“Professional” FCRA complainant has won $230K+ in settlements

Cory Groshek of Green Bay, Wisconsin appears to scour online job offerings to see whether the employers have correctly followed the requirements of the Fair Credit Reporting Act on where and how to disclose that they intend to seek an applicant’s consumer credit reports. “Within a recent 18-month stretch, Groshek applied to 562 jobs, including one at Time Warner Cable. But it doesn’t appear he had any intention of keeping a job long-term. Instead, his aim seems to be to catch companies violating the law during the hiring process, so he can threaten a class-action lawsuit and demand a settlement….So far, Groshek has threatened to sue at least 46 companies that performed a background check on him” and has gotten settlements from about 20. Because Congress made liability for violations more or less automatic whether or not any actual consumers or workers were harmed, judges seldom throw out FCRA class actions, and “several companies across the country have paid out seven-figure settlements” in cases with other plaintiffs. [Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel]

3 Comments

  • How does the Dept. of Labor count this guy in its statistics?

    Is he “unemployed” because of all the job applications filed?

    Or, since he apparently didn’t accept any job, is he among the no longer counted as unemployed because he isn’t looking hard enough category (no longer participating in the labor force)?

    Or, since he made over $230,000 in about 18 months, is he among the top 10% of household incomes?

    • Sole proprietorship.

  • I imagine this racket will come to a screeching halt now that his name is out there and local businesses are aware of what he’s up to. Think about what it would be like for him if he really did need a job.

    We can only hope.