A dental assistant has filed a class-action suit against dental staffing firm Cloud Dentistry claiming that she was a top performer but was suspended based on a background check she never got to see, according to a story published on January 16 in HRD America.
Melissa Helgerod filed a lawsuit on January 14 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. Helgerod claimed that the staffing firm violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) when it suspended her without first being furnished a copy of the background check or informing her of her rights. Helgerod is seeking statutory and punitive damages.
Helgerod, who worked as a dental assistant for Cloud Dentistry from 2022 to 2025, claims that she had a five-star rating on every job placement and was the highest-rated assistant on the firm’s platform in New York. In June 2025, Helgerod claims her Cloud account was suspended, according to the story.
Cloud Dentistry, which is headquartered in Houston, allegedly suspended her because of information found in a background check. However, Helgerod claims Cloud never gave her an opportunity to review the report, which she alleges contains inaccuracies, according to the story.
The FCRA is uncompromising when it comes to employers using background checks to make adverse employment decisions. When a company’s practice is to use consumer reports to make termination decisions, it must provide an employee with a copy of the report and a summary of their rights before any employment determination can legally be made. The law gives employees a chance to dispute any details in a background check before employment is terminated.
Furthermore, Helgerod claims she was unaware of how to obtain a copy of her report until she consulted an attorney, according to the story.
