On December 23, New York Governor Hochul signed into law Assembly Bill A6328A amending New York Executive Law § 292, known as the New York State Human Rights Law, to add citizenship and immigration status to the list of covered protected characteristics. Among other things, the new law expressly prohibits discrimination against any applicants for
On January 4, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued its 2022 Fall Rulemaking Agenda containing pre-rule, proposed rule, and final rules under consideration. The CFPB releases regulatory agendas twice a year in voluntary conjunction with a broader initiative led by the Office of Budget and Management to publish a Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory actions across the federal government. In the preamble to the Federal Register notice, the CFPB states that the information is current as of September 30, 2022 and identifies regulatory matters the CFPB “reasonably anticipates” having under consideration during the period from December 1, 2022, to November 30, 2023. The CFPB has not yet posted a blog or issued a press release about the agenda.
On January 4, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser announced that his office had reached settlements with Bellco and Canvas credit unions which will provide $4 million in refunds of unearned guaranteed automobile protection (GAP) premiums to consumers that the credit unions failed to provide previously. In June 2022, we posted here about the five prior settlements reached by the state AG over GAP refunds. Based on the AG’s comments in the press release, we expect continued scrutiny in this area. “When hardworking Coloradans pay for GAP coverage, they deserve to receive what they are owed … My office will continue to hold accountable companies that violate the law and leave Coloradans without the money they were due.”
On January 3, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released its annual report detailing what it characterized as “improvements and deficiencies” in the nationwide consumer reporting agencies’ (NCRAs) responses to complaints. The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) requires the CFPB to submit this annual report to Congress. While in last year’s report, the CFPB said
On January 3, The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (the Agencies) issued a joint statement to banking organizations highlighting a number of risks associated with crypto-assets.
While the Agencies expressly state that “banking organizations are neither prohibited nor
On December 27, the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs (the Division) entered a consent order with Yellowstone Capital LLC (Yellowstone) and several related companies to resolve allegations that, in violation of the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act, the company engaged in abusive lending practices in connection with Merchant Cash Advances to small business owners (MCAs). Pursuant to the settlement, Yellowstone must forgive all outstanding balances for customers who entered MCAs, which is estimated to be approximately $21.7 million, and pay more than $5.6 million to the Division for purposes that may include, restitution, attorneys’ fees, costs of investigation and litigation and costs of administering restitution, and penalties up to $250,000. The order also imposes additional requirements regarding Yellowstone’s agreements and collections activity discussed below.
The attorney general of Massachusetts reached a settlement with a payment processing company that allegedly assisted a debt settlement company engaged in charging consumers premature and inflated fees.
In 2021, debt settlement company DMB Financial LLC entered into settlements with the Massachusetts AG and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) over claims that it engaged
As discussed here, on May 20, California’s Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI or Department) announced that it had filed a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking with the Office of Administrative Law. The purpose of the proposed regulations is to make explicit what it means to provide a timely response to consumer complaints. Covered
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced Tuesday that it has opened a new portal which private companies can use to report suspected robocalls and illegal call spoofing of their numbers. The portal, titled the Private Entity Robocall and Spoofing Portal, is designed to provide companies with a tool to combat spam callers using a legitimate
As discussed here, on October 19, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in Community Financial Services Association of America Ltd. (CFSA) v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) held that the CFPB’s funding mechanism violates the appropriations clause because the CFPB does not receive its funding from annual congressional appropriations like most executive agencies, but instead, receives funding directly from the Federal Reserve based on a request by the CFPB’s director. In response, on November 15, as discussed here, the CFPB filed a petition for a writ of certiorari to the U.S. Supreme Court, requesting not only that the Court hear the case, but also that it be decided on an expedited basis during the Court’s current term. On December 15, two groups of state attorneys general, with diametrically opposed positions, filed separate amicus briefs, urging the Court to grant the CFPB’s petition and intervene to stave off the “confusion and regulatory chaos” caused by the appellate court’s decision.