IB 
Union Calendar No. 246 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3614 
[Report No. 116–305] 
To amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act to ban the use of credit information 
for most employment decisions, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 2, 2019 
Mr. LAWSON of Florida introduced the following bill; which was referred to 
the Committee on Financial Services 
NOVEMBER 21, 2019 
Additional sponsors: Ms. TLAIB, Ms. PRESSLEY, Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ, Mr. 
CLEAVER, and Mr. COHEN 
NOVEMBER 21, 2019 
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 
House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on July 2, 2019] 
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A BILL 
To amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act to ban the use 
of credit information for most employment decisions, and 
for other purposes. 
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Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Restricting Credit 
Checks for Employment Decisions Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) The use of credit reports as a factor in mak-
ing hiring decisions has been found to be prevalent in 
a diverse array of occupations, and is not limited to 
certain high-level management or executive positions. 
(2) According to the California Labor Federa-
tion, only 25 percent of employers researched the cred-
it history of job applicants in 1998. However, this 
practice had increased to 43 percent by 2006 and to 
60 percent by 2011. 
(3) A study titled ‘‘Do Job Applicant Credit 
Histories Predict Job Performance Appraisal Ratings 
or Termination Decisions?’’, published in 2012, found 
that, while credit history might conceptually measure 
a person’s level of responsibility, ability to meet dead-
lines, dependability, or integrity, it does not, in prac-
tice, actually predict an employee’s performance or 
likelihood to quit. Credit reports contain many inac-
curacies and credit history can be contaminated by 
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events that are sometimes outside a person’s control, 
such as a sudden medical expense after an accident 
or the loss of a job during an economic downturn. The 
study found that there is no benefit from using credit 
history to predict job performance or turnover. 
(4) Despite the absence of data showing a cor-
relation between job performance and credit-worthi-
ness, employers continue to use credit checks as a 
proxy for assessing character and integrity. According 
to a 2012 Society for Human Resource Management 
survey, organizations indicated that they used credit 
checks on job candidates primarily to reduce or pre-
vent theft and embezzlement and to minimize legal li-
ability for negligent hiring. 
(5) The use of credit checks for employment pur-
poses creates a true ‘‘catch-22’’ for unemployed people 
with impaired credit. For example, the financial 
hardship caused by losing a job may cause some un-
employed individuals to make late or partial pay-
ments on their bills, but their poor credit standing 
caused by this negative information on their con-
sumer report can also impede their chances of obtain-
ing a new job to end their financial distress. 
(6) A September 2014 report by the New York 
City Council’s Committee on Civil Rights noted that, 
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for those who have been unemployed for an extended 
period of time and whose credit has suffered as they 
fell behind on bills, the use of credit reports in the 
hiring process can exacerbate and perpetuate an al-
ready precarious situation. 
(7) In a March 2013 Demos report titled ‘‘Dis-
credited: How Employment Credit Checks Keep Out 
Qualified Workers Out of a Job’’, one in four survey 
participants who were unemployed said that a poten-
tial employer had requested to check their credit re-
port as part of a job application. Among job appli-
cants with blemished credit histories in the survey, 
one in seven had been told that they were not being 
hired because of their credit history. 
(8) While job applicants must give prior ap-
proval for a prospective employer to pull their credit 
reports under the FCRA, this authorization, as a 
practical matter, does not constitute an effective con-
sumer protection because an employer may reject any 
job applicant who refuses a credit check. 
(9) Some negative information on a report may 
stem from uncontrollable circumstances, or significant 
life events in a consumer’s life, such as a medical cri-
sis or a divorce. Demos found that poor credit is asso-
ciated with household unemployment, lack of health 
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coverage, and medical debt, which are factors that re-
flect economic conditions in the country and personal 
misfortune that have little relationship with how well 
a job applicant would perform at work. 
(10) In October 2011, FICO noted that from 
2008 to 2009 approximately 50 million people experi-
enced a 20-point drop in their credit scores and about 
21 million saw their scores decline by more than 50 
points. While the Great Recession reduced many con-
sumers’ credit scores due to foreclosures and other fi-
nancial hardships, the financial crisis had a particu-
larly harsh impact on African Americans and 
Latinos, as racial and ethnic minorities and commu-
nities of color were frequently targeted by predatory 
mortgage lenders who steered borrowers into high-cost 
subprime loans, even when these borrowers would 
have qualified for less costly prime credit. 
(11) A May 2006 Brookings Institution report 
titled ‘‘Credit Scores, Reports, and Getting Ahead in 
America’’ found that counties with a relatively higher 
proportion of racial and ethnic minorities in the 
United States tended to have lower credit scores com-
pared with counties that had a lower concentration of 
communities of color. 
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(12) Studies have consistently found that African 
American and Latino households tend, on average, to 
have lower credit scores than White households. The 
growing use of credit checks, therefore, may dispropor-
tionately screen otherwise qualified racial and ethnic 
minorities out of jobs, leading to discriminatory hir-
ing practices, and further exacerbating the trend 
where unemployment for African American and 
Latino communities is elevated well above the rate of 
Whites. 
(13) A 2012 Demos survey found that 65 percent 
of White respondents reported having good or excellent 
credit scores while over half of African American 
households reported only having fair or bad credit. 
SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON THE USE OF CREDIT INFORMA-
TION FOR MOST EMPLOYMENT DECISIONS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 604 of the Fair Credit Re-
porting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681b) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (a)(3)(B), by inserting ‘‘, sub-
ject to the requirements of subsection (b)’’ after ‘‘pur-
poses’’; and 
(2) in subsection (b)— 
(A) in paragraph (1)— 
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(B) by adding at the end the following new 
paragraphs: 
‘‘(5) REQUIREMENTS FOR CONSUMER REPORTS 
BEARING ON THE CONSUMER’S CREDITWORTHINESS, 
CREDIT STANDING, OR CREDIT CAPACITY.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A person may use a 
consumer report with respect to any consumer in 
which any information contained in the report 
bears on the consumer’s creditworthiness, credit 
standing, or credit capacity only if— 
‘‘(i) either— 
‘‘(I) the person is required to ob-
tain the report by a Federal, State, or 
local law or regulation; or 
‘‘(II) the information contained 
in the report is being used with respect 
to a national security investigation (as 
defined in paragraph (4)(D)); 
‘‘(ii) none of the cost associated with 
obtaining the consumer report will be 
passed on to the consumer to whom the re-
port relates; and 
‘‘(iii) the information contained in the 
consumer report will not be disclosed to any 
other person other than— 
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‘‘(I) in an aggregate format that 
protects a consumer’s personally iden-
tifiable information; or 
‘‘(II) as may be necessary to com-
ply with any applicable Federal, State, 
or local equal employment opportunity 
law or regulation. 
‘‘(B) DISCLOSURES.—A person who pro-
cures, or causes to be procured, a consumer re-
port described in subparagraph (A) for employ-
ment purposes shall, in the disclosure made pur-
suant to paragraph (2), include— 
‘‘(i) an explanation that a consumer 
report is being obtained for employment 
purposes; 
‘‘(ii) the reasons for obtaining such a 
report; and 
‘‘(iii) the citation to the applicable 
Federal, State, or local law or regulation 
described in subparagraph (A)(i)(I). 
‘‘(C) ADVERSE ACTIONS.—In using a con-
sumer report described in subparagraph (A) for 
employment purposes and before taking an ad-
verse action based in whole or in part on the re-
port, the person intending to take such adverse 
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action shall, in addition to the information de-
scribed in paragraph (3), provide to the con-
sumer to whom the report relates— 
‘‘(i) the name, address, and telephone 
number of the consumer reporting agency 
that furnished the report (including, for a 
consumer reporting agency that compiles 
and maintains files on consumers on a na-
tionwide basis, a toll-free telephone number 
established by such agency); 
‘‘(ii) the date on which the report was 
furnished; and 
‘‘(iii) the specific factors from the re-
port upon which the adverse action (as de-
fined in section 603(k)(1)(B)(ii)) was based. 
‘‘(D) 
NATIONAL
SECURITY
INVESTIGA-
TIONS.—The requirements of paragraph (4) shall 
apply to a consumer report described under sub-
paragraph (A). 
‘‘(E) NON-CIRCUMVENTION.—With respect 
to a consumer report in which any information 
contained in the report bears on the consumer’s 
creditworthiness, credit standing, or credit ca-
pacity, if a person is prohibited from using the 
consumer report pursuant to subparagraph (A), 
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such person may not, directly or indirectly, ei-
ther orally or in writing, require, request, sug-
gest, or cause any employee or prospective em-
ployee to submit such information to the person 
as a condition of employment. 
‘‘(F) NON-WAIVER.—A consumer may not 
waive the requirements of this paragraph with 
respect to a consumer report. 
‘‘(6) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this 
subsection shall be construed to require a consumer 
reporting agency to prevent a Federal, State, or local 
law enforcement agency from accessing information 
in a consumer report to which the law enforcement 
agency could otherwise obtain access.’’. 
(b) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—The Fair Credit Re-
porting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.) is amended by striking 
‘‘section 604(b)(4)(E)(i)’’ each place such term appears and 
inserting ‘‘section 604(b)(4)(D)(i)’’. 
(c) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—The amendments made 
by this Act may not be construed as limiting the ability 
of a person to use non-financial or non-credit related con-
sumer report information. 
(d) RULEMAKING.—Not later than the end of the 2- 
year period beginning on the date of the enactment of this 
Act, the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection shall 
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issue final rules to implement the amendments made by this 
Act. 
(e) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by this 
section shall take effect 2 years after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act. 
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Union Calendar No. 246 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 3614 
[Report No. 116–305] 
A BILL 
To amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act to ban the 
use of credit information for most employment 
decisions, and for other purposes. 
NOVEMBER 21, 2019 
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Com-
mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, 
and ordered to be printed 
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