CFPB Alleges Credit Reporting Agency Conducted Sham Investigations of Errors

by A.J.S. Dhaliwal, Mehul Madia, Maxwell Earp-Thomas - Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLC - JD Supra

On January 7, 2025, the CFPB filed a lawsuit against a nationwide consumer reporting agency for violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act. The lawsuit claims the company’s investigation of consumer disputes was inadequate, specifically criticizing their intake, processing, investigation, and customer notification processes. The lawsuit also alleges the company reinserted inaccurate information on credit reports, which the agency alleges harmed consumers’ access to credit, employment, and housing. In addition to FCRA, the Bureau alleges that the company’s faulty intake procedures and unlawful processes regarding consumer reports violated the Consumer Financial Protection Act’s (CFPA) prohibition on unfair acts or practices.

Read more: https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/cfpb-alleges-credit-reporting-agency-1181901/

School volunteer background screenings will intensify

by Marc Valero - Highlands News-Sun

A more intense background screening will go into effect March 1, 2025 in Florida for those who volunteer in public schools increasing the cost of the screening.

School Board of Highlands County Coordinator of Communications John Varady said the School Board has already been following the updated screening requirements for employees and will begin utilizing the new screening procedures for volunteers in 2025, prior to the March 1st date.

Read more: https://www.midfloridanewspapers.com/highlands_news-sun/news/school-volunteer-background-screenings-will-intensify/article_56c636dc-c15e-11ef-9fbe-7f851693f411.html

Delaware’s Consumer Privacy Law is Right Around the Corner

by Michael B. Katz, Cynthia J. Larose of Mintz - The National Law Review

Any chancery you might be impacted by the Delaware Personal Data Privacy Act (DPDPA)? (See what we did there?) Impacted companies need to gear up and prepare for compliance as the DPDPA becomes effective on January 1, 2025. The article that follows explains who is covered by the law and provides details about the requirements those businesses need to be aware of.

Read more: https://natlawreview.com/article/delawares-consumer-privacy-law-right-around-corner#google_vignette

The 12 Days of California Labor and Employment Series – Day 2 "Requiring a Driver’s License May Not Be Wise"

by Hinshaw & Culbertson - Employment Law Observer - JD Supra

In the spirit of the season, we are using our annual "12 Days of California Labor and Employment" blog series to address new California laws and their impact on employers. On the second day of the holidays, my labor and employment attorney gave to me two turtle doves and SB 1100.

What is SB 1100?

Every employer prefers to streamline their tasks, and job postings are one of them. Job postings are often recycled or briefly edited in order to market that job opening as quickly as possible. Over the years, it has been commonplace for employers to include items in job postings that may not be applicable to all jobs or that may be outdated. The requirement to have a driver's license is one of those items. 

Read more: https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/the-12-days-of-california-labor-and-8218910

California Takes Steps to Regulate the Use of AI for Significant Employment Decisionsby

by Jonathan P. Slowik, Jennifer J. McDermott of Proskauer Rose LLP - The National Law Review

On November 8, 2024, the California Privacy Protection Agency (CPPA) voted 4-1 to proceed with formal rulemaking regarding automated decision-making technology (“ADMT”), which the draft regulations define as “any technology that processes personal information and uses computation to execute a decision, replace human decisionmaking, or substantially facilitate human decisionmaking.” If enacted, the regulations would impose sweeping requirements on employers who rely on assistance from artificial intelligence (AI) tools in making employment decisions including hiring; allocation of work; compensation and benefits; promotion; and demotion, suspension, or termination. The draft regulations take a similar approach to laws that have passed in New York and laws that are likely to be enacted in Colorado, in that they require certain disclosures and risk assessments, and require that employees and applicants have the ability to opt-out of being evaluated by AI in some contexts. 

Read more: https://natlawreview.com/article/california-takes-steps-regulate-use-ai-significant-employment-decisions

Nebraska’s Consumer Privacy Law Takes Effect Soon and Targets Businesses Selling Personal Data

by Michael B. Katz, Cynthia J. Larose of Mintz - The National Law Review

We are moving westward this week from Iowa to Nebraska in our series of articles providing in-depth summaries of state consumer privacy laws taking effect across the nation.

Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen (R) signed the Nebraska Data Privacy Act (or NEDPA) into law in April. NEDPA becomes effective on January 1, 2025 – the same day as similar laws going live in Delaware, Iowa, and New Hampshire. This relatively short period between signature and effective date left little time for impacted companies to prepare; however, Nebraska’s approach to applicability criteria has cast a specifically tailored net focused on businesses selling personal data of Nebraska residents.

Read more: https://natlawreview.com/article/nebraskas-consumer-privacy-law-takes-effect-soon-and-targets-businesses-selling

California’s Background Check Limits Are Impeding Hiring

by Roy Maurer - SHRM

Legal developments in California limiting criminal history searches are causing significant hiring delays and unworkable burdens in the employment screening process.

The situation arose from a May 2021 California Court of Appeal decision in All of Us or None — Riverside Chapter v. Hamrick, which has prevented background screeners from using dates of birth or driver’s license numbers as input terms in electronic criminal record searches.

Read more: https://www.shrm.org/topics-tools/news/talent-acquisition/california-background-check-limits-hamrick

Nebraska Says Yes To Medical Cannabis After Years Of Failed Legalization Attempts: Here's What You Need To Know

by Jelena Martinovic, Benzinga

Nebraska voters chose to legalize and regulate medical cannabis on Tuesday via two ballot measures.

What Happened

The AP reported Tuesday night that with nearly 60% of the votes counted, over 72.4% of Nebraska voters said yes to Initiative 437, thus enacting the Nebraska Medical Cannabis Protection Act. And 68.5% of voters approved Initiative 438, which enacts the Nebraska Medical Cannabis Regulation Act that will create a government board to regulate medical cannabis for patients.

Read more: https://www.benzinga.com/markets/cannabis/24/11/41764503/nebraska-says-yes-to-medical-cannabis-after-years-of-failed-legalization-attempts-heres-what-you

New Jersey Joins Data Privacy Party - New Jersey Data Protection Act Becomes Effective in January 2025

by Mercedes de la Rosa, Harris Freier, Benjamin Perry; Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C. - JD Supra

Signed into law at the beginning of 2024, colloquially known as the New Jersey Data Protection Act (NJDPA), N.J. Stat. § 56:8-166.4 et seq. will go into effect on January 15, 2025, as New Jersey joins eighteen other states with comprehensive data privacy laws. Businesses affected typically include large retailers with significant online presences, online advertising platforms, social media companies, insurers, and data brokers, and these businesses may want to focus on identifying their New Jersey consumers to ensure compliance, as the forgiveness period for this law expires on July 15, 2025.

Read more: https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/new-jersey-joins-data-privacy-party-new-3052672/

The CFPB Cautions Employers About Using Technology to Track, Assess, and Evaluate Workers

by Rod M. Fliegel, William J. Simmons, Chad J. Kaldor - Littler

On October 24, 2024, the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) published a circular cautioning employers about using workplace tracking technology, including AI, under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). The CFPB has the primary regulatory and interpretive role regarding the FCRA and shares the enforcement role with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The gist of the CFPB’s circular is that employers may need to comply with the FCRA’s employment-related provisions before using such technology. In his prepared written remarks, CFPB Director Rohit Chopra stated: “We are making clear that employers that traffic in data about workers and make decisions – including hiring and firing – using third-party scores based on tracking must adhere to federal protections.”

Read more: https://www.littler.com/publication-press/publication/cfpb-cautions-employers-about-using-technology-track-assess-and