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Uber and Lyft’s AI Background Check Engine Faces Growing Number of Lawsuits

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When you apply for a job with a big company, it’s not unusual to face a background check. Right now, jobs are scarce, which is causing many to turn to pandemic-proof jobs like delivery services or rideshares. If you’re planning on trying your luck with Uber/Uber Eats or Lyft, beware: The AI background check software they use is extremely flawed. 

If you’ve never heard of it before, Checkr is a San Francisco-based background-check company that has come under fire for making errors that cost people jobs. In fact, they have faced around 80 lawsuits under the Fair Credit Reporting Act since 2015. Plaintiffs have a wide range of accusations: They claim Checkr illegally reported old criminal activity, mistook them with other people, and misreported offenses. One man who was famously exonerated for a murder he didn’t commit was denied work with Uber because his background report had a murder conviction. After he was famously exonerated. 

Just take a look at their reviews on the Better Business Bureau website if you want to get an idea of how cutting costs while conducting background checks can go wrong. There are real workers just trying to get by who are having their accounts canceled over wrong information or information that is illegally obtained, and they are met with a timely cycle of complaints to Uber/Lyft and Checkr that lead to dead ends. 

This is just another example of how the criminal justice system is stacked against you. Once you’re in, it’s difficult to get out. And when there are errors, you will have to encounter a mountain of problems to fix the records and restore your reputation. 

At Easy Expunctions, we’ll do our part to get you on the path to a clean record. We understand the desire to pass a background check with ease and see real opportunity. If you have a charge or arrest that’s eligible for an expunction, there’s no reason not to scrub it from your record. We’ll review your case, determine what can be done, and do it for less than a lawyer would.

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Background Checks

Lawsuit Accuses Bank of America of Racial Bias After False Background Check Information

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In 2017, Delaware resident Willie Gilder applied for a job at Bank of America. He received an offer that was contingent on satisfactory completion of a background check. They submitted his fingerprints to the FBI’s Criminal Justice Information Services Division, which reported that he had a dismissed charge for dealing cocaine. It stated, “No disposition information is on file for this arrest custody.”

Bank of America sent two letters to Gilder. The first contained the criminal history report and stated that he “may be denied a position with Bank of America based on information obtained from the FBI and/or possible additional court research.” The second letter outright told Gilder that he was being denied employment based upon the conviction for dealing cocaine… even though the report from the FBI stated that the charge was dismissed. Gilder also later provided them with further proof that the charge was dismissed. And yet, Gilder says that Bank of America believed that he was convicted on that charge. 

So, where does race come into play? The background check disproportionately affects African Americans because the criminal justice system disproportionately affects African Americans. The way they conducted their background checks carried over disparities in the system. They ruled him out after getting whiff of a charge that he legally cannot be judged for. What’s more, employers should not use an arrest as a reason not to hire someone, as an arrest doesn’t prove someone committed a crime. People are falsely arrested all the time at no fault of their own. 

The complaint alleges that Bank of America “intentionally and wrongfully rescinded his employment offer.” The proposed lawsuit was filed for “violations of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as a result of discriminatory background check policy and practice,” and was filed on behalf of Gilder and other African Americans who had job offers pulled because of Bank of America’s screening policies. 

If you’re sick of running into rejection every time you find a job for which you know you’re qualified, it, unfortunately, may be due to a past run-in with the law. Easy Expunctions offers free background checks so that we can discover if you’re eligible to get an expunction or order of non-disclosure. Reach out to us today to get the ball rolling: (877) 751-4594.

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Criminal Records

MyLife Sued for Luring Customers Into Paying to See Their Own Information

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Another background check company has come under fire, this time for baiting customers into purchasing packages by using false or misleading information.

MyLife is a website that operates by pulling together criminal records and public information on you, then compiling it and generating a “reputation score.” It makes this information available to everyone and promises to offer you “contact info & detailed background reports on anyone”… for a price, of course. It basically baits you into paying for a monthly membership, and while it has information on people you know, it mostly entraps customers by claiming it has personal information on them. 

For Brion Finlay of Minnesota, MyLife’s web page said that “Brion DOES have Arrest or Criminal Records,” and “This may include DUIs, traffic tickets, and outstanding warrants.” Imagine a targeted link that claims to have information about you that you didn’t know about. Of course, you’re going to be tempted to click it, and fork over some cash to make sure it isn’t something serious. The monthly plan MyLife would charge you to see this information costs around $15. 

Finlay filed a class-action lawsuit that claims, “MyLife’s true business appears to be a classic cyber extortion scheme whereby the company posts negative information online in the hope that individuals will ‘claim’ the page… by enrolling in a monthly plan.” His lawyer clarified that he doesn’t have anything on his record other than minor traffic tickets, but MyLife wrongly suggested there was something worse. And as long as it suggested this, it could be harder for Finlay to get a job. 

MyLife currently has 13,777 (and counting) customer complaints via the Better Business Bureau, along with a D rating. They have been sued for inaccurate information and luring people into paying for information. In short, they profit off causing people stress. 

We want to do the opposite. We believe that everyone deserves a second chance, and that a criminal record should not hold you back or determine how successful you can become. If you’re tired of having your criminal record pop up on odd corners of the internet, give us a call. An expunction could rid all records and let you live without the burden of your past.

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