BLOG

The company was accused of creating advertisements implying that contractors who are listed on their site have been screened.

About The Lawsuit

In March 2018, the San Francisco District Attorney’s office filed a lawsuit against HomeAdvisor. It alleged that the company’s radio and television ads were designed to make consumers believe that all the contractors listed on their site have passed a background check. According to the suit, only the people who own businesses that hire these workers have actually been screened.

The suit called for HomeAdvisor to stop running these ads in California and to pay $2,500 fines for every violation of the Business and Professions Code. The case was heard by a judge in San Francisco.

The Decision

On Monday June 4, the judge ordered HomeAdvisor to stop running these advertisements. He also specified that HomeAdvisor ads can say the owners of businesses they partner with have been screened, but not all the people who work for those businesses.

Representatives from HomeAdvisor announced they will appeal this decision. They issued a statement which said: “This legal matter is solely about how our background-check program is described in our advertising, not the merits of our rigorous background-check process, which leverages leading third-party services in combination with our own proprietary technologies. We disagree with the claims made in this case and have appealed the order. We continue to ensure that our advertising remains fair and accurate. We encourage all of our customers to learn more about HomeAdvisor’s background-check process by visiting: www.homeadvisor.com/ screening.”

San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón, who initiated the lawsuit, was pleased with the outcome. He felt the HomeAdvisor ads were intentionally misleading and could cause California consumers to allow contractors who have not been screened into their homes. Gascón issued a statement which read: “HomeAdvisor needs to be honest about who they background-check, so that consumers are well-informed when deciding whether to allow strangers into their homes.”

Transparent Screening

At Backgrounds Online we strongly believe in the importance of following fair and transparent screening policies. This case provides a good example of why that is crucial. When consumers utilize the services of a business, they assume the company has performed due diligence and taken steps to help ensure their safety. A big part of this involves screening applicants and running annual screenings on employees. This is especially critical for contractors who will enter a person’s home, provide rideshare services or have access to sensitive data.

Is your business doing everything possible to create a safe work environment, protect the public and earn the trust of your customers? Are you screening applicants before making job offers? Do you run annual criminal searches on your existing employees? Background checks are small investments that help protect the public, your reputation and the future of your business.

If you have questions about whether or not your screening practices are sufficient, please contact us for assistance. Our team is highly educated on how to develop custom screening packages to accommodate any industry. We are available to help you Monday through Friday from 5am to 5pm Pacific Time.