What's happening
This bill prohibits employers from using or requesting student loan payment history in employment decisions, with certain exceptions.
Why it matters
Reduces barriers to employment for individuals with student debt. by preventing employers from discriminating based on student loan payment history, which disproportionately impacts younger workers and those from lower-income backgrounds.
Limits the use of credit data in hiring decisions. to only those situations where it is specifically required by law or regulation, helping to ensure credit history isn’t unnecessarily used as a proxy for reliability or responsibility.
Addresses equity and privacy concerns. by prohibiting employers from accessing or using sensitive financial information that may not be relevant to job performance, thereby protecting applicants’ financial privacy and reducing potential bias in hiring.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Ban Student Loan Job Checks
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Referred to labor
- Referred to labor
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Ban Credit Checks for Jobs
In Assembly Committee · Labor · Sponsor Latoya Joyner
Full text
1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
4700
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
March 21, 2019
Introduced by Sen. RAMOS -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Labor
AN ACT to amend the labor law, in relation to prohibiting student loan payment history checks in making employment decisions
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. The labor law is amended by adding a new section 219-d to read as follows:
§ 219-d. Student loan payment history; employment. 1. Except as provided in this section and in those cases otherwise mandated by law, it shall be an unlawful discriminatory practice for an employer to request or to use for employment purposes information contained in the consumer credit history indicating the payment status of a student loan, as defined in subdivision fourteen of section sixteen hundred seventysix of the public authorities law, of an applicant for employment or otherwise discriminate against such applicant with regard to hiring decisions.
2. For the purposes of this section, the term "consumer credit history" shall mean any information bearing on an individual's credit worthiness, credit standing, or credit capacity, including, but not limited to, an individual's credit score, credit account and other consumer account balances, and payment history.
3. This section shall not apply to an employer, or agent thereof, that is required by state of federal law or regulations or by a self-regulatory organization, as defined in paragraph twenty-six of subdivision (a) of section three of the securities exchange act of 1934, as amended, to use an individual's consumer credit history for employment purposes.
§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD00177-01-9
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the labor law, in relation to prohib- iting student loan payment history checks in making employment decisions
Purpose
Makes it an unlawful discriminatory practice for an employer to request or to use the student loan payment history of an applicant for employ- ment in determining hiring decisions. This legislation makes an excep- tion for those cases in which the use of a credit history check is otherwise mandated by law.
Summary of provisions
The labor law is amended by adding a new section 219-d entitled Student Loan Payment History; Employment that provides that it shall be an unlawful discriminatory practice for an employer to request or to use for employment purposes information contained in the consumer credit history indicating the payment status of a student loan of an applicant for employment or otherwise discriminate against such an applicant with regard to hiring decisions.
Section 2 defines the term "consumer credit history" to include any information bearing on an individual's credit history worthiness, credit standing, or credit capacity, including but not limited to an individ- ual's credit score, credit account and other consumer account balances, and payment history.
Section 3 exempts employers, or agents thereof, who are required by state or federal law or regulation or by a self-regulatory organization from coverage by this law.
Justification
With student loan debt well in excess of $1.2 trillion nationwide and climbing, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Board, the burden posed by this burgeoning debt is making it increasingly difficult for college graduates and attendees to meet their financial obligations in a timely manner. The severity of the debt burden has had a growing impact on college graduates with the Project on Student Debt reporting that in 2013 nearly seven in ten college graduates of public and private non-profit colleges had student loans of an average amount of $28,400 a two percent increase from prior year levels.
With employers increasingly using credit histories in determining which applicants to hire, ten states and the City of Chicago have already enacted laws that limit the use of credit checks by employers making hiring decisions and the New York City Council is considering broadly written legislation on this matter. (NY Times 1/16/15) With a focused approach, this legislation recognizes the importance of ensuring that college graduates and attendees who borrow money to invest in improving their skill sets are not penalized in the job market due to their inability to maintain timely payments on their outstanding student loan debt.
Legislative history
2016 - Referred to Labor
Fiscal implications
None.
Effective date
This act shall take effect immediately.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.