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 bill is expected to pass the Senate and...more
On March 14, 2024, the Massachusetts House of Representatives passed legislation that would add a new provision to the Massachusetts Consumer Protection law and would bar the use of true credit reports for employment...more
While every employer engages in some due diligence when considering a new hire, if your company routinely, or even occasionally, obtains a “consumer report” as a way to vet candidates, it behooves you to understand the rules...more
How to Hire a Super Hero - An employer subject to the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and state “mini-FCRA” laws, which are generally more restrictive than the FCRA, can obtain investigative consumer reports, i.e.,...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
Puerto Rico has enacted legislation to limit the use of credit reports in making employment decisions. An “Act to Protect Employee’s Credit Information” (PR Act. No. 150 of October 8, 2019) prohibits employers from...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
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
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
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, 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
Effective July 7, 2016, a new City of Philadelphia ordinance will restrict the use of credit checks and credit-related information. With certain exemptions, the ordinance prohibits covered employers in Philadelphia from...more
Beginning July 7, 2016, employers in Philadelphia may not consider credit history or other credit-related information for job-related decisions for many non-managerial jobs. This change stems from an amendment to the Fair...more
On December 14, 2015, the New Jersey Assembly Labor Committee released another bill—A2298—seeking to prohibit most credit checks on employees. Essentially the same as prior bills that failed in the New Jersey legislature...more
Two important New York City laws impacting the hiring process have recently taken effect, requiring immediate action by most City employers. The Fair Chance Act, New York City’s “ban the box” law (“Ban-the-Box Law”),...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
When employers obtain a consumer report for employment purposes, §1681b(b)(3)(A) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (the “FCRA”) requires issuance of a pre-adverse action notice to the subject of the report (the “consumer”) if...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
Background checks can provide California employers with vital information concerning their employees. In order to protect individual privacy rights, however, the California legislature has created two separate laws governing...more
The federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) has recently spawned an unprecedented number of class action complaints against employers for allegedly failing to comply with FCRA’s hyper-technical disclosure and consent...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
The new year is a time for reflection. With that reflection often comes a resolve for change, from small modifications of some old habits to wholesale new beginnings and everything in between. From a business perspective,...more
In 2014, background checks were a hot topic in state and local legislatures. Before this year, only 8 jurisdictions in the country had passed laws preventing private employers from asking job candidates about their criminal...more
Many employers rely on background checks to screen job applicants and employees when making important personnel decisions, including hiring, retention, and promotion. In March, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission...more