that they themselves suffered.
For employers facing class action litigation from employees or former employees, where the harm alleged has been something short of concrete, the Spokeo decision gives employers another weapon in the arsenal for defending against such claims, Keimig says.