Walgreens May Owe You $918—What to Know

Walgreens will pay up to $918 to Americans who applied to work at the drugstore chain but were turned down because of background checks as the result of a class action lawsuit settlement.

The payments will be made to people who applied to work at Walgreens between March 30, 2020, and May 17, 2022, and were wrongfully denied on the basis of background reports for which they weren’t given the required notice.

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Walgreens allegedly sent emails notifying applicants that they were being rejected based in whole or in part on a background check, but these failed to comply with the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), according to Top Class Actions. The drugstore chain—the largest in the U.S.—denied any wrongdoing, but ultimately agreed to resolve the FCRA class action lawsuit by paying an undisclosed sum.

Under the terms of the settlement, compensation will be given to “any applicant for employment with Walgreens, who, between March 30, 2020, and May 17, 2022, was rejected from employment due to the results of a criminal background check, and received one or both of the Disposition Emails between the date on which they received a pre-adverse action notice and the date on which they received a final adverse action notice.”

These applicants are eligible to receive $100 from Walgreens even without submitting a claim form. Class members who submit a claim by May 23, the deadline for exclusion and objection, can receive an additional payment of up to $818.28 if they were going to question the pharmacy chain on their rejection or dispute their background check but did not do so because of the email they received. That would bring the compensation up to $918.28.

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The final approval hearing for the settlement is scheduled for July 23, 2024. Those affected by the lawsuit settlement can file a claim through this website.

Newsweek contacted Walgreens for comment by email early on Monday.

If the court approves the settlement, payments will be sent automatically. Applicants affected by the background checks won’t be able to sue Walgreens for claims arising from the same facts alleged in the FCRA class action lawsuit.

If an applicant intends to file another lawsuit against Walgreens about the legal claims in the FCRA class action lawsuit they would have to exclude themselves from the payment by May 23 and they will get no payment. By the same date, applicants can write to the court to object to the terms of the settlement.

The settlement comes as Walgreens is downsizing its operations. In June 2023, the drugstore chain announced the closure of 150 of its locations in the U.S. and 300 locations in the U.K. by August 31, 2024, after reporting lower earnings compared to the same quarter a year earlier.

Walgreens currently operates nearly 9,000 shops in the country.