Can I sue if a background check company confused me with someone else and I was denied employment?

Question

I didn’t fail the interview. I didn’t misrepresent myself. I met the requirements. The denial didn’t come from anything I did - it came from a background check that attached someone else’s history to my name.

Consumer Attorneys · Accepted Answer

That’s what makes this kind of denial so hard to process. You don’t get a chance to explain before the decision is made. The judgment happens quietly, based on data you didn’t create and never consented to. By the time you learn what went wrong, the job is already gone.
Employment denial caused by a mixed file is one of the most common and strongest claims under the FCRA. You may be able to sue if:

The report included another person’s criminal or background data.
The company failed to properly verify identity.
The error caused financial, professional, or emotional harm.

Compensation in these cases may include lost wages, emotional distress, and, in some situations, punitive damages. The law recognizes that reporting someone else’s record isn’t a harmless mistake - it can derail careers.