Fix Sterling Background Check Errors & Recover Money – All Cost-Free

Unfair or inaccurate reports costing job seekers employment: Know Your Rights

Updated on Author: Sergei Lemberg

Updated on Author: Sergei Lemberg

Want to know how to fix Sterling background check errors and recover money? Sterling Talent Solutions or Sterling Infosystems is one of numerous employment background check agencies you’re likely to face during your job search. Find out who they are, what they do, and what rights you have under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)

What is Sterling Talent Solutions?

Sterling Talent Solutions came to life in June 2016, after SterlingBackcheck and TalentWise merged in January 2016. Sterling Infosystems has 18 offices in eight countries, and boasts that it has more than 3,500 employees servicing 50,000 clients. While the company lists a post office box in Seattle as their address, the Better Business Bureau lists a Manhattan address for their headquarters.

Sterling Infoystems provides virtually every type of screening and background check by using the applicant’s name, birth date and social security number including:

  • Sex offender registry
  • County, state, national, and federal criminal checks
  • County and federal civil checks
  • Global Watchlist Search
  • Driving records
  • National and international employment and education checks
  • Personal and professional references
  • Drug checks
  • Credit checks
  • Social Security number tracing

They also do social media searches. Once an employee is hired, the company does identity and immigration status verifications, employee audits and monitoring, random drug testing, and risk and compliance checks. Sterling Talent Solutions has received accreditation by the National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS).

Have questions? Call us now at 844-685-9200 for a Free Case Evaluation.

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Were You Harmed By False Information or Errors In Your Sterling Infosystems Report?

Whether you get hired or promoted often depends on the information learned from an employment background check. A background check can come in many shapes and sizes. It may be as simple as verifying your social security number. Or it may include a detailed report of your credit and criminal history, or even information gathered from interviews of your friends and neighbors about your character and reputation.

Whatever the scope of the background check, the FCRA sets strict standards for how employers and background check companies get consent for and conduct background checks, and what they can do with the information they find.

If a background check company like Sterling fails to meet those standards, the FCRA gives you rights.

Common Mistakes On Employee Background Checks:

Background checks are susceptible to errors. Individuals who handle public and private data about you can make mistakes and computer systems can also fail to to be accurate. Here are some of the most common causes for inaccurate info showing on your report:

  1. Wrong or incomplete data in original documents
  2. Typos such as number transposition
  3. Copying, filing, and search mistakes
  4. File corruption in computer system
  5. Duplicate information
  6. Outdated negative information
  7. Mistaken identity
  8. Identity theft

What are my Background Check Disclosure and Consent Rights?

A Summary of Your Rights Under the FCRA

You have a right to know if an employer will use information from a background check against you and an employer cannot obtain background check information without your express written consent.

A background check company cannot hand over your information to an employer unless the employer certifies that: (1) it has “clearly and conspicuously” disclosed to you in a separate document that it may obtain a background check; (2) you have authorized it to get the background check; and (3) it will provide you with advance notice of any adverse action based in any part on the background check report, a copy of the report, and a summary of your rights under the FCRA.

What if I get an adverse action notice from an employer after a background check?

If an employer takes “adverse action” against you by denying you a job based partly or completely on information in a background check report, the employer must give you notice of that fact. The adverse action notice must include the contact information for the background check company and an explanation of your rights to dispute the report.

Can criminal convictions appear on my background check after 7 years?

Yes, but a background check company must take reasonable steps to ensure its report is as accurate as possible. The FCRA also puts limits on the negative information a job screening report can include. A report cannot list civil suits, judgments, arrest records, paid tax liens, accounts in collection or most other negative information after 7 years, or bankruptcies after 10 years. It also cannot list expunged convictions. However misdemeanor or felony criminal convictions that go on record and are accurate can stay on your background check indefinitely.

What if I was deactivated or fired because of an accident and it wasn’t my fault?

You may have legal recourse now if you were fired because you were involved in a no fault car accident, thanks to a groundbreaking decision handed down by the United States Court for the Sixth Circuit. The court held that material omissions, such as not reporting the fault of an accident, can be interpreted as inaccurate information under the law.

Can I dispute a false disposition on my background check report?

If you don’t get a job because of information in a background check report, you are entitled to a copy of the report. You also have the right to dispute the report if it has errors or includes information it shouldn’t. If you dispute a report, the background check company must investigate and correct any errors within 30 days.

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Can I Sue Sterling Talent Solutions if my background report includes errors?

If you lost out on a job or promotion because a Sterling Talent Solutions background check report included inaccurate or illegal information, you may be able to sue in federal court. If you sue and win, you will may be entitled to your actual damages or statutory damages up to $1,000, plus punitive damages, attorneys’ fees, and costs.

Complaints Against Sterling Infosystems

Hardworking people just like you who lost job opportunities due to an inaccurate or unfair Sterling background check report have already sued the company for FCRA violations. Justia lists more than 100 federal civil lawsuits against Sterling, including cases that allege violations of the FCRA due to improper employment screening reports.

For example, on March 12, 2018, a consumer sued Sterling Talent Solutions in the federal district court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania for violating the FCRA in connection with an employment background check and that he lost employment opportunities and suffered emotional distress, reputational harm and other damages. The complainant alleged that Sterling prepared a background check for a prospective employer but failed to use reasonable procedures to ensure the maximum accuracy possible of the report as the FCRA requires. According to the complainant, Sterling falsely listed a felony conviction on the complainant’s report when, in fact, an appellate court had overturned the conviction and dismissed it 12 years earlier. The complainant had applied for a job with Lyft, Inc., but Lyft “denied and delayed” employment opportunities and told him this was due to the inaccurate felony conviction information in the Sterling report.

This is just one of at least 7 federal civil FCRA lawsuits filed against Sterling Talent Solutions between January 1 and March 15, 2018 alone. At least 6 of those lawsuits allege that Sterling falsely branded the complainants as convicted felons and caused them to lose job opportunities. Several complainants filed their lawsuits as class action complaints, on behalf of themselves and similarly situated people.

The BBB and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) have also received complaints alleging Sterling Talent Solutions violated the FCRA in connection with employment background checks. Most of these complaints allege that Sterling reports falsely listed felony convictions, included expunged, outdated, or incorrect information, or misidentified the subject of the report. Some complaints also allege that Sterling did not properly handle disputes about inaccurate information.

Actual Complaints Listed on the BBB website

“I filed for lyft and they did a back ground check. I got back the results and it was denied because I was rated a ***** *** *** ******** by sterling talent solution. I’ve never had a *** ***** ********** and was a uber driver and pasted their back ground check which shows some type of error”

“I applied for employment at ******* and a background check was done using the only criteria of my name and birth date by Sterling Talent Solutions. I’ve called the number given to dispute the background check and was told that it will take some time to resolve and in the meantime my employment will be in limbo or I will not have a job.. I’ve lived all my life in NJ except when I was in the military I was station in California, Florida and North Carolina. I asked the representative how they did a background check on me and they did a nationwide search based on name and birthdate I then explained to her that the background check should of been done in NJ since I’m seeking employment here and instead Sterling pulled info out of Oregon. I never lived in that state and I don’t have a middle name (“Anthony”). This individual – Anthony has felony charges and I don’t . Sterling should of used DOB, SS#, name, and license number”

“Sterling ran a Background Check on me on behalf of ********. An “alternate name” came up, which I’ve never heard of. The customer who requested the check saw it and it may have affected her decision to hire me. I’ve called and emailed Sterling several times to find out why the unknown name appeared. When I called, they couldn’t find any report on me. The emails have not answered my question. I finally asked the person sending the emails to please call me 3 times with no response. I don’t know what else to do and am greatly concerned about this. Been trying to get an answer for 2 weeks.”

Contact Information

Sterling Talent Solutions, Inc.
1 State Street Plaza, 24th Floor
New York, NY 10004
Phone Number: 877-424-2457

Ready to Assert Your FCRA Rights?

Fired or Not Hired Because of a Sterling Talent Solutions Background Check? If so, you’re in the right place.

● Our 12-year track record of helping hardworking, regular people just like you speaks for itself. We have the experience, knowledge, and dedication to get you the best results possible.
● We’ve helped more than 25,000 consumers recover more than $50 million.
● We work to restore your reputation and get you the compensation you deserve. You focus on living your life.
● We care because we know what it’s like to lose out on a job because a faceless company didn’t follow the law.
● We will fight hard for you and won’t stop. We are not afraid to stand up to big, powerful companies. That’s what we do.
● It won’t cost you a penny out of pocket – you pay nothing until we win money for you.

Our mission is to fight for your rights. ✊

If you’re ready to assert your rights and fight incorrect information in your background check, we can help you get justice. Complete our form for a FREE case evaluation, or call 844-685-9200 NOW. 

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Sergei Lemberg

About the Author:

Sergei Lemberg is an attorney focusing on consumer law, class actions related to automotive issues, and personal injury litigation. With nearly two decades of experience, his areas of practice include Lemon Law (vehicle defects), Debt Collection Harassment, TCPA (illegal robocalls and texts), Fair Credit Reporting Act, Overtime claims, Personal Injury cases, and Class Actions. He has consistently been recognized as the nation's "most active consumer attorney." In 2020, Mr. Lemberg represented Noah Duguid before the United States Supreme Court in the landmark case Duguid v. Facebook. He is also the author of "Defanging Debt Collectors," a guide that empowers consumers to fight back against debt collectors and prevail, as well as "Lemon Law 101: The Laws That Lemon Dealers Don't Want You to Know."

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19 COMMENTS
  • Debbie

    In August 2021, I was contacted by Rose International about a job opportunity with CitiBank in Tampa, Florida. I received the interview and went in person to get fingerprinting completed. The only thing that stopped me from starting the job was the background check performed by Sterling, stating that they could not call an employer who had a cellphone line (not a landline) sterling REQUIRED a landline to call for verification. They would not send a verification through email, I communicated back in forth verifying that an email was sent, person that I spoke with stated that an email was sent to my employer for verification. However, an email was never sent, therefore employment was not verified. I finally gave up, because Sterling would not do the proper investigation for employment verification. TODAY, I found out that I have been REJECTED for an interview at CITIBANK in Tampa, per an employment agency. The reasoning is that I was offered a job, I DID NOT START THE JOB due to the 1 employer verification not being completed, due to not having a landline, and from Sterling being negligent in not sending a verification of employment email (email was never sent).

  • Bryan Y

    My state under the FCRA states any company doing background checks can only provide 7 years of history. Sterling gave them over 10 years. I was called at 5:10 pm the day before I was supposed to start work after waiting three weeks. I was given all the congratulations and offer letter from Dycom. They said they couldn’t hire me because of withheld judicated felony showed up in 2013. Is there anything I can do living in Florida. The HR lady said it was up to ATT&T and I believe that’s not right for the simple fact I worked 7 years for the federal railroad with no issues.!

  • Samora D

    My husband has now been denied three jobs stating adverse action due to sterling background check results. One job had him wait 2 months and kept pushing back the start date. Stuff like this makes it hard for people to change their life and do better, even when they are trying really hard.

  • Emily H

    I recently had an interview with a company that uses Sterling and through out my whole interview process I was told how great of a candidate I was for the job and when I was given my job offer I was actually offered a better job than the one I applied for. The start date was a month away and that’s a long time with no income but I was excited because this would be the highest paying job I’ve ever had. When my background check came back it said there was two discrepancies that were the title of my positions at the last jobs I had, these were both wrong because it was the right information but that’s not what stopped my employment. I took my drug test that was scheduled through sterling and three weeks later got a phone call saying my sample was invalid. They ran through a couple of questions and when I asked if a medical condition I have could have an impact on the test the person on the phone said yes and that the company would call me to retest. I reached out to the company and did not hear anything back. The next day, two days before my start date that I have been waiting for, I received an email saying because of the drug test they were withdrawing their offer. I am not, nor have I ever been on drugs. I didn’t alter the test or anything like that. I had to empty my pockets and had nothing with me when I took the test so I’m not sure how I could have altered it anyways. So now after waiting over a month to start this job I am now unemployed and worried that this will show up when I try to work at other places. I’m am stressed and concerned about how I’m supposed to support myself when a false drug test can ruin my employment in the blink of an eye.

  • Elizabeth O

    These people are making no attempt in getting my background check completed before my start date. I will loose at least two weeks of compensation because of their mistakes!

  • Elsie C

    I’m waiting on judge to sign my settlement agreement with sterling. Case has been going on for years. No employment, no agencies helping me out. I will never recoup the years lost not building retirement or a future. Let’s not forget about the debt that it has taken for basic living

  • N/A

    The “Verification Specialist” that’s supposed to be doing a check on me for a potential job, is not doing anything but making me run around and spend hours and days collecting on eleven years of information on me. Between 30 emails it seems like she does know how to do her job or what shes doing. Every question I ask her she comes back with “I don’t know” but I’m stressed out running my own background check for her! She’s not even trying to do her job just keeps throwing everything back on me to figure it out and find the information for her! This is one of the worst experiences of my life. She emails me everyday all day to find the information for her!! I will never forget this awful experience or horrible company!

  • J.R

    Sterling reported 14 and 17 year old charges on my background check and I never gave any written consent for the background check.There first response when I called was that they could not verify my schooling. And was hung up on. The second time I called I was told they would open a dispute ,and the next day I was notified by care.com that my profile was closed. Care.com is not an employer. It states very clearly in several places on there web site that they are not responsible for the people that respond to adds placed on there website and they are not any kind of medical provider not do they screen people. So what’s Sterling told me was care.co. is there clients and they requested the check. So I discovered what care.com is doing is selling our background checks to families looking for help for there loved ones for a 49$ and 69$ package. As well on my end they said I should get a check and post it and they offer the same charge to me.
    So the legal issue here is the fact that Sterling is pulling background checks for a company that is not an employer,that is illegal and an invasion of my privacy. As well care.com discriminated against me because of Sterling and is illegally selling my private information as well as violated the frc regulations as well I live in AZ Wich is one of the stated that it is illegal to report anything over 7 years.

  • Zoe S

    I am having issues concerning a background check done by the company with false information causing me to not get a job position. I have contacted all government agencies concerning this accusation and they have deemed it false. I would like to pursue legal action concerning my livelihood.

  • Nicolas j

    For the past few years i have lost countless jobs due to my background “not coming back at all” not that i have charges but i worked at walmart in 2012 and again in 2015 and then shortly after that they increased pay to 13 in my area so i went back and mind you i have no new charges or anything that would show up new since i first worked there 2 times ago. They gave me a start date and all and i had my vest and was ready to work, but they call me saying the background didnt clear all of the sudden after ive turned other jobs down since i was hired here. So recently i bought a house and moved go hired at concentrix to work from home and when my current job found out they let me go. This was ok because i had another job with concentrix that starts oct 2nd, however i started a background check with sterling on the 19th of sept and i called and they said the deadline had been changed 4 times due to 1 county that ive never been to or have no charged or trouble in hasnt reported back, all others have so im waiting on 1 county i have nothing to do with to say im clear. and today i missed a job at Aarons making 14hr because they also use sterling and it hasnt came back yet either. Idk what to do this keeps happening to me and now its worse because before it was my charge of misdemeanor stopping me and now its the report not getting finished at all

  • Tina P

    I was turned down for a job after a background check and have no reason why.

  • Pam

    Can the results of a drug test from 1 background check be used to prevent employment for another job? The sample was 5 ml short and unable to go again in the time allowed, so it was called a “refusal”, I Medication was taken at the time which has a side effect of trouble urinating. The job was denied, I’m concerned that the drug test refusal might show up on future background checks and may affect future opportunities.

  • Rose M

    I need information on the lawsuit v. Sterling Infosystems email me back

  • Jesse K

    I was just told by dish network that Sterling Infosystems found something which cost me a position.i have no felonies or misdemeanors.i have a credit score in the vicinity of 850 and I have been in my house for 15 years.what could they find.

  • Rhonda

    I was offered a job and a couple of days before my start date I recieved a phone call from the employer that I was not able to start due to multiple discrepencies on my background check. I recieved a copy of the background check after I reach back out to the company and found that Sterling Talent Solutions report that I had a criminal conviction on my background when I did not. I review there template and discuss this with them before I was led to file a dispute. During the discussion they referred to a traffic violation as a criminal conviction when it was a traffice violation. I never been arrested which I learn from the county who gave me the ticket four years ago stated this information was not correct so that lead to me to believe Sterling Talent Solutions researchers just pre-maturally add this information on the template that includes information that is the opposite of what in the court records. This has cause me a great amount of emotional distress, reputational harm and other damages. I have turn down other opportunities thinking there was not issue with my background. In addition, 2017 I had to do a background check which this issue was not an alert on my criminal background of course a different company. Sterling Talent Solutions populates there template and convict you all on there own even when you were not convicted in court. It good to know that someone is out here looking out of many of us in similiar situations.

  • Fefe

    I have been turned away from being hired, because of an inaccurate background check given by Sterling Talent Solutions ,and was told not to worry,it has been disputed and can take up to 30 days. Easy for someone to say when they don’t have a false report hanging over their head,and has a secured job.

  • Drew L

    I was offered employment “conditionally” by Resource MFG, pending results of criminal background check. I later received an “adverse action” email from EmployBridge (Resource MFG owner), stating I was ineligible for employment due to information on my background report provided by Sterling Talent Solutions. The email listed a charge that had been expunged and two arrests (listed as convictions) which the charges were dropped pre-trial. I never received a complete copy of the report or the FCRA notice from either EmployBridge/Resource MFG or Sterling Talent Solutions. EmployBridge/Resource did list Sterling Talent Solutions dispute resolution address and telephone number so, I called them and was informed that they would ” investigate” my claim however, I have never heard back from them. It has been months and I have still been unable to secure employment and am very anxious about giving consent to potential employers for additional background checks because I am fearful Sterling may be the company used and the record has not been corrected. I have lost months of wages I could have earned through the initial employment offer which has caused me substantial financial hardship and severe emotional distress. Can you advise me?

  • Amber

    What if they keep me from getting a job before and in the future? I have been disqualified from many potential jobs because of this background check company.

  • Dana H

    My concern is with Steling Talent Solutions. I am in the process of a pre-employment screening and sterling refuses to clear me at this time because of a discrepency on my application. The application I was provided auto populated and for the most part was correct with the exception of my high school. when I attempted to correct my high school information, my internet went down (I was in Afghanistan at the time), and I could not save the information I was trying to add. To mitigate this I sent a pdf file of my high school transcripts directly to sterling and now they seem to have an issue with the transcipts and what is on the application and refuse to clear me for employment. Can i do anything if I lose the job i was granted? Also, I have a signed offer letter of emplyment as well.

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