Earlier this month, the New York City Commission on Human Rights provided enforcement guidance on the Stop Credit Discrimination in Employment Act (SCDEA). The SCDEA took effect on September 3, 2015, and restricts employers from requesting or using applicants’ and employees’ credit history when making employment decisions. The Commission referred to SCDEA as
FDIC Obtains $64 Million Penalty Against Comenity Bank for Credit Card Add-Ons
On September 8, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation announced that it had ordered Comenity LLC to pay nearly $64 million in civil money penalties and restitution for alleged deceptive advertising and marketing of credit card add-ons, in violation of Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act. Comenity LLC manages credit card programs for several
FTC Changes Location and Re-Opens Registration for its Second Debt Collection Dialogue in Dallas
The FTC announced it has changed the location and has re-opened registration for its second “Debt Collection Dialogue” in Dallas. The September 29 event is now going to take place at Southern Methodist University’s Dedman School of Law. Pre-registration, which originally closed on August 13, was re-opened for this larger event.
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Oneida Tribe Wins Dismissal of FACTA Class Action on Sovereignty Grounds
On September 4, the Oneida Tribe of Indians of Wisconsin won dismissal of a putative class action alleging that it printed expiration dates and more than the last five digits of credit cards on receipts at its retail stores. In Jeremy Meyers, et al. v. Oneida Tribe of Indians of Wisconsin (Civil Action No. 1:15-cv-00445,
Trade Groups’ Comment Letters Urge CFPB to Fix Complaint Database Before Trying to Normalize Data
In response to the CFPB’s request for information (RFI) regarding “best practices” for normalizing the data in the Consumer Complaint Database, issued on June 30, 2015, the American Bankers Association (ABA) submitted a comment letter that argues any efforts made by the CFPB to “normalize” data in its consumer complaints database – that is,
FCC Continues to Expand Its TCPA Reach with E-Faxes
On August 28, the Federal Communications Commission issued a declaratory ruling holding that electronic faxes or “e-faxes” are covered by the Telephone Consumer Protection Act and the Junk Fax Protection Act. E-faxes are communications that originate as a fax, but are converted to electronic files during transmission and received as attachments to emails. This ruling
California Federal Court Deals with Statute of Limitations for FCRA Claims in Background Screening Claims
In June, a former employee filed a class action complaint against Kohl’s Department Stores alleging violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and California’s Investigative Consumer Reporting Agencies Act (ICRAA) and Consumer Credit Reporting Agencies Act (CCRAA). Kohl’s filed a motion to dismiss, arguing that the claims were time-barred under the FCRA’s two-year
11th Circuit Holds Providing Number Equals Consent Under TCPA
In Murphy v. DCI Biologicals Orlando LLC, No. 14-10414, 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 14632 (11th Cir. Aug. 20, 2015), the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a district court’s dismissal of a proposed class action under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, holding that the plaintiff consented to receive text messages when he provided his
Illinois Federal Court Holds Statements in Legal Pleadings Can Potentially Violate FDCPA
On August 4, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois held that legal pleadings can violate the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.
In Marquez, et al. v. Weinstein, Pinson, P.S., et al., the plaintiffs argued that a law firm and its client violated § 1692e of the FDCPA by including
Snapshot Reveals Numbers and Trends of Consumer Credit Reporting Complaints to CFPB
On August 25, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau released its monthly consumer complaint snapshot, which included a focus on complaints regarding credit reporting. According to the snapshot, the CFPB has handled 105,000 credit reporting complaints, making them the third most popular type of complaint received by the CFPB. The CFPB received nearly 7,000 credit