"He said, 'If there was, would you be surprised?' " Hutchinson recalled. "I told him I'd be shocked, and a few minutes later, they fired me for nondisclosure of information."
Through no fault of his own, Hutchinson had fallen victim to what some experts say is a disturbing consequence of background checks - erroneous information gathered by careless or unscrupulous data brokers.
Hutchinson said he repeatedly asked whether he was being fired for the 2002 charges. He said his manager emphatically told him, "No," but refused to tell him why he was being fired. Hutchinson said he never received a copy of his background check or a termination letter from GameStop.
A job sought at Walmart
About the same time, Hutchinson had an interview for an overnight-manager position at a suburban Walmart. After being out of steady work for more than a year, he had planned to work both jobs.
He gave the company permission to do a complete background check and disclosed in writing his misdemeanor convictions, he said.
A week later, Walmart sent him a denial letter and a copy of his background check conducted by General Information Services, a background-screening company based in South Carolina.
That background check said Hutchinson had been convicted in 1996 of felony cocaine possession in Gloucester County, Va., and sentenced to 10 years in prison.
"I have never even been to Gloucester County, Va.," Hutchinson said. "Back then, I was still in high school."
After receiving the report, Hutchinson said, he called GIS to dispute the information.
More than two weeks later, the company cleared his criminal-background check of the false felony-cocaine charge, according to GIS records he received.
