Sponsored by:
Senator NELLIE POU
District 35 (Bergen and Passaic)
Senator TROY SINGLETON
District 7 (Burlington)
SYNOPSIS
Prohibits consumer reporting agencies from making reports containing adverse information related to employees affected by federal government shutdown.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning consumer reporting agencies and supplementing P.L.1997, c.172 (C.56:11-28 et seq.).
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. No consumer reporting agency shall include any adverse information that is a result of the federal government shutdown in a consumer report pertaining to an affected employee who provides the agency with notice pursuant to subsection b. of this section.
b. (1) An affected employee may contact any consumer reporting agency and request that the agency disregard any adverse information related to the employee obtained by the agency for the period beginning on December 22, 2018 and ending on March 1, 2019. The employee shall include in the request a copy of proof of employment as an affected employee. In the case of an affected employee that is employed by a contractor with the federal government, the proof of employment shall include documentation that the employee’s pay was suspended during the federal government shutdown.
(2) Any consumer reporting agency that receives a request pursuant to paragraph (1) of this subsection shall respond to the affected employee and the Director of the Division of Consumer Affairs in the Department of Law and Public Safety within 5 days of receiving the request.
c. No charge shall be imposed by a consumer reporting agency pursuant to section 10 of P.L.1997, c.172 (C.56:11-37) with respect to a request made by a consumer pursuant to this section.
d. As used in this section:
"Affected employee" means a federal employee who, during the federal government shutdown, is a resident of this State, and has been required to work as a federal employee without pay or has been furloughed as a federal employee without pay. "Affected employee" also means an employee of a contractor with the federal government whose pay was suspended during the federal government shutdown as a result of that shutdown.
“Federal government shutdown” means the federal fiscal year 2019 partial government shutdown that began on December 22, 2018.
2. This act shall take effect immediately and be retroactive to December 22, 2018.
STATEMENT
This bill supplements the “New Jersey Fair Credit Reporting Act” to provide that no consumer reporting agency shall include in any consumer report any adverse information that is a result of the federal fiscal year 2019 partial government shutdown that began on December 22, 2018, with respect to an affected employee who provides the agency notice pursuant to the bill.
Under the bill, an affected employee may contact any consumer reporting agency and request that the agency disregard any adverse information related to the employee obtained by the agency for the period beginning on December 22, 2018 and ending on March 1, 2019. The employee shall include in the request a copy of proof of employment as an affected employee. In the case of an affected employee that is employed by a contractor with the federal government, the proof of employment shall include documentation that the employee’s pay was suspended during the federal government shutdown.
The bill requires any consumer reporting agency that receives a request to respond to the affected employee and the Director of the Division of Consumer Affairs in the Department of Law and Public Safety within 5 days of receiving the request.
Under the bill, an "affected employee" is a federal employee who, during the federal fiscal year 2019 partial government shutdown that began on December 22, 2018, is a resident of this State, and has been required to work as a federal employee without pay or has been furloughed as a federal employee without pay.
The bill prohibits a consumer reporting agency from imposing any charge with respect to a request made by a consumer pursuant to the bill.