On April 6, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced its next Community Bank Advisory Council meeting, which will be held at 3:00 p.m. EDT on April 22 in the CFPB’s offices at 1275 First Street, N.E., in Washington, D.C. The meeting will focus on credit scores and consumer reporting as well as implications for small
District Court Grants Motion to Dismiss FCRA Challenge to Defendant’s Background Screening Disclosure Form
A federal district court in the Northern District of California recently dismissed a lawsuit filed against Paramount Pictures Corporation challenging its alleged failure to provide job applicants with a background check disclosure form that “consisted solely of the disclosure,” as required by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”). Specifically, in addition to making the disclosure
The Office of the Solicitor General Urges the Supreme Court to Reject Spokeo Appeal Challenging “Statutory Damages” Standing Under Article III
Last week, the Office of the Solicitor General urged the U.S. Supreme Court via amicus brief to deny Spokeo Inc.’s appeal of a Ninth Circuit decision that revived a Virginia man’s proposed class action accusing the “people search engine” of publishing false information about him.
The Solicitor General said Spokeo’s petition for a writ of
CFPB’s Winter 2015 Supervisory Highlights Report Provides a Roadmap to Compliance
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau recently issued its Winter 2015 Supervisory Highlights report which provides an overview of the supervision work completed by the CFPB from July through December 2014. Matters resolved by the CFPB’s Supervision side are non-public in nature and are resolved, not generally through the payment of large fines and penalties, but
Credit Reporting Agencies Announce Consumer Assistance Plan in Agreement with New York Attorney General
The nation’s three leading Credit Reporting Agencies (“CRAs”) – Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion – announced on March 9 a National Consumer Assistance Plan that will enhance their ability to collect consumer information that is as complete and accurate as possible and will provide consumers more transparency and a better experience interacting with CRAs about their
Multiple Bills to Reform CFPB Again Pending in House of Representatives
Following up on the failure in 2014 to implement changes to the CFPB through legislative action, on March 5, U.S. Rep. Sean Duffy (R-Wis.) reintroduced a package of bills seeking to make changes to the CFPB’s leadership structure, how data is collected from consumers, and more.
Representative Duffy is the Chairman of the House Financial
Did You Hear That? CFPB Report to Congress Sounds Death Knell for Arbitration Clauses
As anticipated, yesterday the CFPB announced the release of its report to Congress following the CFPB’s study of arbitration agreements in connection with offering or providing consumer financial products or services. According to the CFPB, the study’s results “indicat[e] that arbitration agreements restrict consumers’ relief for disputes with financial service providers by limiting class
Court Rejects Proposed Class Action Notice Plan Involving Untargeted Social Media Notification to Class Members
On March 5, a judge in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York rejected a plaintiff’s proposal to notify proposed class members of a Fair Labor Standards Act lawsuit filed by a group of former interns against Gawker via various social media platforms, including Reddit and Tumblr pages, LinkedIn, and
White House Proposes Data Security Legislation
On February 27, the White House proposed a bill that would provide consumers with a “Privacy Bill of Rights” as well as provide an enforcement mechanism for data breach enforcement actions by the FTC and state attorneys general. The language used is similar to a proposal by the administration in 2012 which failed to gain
CFPB Director Cordray Speaks to Consumer Advisory Board About Regulating Credit Reporting Industry
On February 19, Richard Cordray, Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, addressed the agency’s Consumer Advisory Board. In this speech, he highlighted the CFPB’s ongoing oversight of the credit reporting industry. He noted first that the three biggest credit reporting agencies maintain files on over 200 million consumers. These credit reports and scores