Earlier this month, the New York City Commission on Human Rights
provided enforcement
guidance on the Stop Credit Discrimination in Employment Act
(SCDEA). The SCDEA took effect on September 3, 2015, and
restricts employers from requesting or using applicants' and
employees' credit history when making employment
decisions. The Commission referred to SCDEA as the
"strongest bill of its type in the country prohibiting
discriminatory employment credit checks." While SCDEA
has certain exemptions, guidance from the Commission makes clear
that it will interpret SCDEA's restrictions broadly and its
exemptions narrowly.
An employer can violate SCDEA by requesting or using a
consumer's credit history in an employment decision.
Thus, merely requesting the credit history is a violation
even if an employer does not ultimately use it to make an
employment decision. Therefore, before requesting an
applicant or employee's credit history, employers should make
sure that
