On March 14, 2024, the Massachusetts House of Representatives passed legislation that would prohibit employers from obtaining or using a true credit report for employment purposes. The proposed law, which includes only...more
On January 20, 2021, Mayor Jim Kenney signed legislation amending the Philadelphia Fair Practices Ordinance, which prohibits covered employers from procuring, considering, or otherwise using a job applicant’s or employee’s...more
An amendment to the City of Philadelphia’s ordinance that restricts the use of credit checks and credit-related information in the hiring, promotion, discipline, or discharge process adds law enforcement agencies and...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: On December 3, 2019, the Appellate Court of Illinois affirmed summary judgment in favor of a public utility company that considered credit checks for individuals applying for a customer service...more
New federal restrictions on hiring practices could be around the corner. Last month, the U.S. House Committee on Financial Services passed a bill titled “Restricting the Use of Credit Checks for Employment Decisions Act”...more
California state and local legislation has made the employment application and interview process nearly as nerve-wracking for employers as it is for prospective candidates. From salary history to criminal history, topics once...more
The federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) provides protections for persons subject to “consumer reports” provided by third parties, including criminal background and credit checks mandated by employers. The employee or...more
Employers which use background checks in their hiring process without obtaining written authorization may wish to review their practices. The California Supreme Court has rejected an argument that employers could not...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Over the past few years, restrictions regarding the use of credit checks by employers on applicants and employees have been passed at various state and municipal levels, and the federal government has...more
The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals has become the second federal court of appeals to weigh in on an important legal issue for employers in defending against expensive, increasingly common Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)...more
1: Accommodation in the Workplace - OVERVIEW - Employers have a duty to accommodate employees’ needs based on those grounds protected under federal and provincial human rights legislation. All employers are required...more
Credit information is often one component of a comprehensive employment background check. As we have previously reported, employers utilizing background checks performed by a credit reporting agency are subject to a number of...more
On April 7, 2017, the D.C. Fair Credit in Employment Amendment Act of 2016 (the “Act”) (L21-0256) took effect as Congress’s review period expired. As we have previously reported, the Act amends the D.C. Human Rights Act to...more
On February 15, 2017, Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser signed into law the District of Columbia’s Fair Credit in Employment Amendment Act of 2016 (FCEAA). This Act, which amends the District’s Human Rights Act of 1977,...more
On February 15, 2017, District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser signed a bill prohibiting, with limited exceptions, employers’ use of or obtaining a job applicant's or employee's credit information for employment purposes. ...more
The D.C. City Council recently passed the Fair Credit in Employment Amendment Act (“the Act”), which now strictly limits an employer’s ability to inquire into an applicant’s credit history as a basis for a hiring decision. ...more
Last week, the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) was hit with a class action alleging violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) for not sufficiently notifying job applicants of its use of...more
We were pleased to host a program on September 28, 2015 on New York City’s two new background check laws, the Stop Credit Discrimination in Employment Act and the Fair Chance Act. Paul Keefe, Supervising Attorney at the NYC...more
With the New York City “Stop Credit Discrimination in Employment Act” now in effect (as of September 3, 2015), the City Commission has just released guidelines for some ambiguous points in the law. We first wrote about the...more
If you read one thing... - Two new employment statutes place additional burden on New York City firms during prospective employee screening and provide fodder for the plaintiffs’ bar - Credit history and...more
Last week, the Stop Credit Discrimination in Employment Act became effective. It amended the New York City Human Rights Law to prohibit most employers from making employment decisions based on an employee or applicant’s...more
The Commission’s guide outlines narrow interpretation and recordkeeping requirements for employers seeking exemptions to the SCDEA, as well as guidance on enforcement and penalties for SCDEA violations....more
Has your company decided yet whether it will conduct criminal background or credit checks? If you are already using that tool as part of your job screening process, are you keeping up with legal developments in every city,...more
Following a vote by the New York City Council on April 16 and a May 6 hearing held by Mayor Bill de Blasio, the Mayor yesterday signed a local law that limits the ability of employers in New York City to request...more
On April 16, 2015, the New York City Council (the “Council”) passed a bill (Int. 0261-2014) prohibiting employers from requesting or using the consumer credit history of an employee or job applicant when making employment...more