Bill Text: NY A02611 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Amended
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Prohibits the use of consumer credit history in hiring, employment and licensing determinations.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 40-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2020-07-20 - REFERRED TO RULES [A02611 Detail]
Download: New_York-2019-A02611-Amended.html
Bill Title: Prohibits the use of consumer credit history in hiring, employment and licensing determinations.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 40-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2020-07-20 - REFERRED TO RULES [A02611 Detail]
Download: New_York-2019-A02611-Amended.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 2611--A 2019-2020 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY January 24, 2019 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. DINOWITZ, L. ROSENTHAL, CRESPO, BUCHWALD, WEPRIN, M. G. MILLER, RODRIGUEZ, OTIS, ABINANTI, SEAWRIGHT, SOLAGES -- Multi- Sponsored by -- M. of A. JAFFEE, PERRY -- read once and referred to the Committee on Consumer Affairs and Protection -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee AN ACT to amend the general business law, in relation to prohibiting the disclosure or use of a person's consumer credit history to an employ- er, labor organization, employment agency or agent thereof for purposes of employment decisions The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Section 380-a of the general business law is amended by 2 adding a new subdivision (u) to read as follows: 3 (u) The term "consumer credit history" means an individual's credit 4 worthiness, credit standing, credit capacity or payment history, as 5 indicated by: 6 (1) a consumer credit report; 7 (2) credit score; or 8 (3) information an employer obtains directly from the individual 9 regarding (i) details about credit accounts, including the individual's 10 number of credit accounts, late or missed payments, charged-off debts, 11 items in collections, credit limit or prior credit report inquiries, or 12 (ii) bankruptcies, judgments or liens. 13 A consumer credit report shall include any written or other communi- 14 cation of any information by a consumer reporting agency that bears on a 15 consumer's creditworthiness, credit standing, credit capacity or credit 16 history. 17 § 2. Subdivision (d) of section 380-b of the general business law is 18 relettered subdivision (f) and two new subdivisions (d) and (e) are 19 added to read as follows: EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD01243-04-9A. 2611--A 2 1 (d) (1) Except as provided in this subdivision, it shall be an unlaw- 2 ful discriminatory practice for an employer, labor organization, employ- 3 ment agency or any agent thereof to request or to use, and a violation 4 of this article for any person to disclose, for employment purposes the 5 consumer credit history of an applicant for employment or employee, or 6 otherwise discriminate against an applicant or employee with regard to 7 hiring, compensation, or the terms, conditions or privileges of employ- 8 ment based on the consumer credit history of the applicant or employee. 9 (2) Paragraph one of this subdivision shall not apply to: 10 (i) an employer, or agent thereof, that is required by state or feder- 11 al law or regulations or by a self-regulatory organization as defined in 12 section 3(a)(26) of the securities exchange act of 1934, as amended to 13 use an individual's consumer credit history for employment purposes; 14 (ii) persons applying for positions as or employed: 15 (A) as peace officers or police officers, as those terms are defined 16 in subdivisions thirty-three and thirty-four of section 1.20 of the 17 criminal procedure law, respectively, or in a position with a law 18 enforcement or investigative function in a law enforcement agency; 19 (B) in a position in which an employee is required to be bonded under 20 local, state or federal law; 21 (C) in a position in which an employee is required to possess security 22 clearance under federal law or the law of any state; 23 (D) in a non-clerical position having regular access to trade secrets, 24 intelligence information or national security information; 25 (E) in a position: (I) having access to third party, consumer or 26 employer funds or assets valued at ten thousand dollars or more; or (II) 27 that involves a fiduciary responsibility to the employer with the 28 authority to enter financial agreements or initiate, modify or approve 29 payments, valued at ten thousand dollars or more on behalf of the 30 employer; or 31 (F) in a position with regular duties that allow the employee to 32 design, monitor, access, provision access and/or modify (I) systems, 33 applications or databases containing confidential employer and/or 34 customer data; or (II) digital security systems established to prevent 35 the unauthorized use of the employer's or client's networks or data- 36 bases. 37 (3) Paragraph one of this subdivision shall not be construed to affect 38 the obligations of persons required by state or local law relating to 39 disclosures by public employees of conflicts of interest. 40 (4) As used in this subdivision: 41 (i) The term "intelligence information" means records and data 42 compiled for the purpose of criminal investigation or counterterrorism, 43 including records and data relating to the order or security of a 44 correctional facility, reports of informants, investigators or other 45 persons, or from any type of surveillance associated with an identifi- 46 able individual, or investigation or analysis of potential terrorist 47 threats. 48 (ii) The term "national security information" means any knowledge 49 relating to the national defense or foreign relations of the United 50 States, regardless of its physical form or characteristics, that is 51 owned by, produced by or for, or is under the control of the United 52 States government and is defined as such by the United States government 53 and its agencies and departments. 54 (iii) The term "trade secrets" means information that: (A) derives 55 independent economic value, actual or potential, from not being general- 56 ly known to, and not being readily ascertainable by proper means byA. 2611--A 3 1 other persons who can obtain economic value from its disclosure or use; 2 (B) is the subject of efforts that are reasonable under the circum- 3 stances to maintain its secrecy; and (C) can reasonably be said to be 4 the end product of significant innovation. 5 The term "trade secrets" does not include general proprietary company 6 information such as handbooks and policies. The term "regular access to 7 trade secrets" does not include access to or the use of client, customer 8 or mailing lists. 9 (5) Nothing in this subdivision shall preclude an employer from 10 requesting or receiving consumer credit history information pursuant to 11 a lawful subpoena, court order or law enforcement investigation. 12 (e) (1) Except as otherwise provided in this subdivision, it shall be 13 an unlawful discriminatory practice for any state or municipal agency to 14 request or use, and a violation of this article for any person to 15 disclose, for licensing or permitting purposes information contained in 16 the consumer credit history of an applicant, licensee or permittee for 17 licensing or permitting purposes. 18 (2) Paragraph one of this subdivision shall not apply to an agency 19 required by state or federal law or regulations to use an individual's 20 consumer credit history for licensing or permitting purposes. 21 (3) Paragraph one of this subdivision shall not be construed to affect 22 the ability of an agency to consider an applicant's, licensee's, regis- 23 trant's or permittee's failure to pay any tax, fine, penalty or fee for 24 which liability has been admitted by the person liable therefor, or for 25 which judgment has been entered by a court or administrative tribunal of 26 competent jurisdiction, or any tax for which a government agency has 27 issued a warrant, or a lien or levy on property. 28 (4) Nothing in this subdivision shall preclude a licensing agency from 29 requesting, receiving, or using consumer credit history information 30 obtained pursuant to a lawful subpoena, court order or law enforcement 31 investigation. 32 § 3. The division of human rights shall request information from state 33 and local agencies and non-governmental employers regarding the agen- 34 cies' and employers' use of the exemptions established in subdivision 35 (d) of section 380-b of the general business law for purposes of hiring 36 and employment. Within two years of the effective date of this act, the 37 division of human rights shall submit to the legislature a report 38 concerning the results of such request and any relevant feedback from 39 agencies and employers. 40 § 4. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after 41 it shall have become a law.
