Passed by a vote of 47-3, the Stop Credit Discrimination in Employment Act bans employers in New York City from using potential employees’ credit histories in making employment decisions. The bill amends the city’s Human Rights Law to make it an unlawful discriminatory practice to request or use an applicant’s consumer credit history in making
Court Holds LinkedIn Reference Searches are Not “Consumer Reports” Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act
In Sweet v. LinkedIn Corporation, a number of job applicants sued the social networking service for alleged violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act based on LinkedIn’s “Reference Search” function. The Court dismissed the complaint at the pleadings stage, holding that the reports were not “consumer reports” and that LinkedIn was not a “consumer
Class Action Lawsuits Challenging FCRA Disclosure Forms Get Multi-District Treatment
On April 9, the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation ordered that three putative nationwide class actions against Michaels Stores Inc. be centralized in New Jersey. The actions accuse Michaels Stores of violating the Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”) by failing to properly notify job applicants that the company would access their credit reports.
Federal
CFPB May Sue PayPal Over its Payment Services
On April 9, PayPal Holdings Inc. (“PayPal”) issued a regulatory filing indicating that it may soon face a lawsuit from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The CFPB is targeting the activities of PayPal’s payments service, which lets consumers buy products before paying for them. In August 2014 and January 2015, the CFPB requested
CFPB Managing Regulatory Counsel Provides Update on Debt Collection Rulemaking
On April 17, Tom Pahl, managing regulatory counsel for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Office of Regulations, spoke at ACA International’s Washington Insights Conference about the CFPB’s debt collection rulemaking. According to Pahl, the CFPB currently is focusing on four debt collection related topics for its proposed rulemaking:
- Communication issues;
- Data integrity and information issues;
Data Breach Bill Passes House Committee
On April 15, the House Energy and Commerce Committee approved the Data Security and Breach Notification Act by a 29-20 vote. The bill, H.R. 1770: The Data Security and Breach Notification Act of 2015, was initially backed by Rep. Peter Welch (D-VT) and Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) but passed along party lines.
The legislation
CFPB Temporarily Suspends Requirement of Quarterly Submission of Card Agreements
On April 15, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a final rule suspending for one year the requirement under the Truth in Lending Act and implemented by Regulation Z that credit card issuers submit their card agreements to the CFPB on a quarterly basis. The CFPB publishes the agreements to a public database on its
Missouri Judge Grants Summary Judgment in Favor of Debt Collector
On April 13, Judge Beth Phillips, a federal judge in the Western District of Missouri, granted summary judgment in favor of Credit World Services, Inc. (“CWS”) in a case filed by a consumer that owed a debt to CWS (full opinion found here). In the lawsuit, Plaintiff alleges that CWS violated the Fair
FACTA Class Action Filed Against Wisconsin Indian Tribe
On April 14, a putative class action was filed in Wisconsin federal court against the Oneida Tribe of Indians of Wisconsin, claiming that they failed to comply with the credit card receipt truncation requirement of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (“FACTA”). According to the named plaintiff, the Oneida Tribe included more than the
Virginia Hops on the “Ban the Box” Wagon for State Employee Hiring
Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe added Virginia to the growing list of states “banning the box” regarding criminal history on state employment applications. Given the growing list of state and even local legislation regarding applicants’ criminal histories, employers must be vigilant to ensure their employment processes comply with these multiple layers of restrictions.
On April 3,