Equal Employment for All Act of 2021
Bill: H.R.3697 | Sponsor: Rep. Cohen, Steve (D-TN)
Policy area: Finance and Financial Sector

Summary:
Equal Employment for All Act of 2021
This bill prohibits a consumer reporting agency from furnishing an employer with a consumer credit report containing information on the consumer's creditworthiness, credit standing, or credit capacity if the employer intends to use that information for any decision made for employment purposes.
An employer may use such a report in either an employment decision or before taking an adverse employment action with the consumer's authorization under certain circumstances. Specifically, a report may be used if the consumer applies for or holds employment that requires eligibility for access to classified information or such use is otherwise required by law.
An employer who has sought such a report may neither deny employment to nor make any other employment decision about a consumer because the consumer has not authorized the employer's procurement of the report.

To amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act to prohibit the use of consumer 
    credit checks against prospective and current employees for the 
            purposes of making adverse employment decisions.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Equal Employment for All Act of 
2021''.

SEC. 2. USE OF CREDIT CHECKS PROHIBITED FOR EMPLOYMENT PURPOSES.

    Section 604 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681b) is 
amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)(3)(B), by inserting ``, subject to 
        the requirements of subsection (b)'' after ``purposes''; and
            (2) in subsection (b)--
                    (A) in paragraph (1)--
                            (i) by amending the paragraph heading to 
                        read as follows: ``Use of Consumer Reports for 
                        Employment Purposes'';
                            (ii) in subparagraph (A), by redesignating 
                        clauses (i) and (ii) as subclauses (I) and 
                        (II), respectively, and by moving such 
                        subclauses two ems to the right;
                            (iii) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) 
                        and (B) as clauses (i) and (ii), respectively, 
                        and by moving such clauses two ems to the 
                        right;
                            (iv) by striking the period at the end of 
                        clause (ii) (as so redesignated) and inserting 
                        ``; and'';
                            (v) by striking ``agency may furnish'' and 
                        inserting ``agency--
            ``(A) may furnish''; and
                            (vi) by adding at the end the following new 
                        subparagraph:
                    ``(B) except as provided in paragraph (5), may not 
                furnish 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 to an employer if the employer seeks to 
                use such information in a denial of employment or any 
                other decision made for employment purposes.''; and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following new 
                paragraph:
            ``(5) Requirements for consumer reports bearing on the 
        consumer's creditworthiness, credit standing, or credit 
        capacity.--
                    ``(A) Exceptions.--An employer 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 in a decision made for employment purposes or 
                before taking an adverse action for employment purposes 
                only if the consumer authorizes the procurement of the 
                report as described in paragraph (2)(A)(ii) and--
                            ``(i) the consumer applies for, or 
                        currently holds, employment that requires the 
                        consumer to be eligible for access to 
                        classified information; or
                            ``(ii) when otherwise required by law.
                    ``(B) Limitation.--A person who seeks to obtain or 
                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 may not deny employment to the consumer 
                or make any other decision for employment purposes with 
                respect to the consumer because the consumer has not 
                authorized the procurement of the report as described 
                in paragraph (2)(A)(ii).''.
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