Kelchner v. Sycamore Manor Health Center
United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
135 Fed. Appx. 499 (2005)
Sycamore Manor Health Center (defendant) required its employee Lisa Kelchner (plaintiff) to sign an Annual Statement authorizing the company to obtain her consumer credit report in the future, if it became necessary for employment purposes such as investigating theft, fraud, or dishonesty. Kelchner refused to sign, and Sycamore terminated her employment. Kelchner sued, alleging Sycamore violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act by lacking a valid employment purpose for the report, using an improper blanket future-authorization form, and wrongfully firing her for refusing to sign. The district court granted summary judgment for Sycamore, and Kelchner appealed.
Whether, under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, an employer may, as a condition of employment, require an employee to sign an authorization form permitting the employer to obtain the employee's credit report in the future for employment purposes.