RICHMOND, Va. — A Chesapeake-based Dollar Tree is facing a class action lawsuit after a former employee claims the company failed to notify nearly two million people about a data breach.
According to the lawsuit, employees found out two weeks ago about the breach that stole their confidential information back in August via letters in the mail.
The lawsuit was filed by Kenneth Stanley of Richmond, who used to work for the store. On behalf of all employees affected, he accused company executives of knowing about the breach, but purposefully failing to notify employees.
The lawsuit claims hackers on the "dark web" got access to confidential information like names, dates of birth, and social security numbers.
The lawsuit furthers that a data technology company, Zeroed-In, handles this information for Dollar Tree; but on August 8, the company discovered suspicious activity and later found almost two million people who worked for the company had personal information exposed. Stanley said he did not receive notice of the breach until November 27.
The lawsuit states that Dollar Tree can hold onto employees information, even after the employee leaves the company.
Stanley said spam calls and texts increased after the breach, and that Dollar Tree executives willfully, recklessly and negligently disregarded the rights of class members.
Attorneys are suing for three counts, including charges of negligence, breach of implied contract, and unjust enrichment.
We have reached out to Dollar Tree via email, and will update this article with any statements provided.
