Man sues after false background check

John Shelby is trying to clear his name after being wrongly declared as a felon on background checks for 13 years. Over a decade ago, after being offered a job to run three casino bars, that offer was revoked when a background check showed he was a felon, and he was supposed to be in the city jail. “I had no idea what was in store for me,” said Shelby, who lives in Chesapeake. Shelby claims police in El Paso negligently linked his name to someone else’s criminal record in 1997 when that man gave Shelby’s name as his own. That record pops up when prospective employers run background checks on Shelby, limiting or killing his chances at securing a job. And that, Shelby argues, violates his civil rights by invading his privacy and ruining his ability to make a living. After Shelby lost the casino job, police at first told him the problem was “cleared up ” and gave him a letter stating so. But the erroneous record lived on in various databases that background-check companies use. Shelby’s name remained listed as an alias for the other man. To try and repair the damage of the last 13 years, Shelby has a $7.5 million federal lawsuit pending against the city of El Paso. At an initial hearing in Texas on Friday, a judge allowed the case to continue and ordered the parties to develop a trial schedule, said Stephen Casey, Shelby’s Austin, Texas-based lawyer and Regent University law graduate. It is unfortunate that one mistake has caused an individual so much harm, and Shelby deserves the situation to be put right. Nonetheless, we ought to look at the larger picture here – background checks are in place for a reason, and they most certainly do more good than harm. We shouldn’t let one human error cloud our judgement. Let us make right this mistake and move forward.]]>