I recently was turned down from a job because of a bogus background check. It said that I have a marijuana charge as well as a dwi. How can something like that happen but more importantly how do I fix it. I live in Texas

You ask the job where they got the information then contact the agency to correct the information.

I wish I had more answers for you, but I recently heard on NPR that a class action suit has been initiated against a company for providing bogus background checks. If I remember correctly, if there were multiple persons with the name--Jim Smith for example--the background checking company would return any names that appeared, even if it wasn't you.

First, I would speak with a lawyer. If you cannot afford a lawyer, try googling "free legal aid in (insert your city/county)." If you cannot get a lawyer, you should contact the company where you applied and ask for the name of the company conducting background checks. Then you should contact the better business bureau or a state agency that may be able to assist you with this. Write you congress man if you have to. Seriously, this is bs, and the company should not get away with this!

You should also contact the company to which you applied to see if there is any way of getting the position if you can show that the background check was incorrect. In the future, be sure to submit applications with your full name, including middle.

And I would really try to contact a lawyer because you might have a claim against this background checking company. I'm so sorry this happened to you. Total bs!