Written By ESR News Blog Editor Thomas Ahearn
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) have filed a joint amicus brief advocating for the seven-year reporting period for non-conviction records found in the federal Fair Credit reporting Act (FCRA) to begin on date of the charge or filing and not on the date of the last action in the case. To view the entire amicus brief jointly filed by the FTC and the CFPB, click here.
Enacted in 1970, the FCRA regulates consumer reporting. According to Section 605(a) of the FCRA, Consumer Reporting Agencies (CRAs) – the official term for background check firms – are prohibited from including out-of-date information in consumer reports. Under the FCRA, any “adverse” or negative information is reportable by a CRA only if it “antedates the report” by seven years or less.
The joint amicus brief describes the FTC as “the federal agency with primary responsibility for the protection of consumers from unfair and deceptive trade practices, including through enforcement of the FCRA, 15 USC § 1681(a).” For more information about the FTC, visit http://www.ftc.gov/.
The CFPB is described in the joint amicus brief as a federal agency charged under the Dodd-Frank Act with regulating “the offering and provision of consumer financial products and services under Federal consumer financial law.” To learn more about the CFPB, visit http://www.consumerfinance.gov/.
The joint amicus brief describes the FCRA – as amended by the Dodd-Frank Act – as authorizing the CFPB to “prescribe regulations as may be necessary or appropriate to administer and carry out objectives” of the FCRA to ensure consumer privacy. To read the text of the FCRA, click here.
More Information About the FCRA
For more blogs about the FCRA from the ESR News Blog, please visit http://www.esrcheck.com/wordpress/tag/fair-credit-reporting-act-fcra/.
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