1. Why is there a notice?
A court ordered that this notice be provided because you have a right to know about the proposed Settlement of this class action lawsuit and its effect on you.
This notice explains the lawsuit, the Settlement, and your legal rights.
Judge Michael Simon, of the United States District Court for the District of Oregon, is overseeing this case,
Magallon v. Robert Half International, Inc., Case No. 6:13-cv-01478-SI (D. Or.). The person who sued—Bonnie Magallon—is the Plaintiff. RHI is the Defendant.
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2. What is this litigation about?
The lawsuit claims that RHI had a practice of taking adverse action against applicants for employment without first providing the applicant a copy of the
pertinent background check (also known as a “consumer report”) and a written description of their rights under the FCRA, as required by section 1681b(b)(3) of the FCRA.
You can review the complaint in this lawsuit here. RHI has asserted that it provided all notices and disclosures
required by law, and provided candidates a meaningful opportunity to dispute negative information before any decision was made regarding their application
or employment. The Court has not decided which side is right.
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3. Why is this a class action?
In a class action, one or more people called Class Representatives (in this case, Plaintiff) sue on behalf of themselves and other people with similar claims.
Together, all the people with similar claims are members of a Class.
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4. Why is there a Settlement?
The Court has not decided in favor of either Plaintiff or RHI (together, the “Parties”). Instead, the two sides have agreed to a Settlement.
In doing so, the Parties avoid the costs and uncertainty of litigation and a trial, and Settlement Class Members receive the benefits described
in this notice. The proposed Settlement does not mean that any law was broken or that RHI did anything wrong. RHI denies all claims in this case.
The Class Representative and her lawyers believe the proposed Settlement is in the best interests of Settlement Class Members.
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If you received notice of the Settlement from a notice or email addressed to you, then you are on the list of people that the Court determined, based upon RHI’s
records covering August 22, 2008 through November 30, 2017, are members of the Class. All Settlement Class Members applied for temporary placement through RHI
(or a division of RHI such as “OfficeTeam”) and RHI received a background check about them for employment purposes from General Information Services, Inc.
between August 2008 and November 2017. The report included a “red flag” or a “yellow flag” because of information contained in the report.
The Court decided that RHI determined each class member was “not placeable” because of the background report. The Class does not include
anyone who applied to RHI in June 2012 or later, signed the arbitration agreement acknowledgement form,
and did not opt out of the arbitration agreement within 30 days.
5. What if I am not sure whether I am included in the Settlement?
If you are not sure whether you are in the Settlement Class, or have any other questions about the Settlement, call the toll-free number, (833) 215-9289 or
send questions to the Settlement Administrator at Magallon v. Robert Half International, c/o Settlement Administrator, P.O. Box 16, West Point, PA 19486.
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6. What does the Settlement provide?
If the Court approves the Settlement and it becomes final, RHI will pay $955.95 to each Settlement Class Member, $30,000 to cover the
costs of class notice and administration, $15,000 to Plaintiff Bonnie Magallon as a service award and individual settlement,
and attorneys’ fees, costs, and litigation expenses as awarded by the Court.
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7. How much will my payment be?
Each Settlement Class Member will receive a check for $955.95.
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8. When will I receive my payment?
Settlement Class Members do not need to do anything to receive the cash awards under the Settlement. If the Court approves the Settlement and it becomes final,
then a check will automatically be sent by mail to the address you maintained with RHI.
Please go here to confirm your mailing address for delivery of your check.
Payments will be sent only after the Court grants final approval to the Settlement and after any appeals are resolved (see “The Final Approval Hearing” below).
If there are appeals, resolving them can take time. Please be patient.
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9. What am I giving up if I participate in the Settlement?
If the Settlement receives Final Approval from the Court, every Settlement Class Member, each on behalf of himself, herself, or itself, and on behalf of
his, her, or its respective heirs, executors, assigns, beneficiaries, predecessors, and successors, and any person or entity claiming under them
(collectively, “Releasing Parties”), shall automatically be deemed to have fully and irrevocably released and forever discharged RHI and its parents,
direct and indirect subsidiaries, agents, insurers, and any company or companies under common control with any of them, and each of their
respective predecessors, successors and assigns, past and present officers, directors, managers, employees, agents, servants, accountants, attorneys,
advisors, shareholders, members, insurers, representatives, partners, vendors, issuers, or anyone acting on their behalf, but not any consumer
reporting agency or third party that provided background information about any Class Member to RHI (collectively, “Releasees”), of any and all
legal or equitable claims that were or could have been asserted in the Action relating in any way to RHI’s alleged failure to comply with FCRA
section 1681b(b)(3) (“Released Claims”). Section XV of the Settlement Agreement describes the legal claims that you give up if you remain in the Settlement.
The Settlement Agreement is available here.
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If you don’t want benefits from the Settlement, and you want to keep the right to sue RHI on your own about the claims in this
case or any other Released Claims, then you must take steps to opt out of the Settlement. This is called excluding yourself—or
it is sometimes referred to as “opting out” of the Settlement.
10. How do I exclude myself from the Settlement?
To exclude yourself from the Settlement, you must submit a statement with the following information:
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The name of this Action (Magallon v. Robert Half International, Inc., Case No. 6:13-cv-01478-SI (D. Or.));
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Your full name, address, e-mail address, and telephone number;
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The identity of the counsel representing you in this Action, if any;
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A statement that you want to be excluded from the Settlement in this Action;
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Your signature and date of execution.
You must submit your exclusion request no later than April 9, 2025 to Magallon v. Robert Half International, c/o Settlement Administrator, P.O. Box 16, West Point, PA 19486.
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11. If I do not exclude myself, can I sue RHI for the same thing later?
No. If you do not exclude yourself, you will give up the right to sue RHI for the claims that the Settlement resolves.
You must exclude yourself from the Settlement Class if you want to pursue your own lawsuit.
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12. If I exclude myself, can I still get a payment?
No. You will not receive a payment if you exclude yourself from the Settlement.
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13. Do I have a lawyer in the case?
The Court has appointed counsel to represent you and others in the Settlement Class as “Class Counsel”:
John Soumilas
James A. Francis
Lauren KW Brennan
FRANCIS MAILMAN SOUMILAS, P.C.
1600 Market Street, Suite 2510
Philadelphia, PA 19103
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Robert S. Sola
Robert S. Sola, P.C.
1500 SW First Avenue
Suite 800
Portland OR 97201
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Class Counsel will represent you and others in the Settlement Class. You will not be charged for these counsel. If you want to be represented
by your own lawyer, you may hire one at your own expense.
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14. How will the lawyers be paid?
The Parties have agreed that RHI will pay Class Counsel attorneys’ fees, costs and expenses approved by the Court pursuant to the FCRA. Class Counsel will ask
the Court to approve an award of attorneys’ fees, costs, and litigation expenses. Class Counsel will file their motion seeking attorneys’ fees and expenses
by January 24, 2025. That motion will be available on this website by January 25, 2025. The Court will review Class Counsel’s
request and determine the amount of fees and expenses to award.
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You can tell the Court that you do not agree with the Settlement or some part of it.
15. How do I tell the Court if I do not like the Settlement?
If you are a member of the Settlement Class, you can object to any part of the Settlement, the Settlement as a whole, and/or Class Counsel’s request for
attorneys’ fees and expenses. To object, you must either submit your objection on the case docket using the CM/ECF electronic filing system, or submit a
letter to the Court at the following address:
Clerk of Court
U.S. DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF OREGON
Mark O. Hatfield United States Courthouse
1000 Southwest Third Avenue
Portland, Oregon 97204-2944
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Your objection must be submitted on or before April 9, 2025, and must include:
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The name of this Action Magallon v. Robert Half International, Inc., Case No. 6:13-cv-01478-SI (D. Or.);
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Your full name, address, e-mail address, and telephone number;
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All grounds for the objection, accompanied by any legal support for the objection known to you or your counsel;
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The identity of all counsel who represent you in this matter, including any former or current counsel who may be entitled to compensation for any reason related to the objection to the Settlement or fee application;
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The number of times you have objected to a class action settlement in the past five (5) years, including the caption of each case in which you made such objection;
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If applicable, the number of times your counsel or your counsel’s law firm have objected to a class action settlement in the past five (5) years, including the caption of each case in which you made such objection;
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Whether you intend to appear and/or testify, or counsel representing you intends to appear, at the hearing that the Court has scheduled to determine whether to grant final approval of the Settlement and Class Counsel’s request for attorneys’ fees (the “Final Approval Hearing”);
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The identity of all counsel representing you who will appear at the Final Approval Hearing;
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A list of all persons who you or your counsel will call to testify at the Final Approval Hearing in support of the objection; and
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Your signature (an attorney’s signature is not sufficient).
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The Court will hold a Final Approval Hearing to decide whether to approve the Settlement and whether to approve Class Counsel’s request for attorneys’ fees and expenses.
You may attend and you may ask to speak, but you don’t have to do so.
16. When and where will the Court decide whether to approve the Settlement?
The Court has scheduled a Final Approval Hearing on May 7, 2025 at 1:30 p.m. at the Mark O. Hatfield United States Courthouse, 1000 Southwest Third Avenue, Portland, Oregon 97204-2944.
The hearing may be virtual or moved to a different date or time without additional notice, so it is a good idea to check this website for updates.
At this hearing, the Court will consider whether the Settlement is fair, reasonable, and adequate. The Court will also consider any
requests by Class Counsel for attorneys’ fees and expenses. If there are objections, the Court will consider them at the hearing.
After the hearing, the Court will decide whether to approve the Settlement, the request for attorneys’ fees and expenses.
We do not know how long these decisions will take.
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17. Do I have to attend the hearing?
No. Class Counsel will answer any questions the Court may have. But you may attend the hearing at your own expense. If you send an objection,
you don’t have to come to Court to talk about it. As long as you submit your written objection on time and it complies with the requirements set
forth in Question 15 above and in Section X of the Settlement Agreement, the Court will consider it. You may also pay your own lawyer to attend,
but it is not necessary.
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18. May I speak at the hearing?
You may ask the Court for permission to speak at the Final Approval Hearing. To do so, you must submit an objection that complies with the requirements set forth in
Question 15 above and send a letter saying that you intend to appear and wish to be heard.
Your notice of intention to appear must include the following:
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Your full name, address, and telephone number;
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A statement that this is your “Notice of Intention to Appear” at the Final Approval Hearing for Settlement in
Magallon v. Robert Half International, Inc., Case No. 6:13-cv-01478-SI (D. Or.);
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The reasons you wish to be heard;
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Copies of any papers, exhibits, or other evidence or information that is to be presented to the Court at the Final Approval Hearing; and
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Your signature (an attorney’s signature is not sufficient).
You must submit your Notice of Intention to Appear so that it is received no later than April 9, 2025, to the address in Question 15 above.
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19. What happens if I do nothing at all?
If you do nothing, you will receive the benefits to which you are entitled under this Settlement.
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20. How do I get more information?
This notice summarizes the proposed Settlement. More details are in the Settlement Agreement. You can obtain the complete Settlement Agreement here.
You also may write with questions to the Settlement Administrator at Magallon v. Robert Half International, c/o Settlement Administrator, P.O. Box 16,
West Point, PA 19486, or call the toll-free number, (833) 215-9289. Please do not contact RHI or the Court for information.
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