Connor v. First Student: Investigative Consumer Reporting Agencies Act Is Not Constitutionally Void for Vagueness, and Employee May Maintain Action for Alleged Violations

The Investigative Consumer Reporting Agencies Act (ICRAA) (Cal. Civ. Code, § 1786 et seq.) and the Consumer Credit Reporting Agencies Act (CCRAA) (Cal. Civ. Code § 1785.1 et seq.) regulate agencies that gather information on consumers to provide to employers, landlords, and others for use by those persons in making employment, rental, and other decisions. The ICRAA governs agencies (and those to whom it provides information) with regard to investigative consumer reports, i.e., reports containing information on a consumer's character, general reputation, personal characteristics, or mode of living. The CCRAA governs agencies (and those to whom it provides information) with regard to consumer credit reports, i.e., reports of information bearing on a consumer's credit worthiness, credit standing, or credit capacity. Both acts impose obligations on the agencies regarding disclosure to consumers when the agencies furnish reports, and limit when and to whom those reports may be furnished. The obligations and limitations, however, are different for each act, as are the remedies for violations of the act; generally, the ICRAA imposes greater obligations and stricter limitations, and allows greater remedies.

In Connor v. First Student, Inc. (8/12/15) --- Cal.App.4th ---, the plaintiff sued the defendants for violation of the ICRAA, alleging that the notices they gave to her regarding their intent to conduct background checks failed to comply with the law. The trial court granted summary judgment for the defendants, holding that the ICRAA is unconstitutionally vague in its application. The Court of Appeal reversed, holding as follows: the ICRAA applied to the background checks at issue; the fact that the CCRAA might also apply to those same background checks did not render the ICRAA void for vagueness; and Ortiz v. Lyon Management Group, Inc. (2007) 157 Cal.App.4th 604, holding that the ICRAA was void for vagueness, was wrongly decided because it failed to consider case law governing the interpretation of overlapping statutes.

The opinion is available here.