Herbert

BACKGROUND

21 This case was originally filed in the Superior Court for the County of San Diego as 22 a putative class action. Barnes & Noble removed the case to this Court. No class has 23 been certified and it remains an individual action. The action asserts a claim for relief 24 based upon an employer’s technical violation of the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act 25 (“FCRA”), specifically, the stand-alone notice requirement imposed by 15 U.S.C. Section 26 1681b(b)(2)(A)(i). When an employer considers a person applying for a job, and the 27 28 employer wishes to obtain a credit report about the job applicant, the FCRA requires a disclosure be given on a separate page with nothing else on the page.1 According to the undisputed evidence, Hebert applied for a job with Barnes & Noble in the fall of 2018. Barnes & Noble’s FCRA disclosure to Hebert, and 27,000 other job applicants between 2016 and 2018, contained additional language on the disclosure page. Both parties agree the additional language constituted a technical violation of the stand-alone provision of the FCRA. Hebert claims the violation was willful. Barnes & Noble claims it was a…