Employers increasingly rely on third-party background checks, algorithmic assessments, and consumer reports when making decisions about hiring, promotions, and evaluating current employees. This reliance raises a critical question: Can an employer utilize these reports without following the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) guidelines? According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the answer is no. The FCRA, originally established to regulate credit reporting, also extends protections to employees, ensuring that consumer information gathered and used for employment purposes is accurate, fair, and secure.
The recent finalization of data-sharing rules may have sharpened the debate over risks and rewards of Section 1033 — to consumers, banks and FinTechs — and the rule has drawn its share of critics and legal actions. But during a discussion at Money 20/20 held this past weekend, Rohit Chopra, director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), said the rule will standardized how data can be shared and protected, and spur competition in financial services that will ultimately benefit consumers.
Alleging that the CFPB rushed to promulgate its interpretive rule, and exceeded its authority in doing so, the Financial Technology Association has filed suit against the bureau in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, contending that the rule falls short on several counts.
The law does not concern itself with trifles. A lovely adage. If only it were true. In Loop Spine v. American College of Medical Quality, 2024 WL 4542298 (N.D. Ill. Oct. 22, 2024) a Plaintiff sued over receipt of a fax. In addition to a claim under the TCPA the Plaintiff asserted a conversion claim. The defendant, per the lawsuit, had converted a single piece of paper.
On October 22, the CFPB announced the finalization of its Personal Financial Data Rights Rule under Section 1033 of the Dodd-Frank Act. The rule aims to bring the U.S. closer to an “open banking” framework by making it easier for consumers to switch between financial institutions.
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