Last week, Missouri’s attorney general proposed reforms to address collection practices that he believes target low-income and minority residents.
Attorney General Chris Koster said he sent a letter to the Missouri Supreme Court’s Commission on Racial and Ethnic Fairness requesting changes in court rules that he said would help prevent unscrupulous collection practices.
“These proposed
On November 20, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau released its eighth semi-annual report.
The principal focus of the report was an articulation of the data collected by the CFPB through consumer complaints, including those from the debt collection industry. According to the report, 30 million consumers currently have accounts in collection, with an average
Section 612 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”) provides consumers with the opportunity for a free disclosure of their file, with certain exceptions, during any 12-month period. For file disclosures for which the FCRA allows consumer reporting agencies to charge, the statute sets the price of these disclosures at $8, subject to a yearly
On November 20, the CFPB once again released its latest rulemaking agenda update. The previous update, issued last May, extended debt collection rulemaking pre-rule activities from April 2015 until December 2015. This latest update extends debt collection pre-rule activities scheduled through February 2016.
In extending the pre-rulemaking period, the CFPB stated as follows:
The
The Federal Trade Commission has announced the topics of the two panels at its upcoming Debt Collection Dialogue in Atlanta. Sam Olens of the Office of the Georgia Attorney General will co-host the event. Earlier Dialogues were held in Buffalo and Dallas. This is the third and final scheduled Dialogue.
The first panel in Atlanta,
On October 2, President Obama announced a new executive order that prevents federal agencies from making job-applicants reveal they have a criminal record as part of his overall criminal justice reform effort. This “ban the box” initiative would prevent federal agencies from asking about an applicant’s criminal history at the initial application stage.
“It is
On October 29, 2015, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) announced the settlement of an enforcement action against two affiliated consumer reporting agencies under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”) based on these companies’ employment background screening practices. The consent order requires these background screeners to pay a total of $13 million in penalties and
On October 22, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray delivered prepared remarks to the Consumer Advisory Board. At the meeting, Cordray discussed arbitration and issues relating to non-English or limited English–speaking consumers.
The issue of arbitration, however, was at the forefront of the discussion. As we previously reported, the CFPB intends
Effective October 27, under the New York City Fair Chance Act, employers can inquire about a potential employee’s criminal record only after a conditional offer of employment is made. The Act further requires that employers provide a written copy of the inquiry, the employer’s analysis, and any supporting documentation to applicants once such a
On September 8, the United States Solicitor General requested leave from the U.S. Supreme Court to participate in oral argument in Spokeo, Inc. v. Robins, as amicus curiae. The Supreme Court granted the United States’ request and will now allow the U.S. to chime in on a threshold constitutional standing issue at oral argument.