Sponsors (5)
The bill strengthens protections for job applicants by limiting employers' use of credit reports—benefiting low- and middle-income workers and reducing discrimination—while imposing compliance, transition, and potential hiring-cost impacts on employers and consumer reporting agencies.
Job applicants and employees (especially low- and middle-income workers) are protected from employers using credit-related consumer reports to screen or take adverse actions, reducing unfair hiring or firing based on credit history.
State and local governments, consumer reporting agencies, and employers gain clearer rules and cross-references about when credit reports may be furnished or used, reducing legal ambiguity and compliance uncertainty.
Consumer reporting agencies and employers face increased litigation risk and transition costs from tightened prohibitions, renumbering, and changed cross-references.
Small businesses and employers hiring for finance-sensitive roles may be unable to use credit information (even with consent in many cases), making it harder to assess financial trustworthiness and potentially narrowing hiring options for certain positions.
State and local governments and other employers filling national-security or legally required positions face added compliance burden and administrative costs to ensure statutory exceptions are correctly applied.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Bars employers from using consumer credit reports that show creditworthiness for hiring or adverse employment actions, except for national security or legally required uses.
Introduced September 15, 2025 by Stephen Cohen · Last progress September 15, 2025
Prohibits employers and prospective employers from obtaining or using consumer credit reports or investigative consumer reports that include information about a person’s creditworthiness, credit standing, or credit capacity for hiring, promotion, or other adverse employment actions. Narrow exceptions allow use where required by law or for positions with national security clearances; existing disclosure and notice duties remain for those exceptions. The bill also updates and renumbers various cross-references in the Fair Credit Reporting Act and limits furnishing of credit-bearing reports to employers except as allowed.