What is adverse action in HireRight reports?

Question

I got a job offer last month, signed everything, and was two weeks from my start date. Then HR goes quiet, and I get this letter saying they're withdrawing the offer because of something on my HireRight background check. I pulled the report and it shows a disorderly conduct charge listed as a misdemeanor. It was not a misdemeanor. I have the paperwork from the court right here — it was an infraction, basically a step above a parking ticket. I sent HireRight the actual court document and disputed it. Two days later they email me saying it's "verified" and they're keeping it on the report. Two days. They didn't call the court. They didn't explain anything. The offer is gone, I already gave notice at my old job, and now I'm sitting here not knowing what to do next.

Consumer Attorneys · Accepted Answer

What you are describing is a textbook HireRight adverse action violation under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). Misclassifying a charge level, reporting an infraction as a misdemeanor, is not a minor clerical error. It is a failure to maintain "maximum possible accuracy" as required by 15 U.S.C. § 1681e(b). When HireRight then completed its reinvestigation in under 48 hours without meaningfully reviewing the court disposition you provided, that superficial rubber-stamp response compounds the violation under 15 U.S.C. § 1681i. The FCRA also requires that before an employer takes adverse action hireright based on a consumer report, you must receive a pre-adverse action notice with a copy of the report and a reasonable window to dispute it. If that process was rushed or bypassed while your dispute was still open, there may be an additional procedural violation layered on top.

Here is what to do right now:

Save the full HireRight report, the adverse action notice, and any pre-adverse action notice you received.
Preserve your court disposition document showing the infraction classification alongside the report showing "misdemeanor.
Document the dispute timeline: when you submitted it, what you uploaded, and HireRight's turnaround time and response.
Note any emails, offer letters, or messages from the employer regarding the rescinded position.

If HireRight misclassified the charge that triggered your adverse action notice, and then failed to conduct a genuine reinvestigation, you may have a claim for lost wages, emotional distress, and statutory or punitive damages. Contact Consumer Attorneys today for a free case evaluation. We work on contingency, which means you pay nothing unless we win.