Senator Warren Introduces Legislation to Prohibit Employers from Requiring Credit Report Disclosure
Following Equifax Breach, Compromising Millions of Americans' Security and Credit, Senators Introduce Bill to Protect Consumers, Workers
Fact Sheet (PDF)
Bill Text (PDF)
Washington, DC - United States Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) today reintroduced the Equal Employment for All Act to prohibit employers from requiring potential employees to disclose their credit history as part of the job application process. The need for legislation has increased recently, as the Equifax breach compromised millions of Americans' security and jeopardized their credit.
It was previously thought that credit history may provide insight into an individual's character, but research has shown that an individual's credit rating has little to no correlation with his or her ability to be successful in the workplace. A study from the Federal Trade Commission suggested that errors in credit reports are common and, in many cases, have been difficult to correct. The recent Equifax breach makes these errors even more likely.
"This bill is about basic fairness -- let people compete on the merits, not on whether they already have enough money to pay all their bills. It makes no sense to make it harder for people to get jobs because of a system of credit reporting that has no correlation with job performance," Senator Warren said. "We also know that credit histories are riddled with errors and the recent Equifax breach makes that much more likely."
Original cosponsors include Senators Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Al Franken (D-Minn.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.).
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