An amendment to New York State’s Fair Credit Reporting Act that took effect April 18 prohibits most employers from requesting or using an applicant’s or employee’s credit history in hiring, compensation or other employment decisions. Spencer Fane’s Catherine Weiss Butto explains what the law covers and where narrow exceptions apply.
An amendment to the New York State Fair Credit Reporting Act, which took effect April 18, bans employers from using an applicant’s or employee’s credit history for employment decisions, such as hiring or determining employee compensation. Narrow exceptions apply. This new prohibition generally expands New York City’s Stop Credit Discrimination in Employment Act, which has banned NYC employers from engaging in similar practices since 2015, subject to limited exemptions. As of April 18, comparable restrictions apply statewide.
The new amendment strictly limits an employer’s ability to use information related to an applicant’s or employee’s credit history when evaluating that individual for employment, promotion, reassignment or retention.
Under this new law, it is an unlawful discriminatory practice for an employer, labor organization, employment agency or any agents thereof to request or use for employment purposes the consumer credit history of a job…
