My question involves labor and employment law for the state of: CALIFORNIA
On October 30, 2012, I was denied employment by a temporary agency in the State of California on the basis of results of a third-party Investigative Consumer Report. That report contained information regarding: (1) a 1995 misdemeanor conviction which I did not disclose on my application based on reliance upon California’s seven-year limitation; and (2) a subsequent 1996 violation of probation charge (failure to pay the fine associated with the 1995 conviction) that was dismissed in 2008; and (3) a 2008 DUI misdemeanor. The temporary assignment was to be a “temp-to-regular” job, and the client company was provided with the results of the report.
Because the 1996 VOP was charged against my probation performance under the 1995 conviction, both charges are reported by the court under the same case number.
I know that, under California law (ICRAA), a criminal conviction cannot be reported in an Investigative Consumer Report if the disposition date of the conviction is more than seven years antecedent to the date of the report. I also understand the legal definition of “disposition date” in criminal cases is the date upon which a ruling is made on a defendant.
If that is true, then it seems unlawful for the ICRA to report the 1995 conviction based on the finding of a subsequent, related VOP charge that was dismissed without conviction – even if the dismissal of that charge has a disposition date within 7 years of the report date.
Does the VOP charge (albeit later dismissed on motion of the court) re-age the original disposition date until that charge is adjudicated (e.g., from 1995 to 2008)? If that charge is subsequently dismissed, shouldn’t the original conviction/disposition date be used for the purposes of investigative consumer reports? Further, is it legal for an ICRA to report either of these charges to a California employer seeking to hire a California worker for a California job?
Further to the legally-prescribed dispute resolution procedure found in ICRAA, what recourse, if any, do I have against the third-party reporting entity and/or the employer? (With the proverbial cat out of the bag, and California’s at-will doctrine in play, I don’t expect this agency to rush back to hire me anytime soon, but I would like to seek both injunctive relief and any monetary damages to which I may be entitled.)

