What legal rights do I have against HireRight?

Question

I was hired… or so I thought. After weeks of interviews and a written offer, my new employer told me they were pausing my onboarding because of something in my HireRight background check. When I finally got a copy of the report, I couldn’t believe what I was reading. The criminal record listed isn’t mine. The name is close, but the date of birth is different, the county is one I’ve never lived in, and the middle name on the record doesn’t match mine at all. Despite all of that, HireRight attached it to my profile and sent it to my employer as if it belonged to me.

I disputed it right away through HireRight’s portal and uploaded my driver’s license as proof. Their response? ‘Verified.’ No explanation of how they matched me to that record. No acknowledgment that the identifying details don’t line up. Just a form response and a 30-day clock ticking while my offer sits in limbo. HR has been understanding so far, but I know they can’t hold the position indefinitely. Every day that passes feels like another step toward losing this job permanently.

I need to understand what my legal rights are against HireRight, whether I can dispute this again, and whether there is a lawsuit against HireRight I can pursue for the damage their mistake has already caused.

Consumer Attorneys · Accepted Answer

What you are describing is a mixed-file error - a serious violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act. HireRight, as a consumer reporting agency, is legally required under 15 U.S.C. §1681e(b) to follow reasonable procedures to assure maximum possible accuracy when preparing consumer reports. When HireRight attaches another person’s criminal record to your file, even if the name is similar, and sends that report to a prospective employer, it may be violating that standard. A ‘verified’ response that ignores clear mismatches in date of birth, middle name, and county is not a reasonable reinvestigation under 15 U.S.C. §1681i. It is a rubber-stamp, and the FCRA gives you enforceable rights against exactly that kind of conduct.

Here is what you should do right now:

Save everything: the full HireRight report, the employer’s adverse or pre-adverse action notice, all portal correspondence, and your dispute submission and HireRight’s ‘verified’ response.
Submit a second dispute in writing, outside the portal if possible, and attach every piece of identifying documentation that distinguishes you from the person in the record: your government-issued ID, proof of address history, and a written statement identifying the specific mismatches.
Ask your employer in writing for a copy of the adverse action notice and a reasonable timeline so you know how long you have to get a corrected report in front of them.
Contact Consumer Attorneys. We can escalate your dispute, demand the source record and the matching basis HireRight used, and push aggressively for a corrected report to be sent to your employer as quickly as possible.

You should also know that disputing the error and pursuing a lawsuit against HireRight are not mutually exclusive. They are separate rights under the FCRA. If HireRight’s error has already delayed your start date, placed your offer at risk, or caused you financial or emotional harm, you may be entitled to compensation for lost wages, emotional distress, and, in cases of willful misconduct, statutory and punitive damages. Your legal options against HireRight do not disappear because you filed a dispute first. In fact, the way HireRight handles , or mishandles, your reinvestigation often becomes the foundation of the strongest claims. Contact Consumer Attorneys today for a free case evaluation. We work on contingency, which means you pay nothing unless we win.