BILL NUMBER: S4700

SPONSOR: RAMOS
 
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.