Alan D. Wingfield

Subscribe to Alan D. Wingfield's Posts

On June 10, the New York City Council became the latest governmental body to “ban the box” by prohibiting private employers within the city from inquiring into a job applicant’s criminal history, and instead requiring that criminal background inquiries be deferred until the time of a job offer.  In so doing, New York City joins …

In Moore v. Rite Aid Headquarters, the District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania ruled that the plaintiff had stated a plausible employment adverse action claim under the Fair Credit Reporting Act.  In doing so, the Court’s decision raises questions about a widely accepted safe harbor of mailing pre-adverse and adverse action notices…

A growing avalanche of lawsuits under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act spurred industry groups and businesses, particularly financial services companies, to file more than 20 petitions with the Federal Communications Commission seeking clarifications and interpretations of the TCPA’s requirements.  An announcement by FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler indicates that the Commissioners will be acting on the…

In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s May 18 announcement that it may decide whether a Rule 68 offer of judgment for complete relief moots potential class claims, the Second Circuit issued an amended ruling on May 21 that partially answered that question in the negative, further compounding a split among the federal circuit …

On May 1, the District Court for the Middle District of Alabama issued an order requesting that the parties provide supplemental briefing on the issue of standing in a lawsuit alleging Fair Credit Reporting Act violations.  As we have previously reported on the blog, the Supreme Court recently granted certiorari in the Spokeo case…

In Modica v. Green Tree Servicing, LLC, the Northern District of Illinois limited the scope of what constitutes an Automatic Telephone Dialing System (ATDS) under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.  Judge Zagel found that a system requiring an agent to manually access a consumer’s telephone number from a computer server and then “click” to …

Starting June 1, Alison Kutler will be the new acting chief of the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau, the division of the Federal Communications Commission that oversees the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.  Kutler will replace current acting CGB bureau chief Kris Monteith who will remain at the FCC as deputy chief of the Wireline Competition…

In a pair of recent votes, the House of Representatives supported legislation that would create liability protections for companies that share with the federal government information about cyberthreats.  The bills, H.R. 1560 and H.R. 1731, allow private companies to take defensive cybersecurity measures to protect their rights and property.  They also allow for sharing of…

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is modifying its complaint database so that consumers can post narratives about their experiences with financial service providers.  According to the CFPB’s release, available at http://www.consumerfinance.gov/newsroom/cfpb-finalizes-policy-to-give-consumers-the-opportunity-to-voice-publicly-complaints-about-financial-companies/, the purpose of the database enhancement is to help consumers make informed choices and identify market trends.  But the implementation could result…

On April 13, 2015, a bipartisan group of 34 members of the United States House of Representatives introduced a bill that would repeal a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) bulletin from 2013 challenging a common practice in the indirect auto finance industry where automobile dealers would set interest rates on consumer financings.

The bill, entitled…