Bans the sale of employment data reports without written consumer consent; provides such employment data reports shall include, but not be limited to, payroll and earnings information, hours worked, consumer history and health insurance information.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A1071A
SPONSOR: Braunstein (MS) TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the general business law, in relation to the sale and
use of employment information
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
Bans the sale of employment information, including payroll and earnings
information, hours worked, consumer history and health insurance infor-
mation.
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section 1: Section 380-v of the article is relettered section 380-w, and
a new section 380-v is added.
Section 2: Section 380-v(a) is added to ban the sale of employment
information by consumer reporting agencies without verifying that such
sale was disclosed to consumer in a separate stand-alone document, This
section also adds what is included in employment information, such as
payroll and earning information, hours an employee has worked, consumer
history and health insurance information.
Section 380-v(b) requires that disclosure and consumer consent must be
given in a separate, stand-alone document, and the consent is limited to
the particular use or transaction for which the consent is given.
Section 380-v(c) charges the Attorney General with the enforcement of
this law. This section also includes a civil penalty of 2,000 dollars
for each violation of this statute to be imposed on the consumer report-
ing agencies.
Section 380-v(d) allows for a private cause of action to be commenced by
any person injured by the violation of this section. Additionally, the
individual injured may recover actual damages and one thousand dollars.
The court may award the plaintiff an additional award not to exceed
$5,000 if the court finds that the defendant willfully violated the
provisions of this section. The court may also award reasonable attor-
neys' fees to a prevailing plaintiff.
Section 3: Contains the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
The "Work Number" provides employment data reports, and is operated by
TALX Corporation, which is owned by the credit reporting agency Equifax.
The "Work Number" permits companies to outsource payroll and human
resource functions and maintains information on at least 30% of the U.S.
working population.
According to an NBC News report, Equifax has been selling employment
reports, including detailed health insurance and payroll information, to
third parties, such as debt collectors and other financial services
corporations. This is an invasion of consumers' and employees' privacy.
Moreover, many employees are unaware of this sale of their detailed
payroll information to third parties. This legislation would prohibit
consumer reporting agencies from selling employment data reports to
third parties.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
None.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the one hundred and eightieth day after it
shall have become a law.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
1071--A
2015-2016 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 8, 2015
___________
Introduced by M. of A. BRAUNSTEIN, ABINANTI, GUNTHER, MOSLEY, MARKEY,
GOTTFRIED, WEPRIN, MONTESANO, ROSENTHAL, COLTON, JAFFEE, CAHILL,
O'DONNELL, PEOPLES-STOKES, ROBERTS, STECK, RAIA, PERRY, HOOPER, MOYA,
SKOUFIS, SIMOTAS, OTIS, RODRIGUEZ -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A.
ARROYO, BRENNAN, CLARK, COOK, CROUCH, GALEF, GLICK, McDONOUGH, SCHI-
MEL, SIMANOWITZ, STEC, TITONE -- read once and referred to the Commit-
tee on Consumer Affairs and Protection -- reported and referred to the
Committee on Codes -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered
reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the general business law, in relation to the sale and
use of employment information
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 380-v of the general business law, as relettered
2 by chapter 441 of the laws of 2014, is relettered section 380-w and a
3 new section 380-v is added to read as follows:
4 § 380-v. Sale and use of employment information. (a) No consumer
5 reporting agency or any subsidiary thereof shall sell or resell, or
6 offer for sale or resale or distribute employment information to any
7 principal creditor, as that term is defined in subdivision three of
8 section six hundred of this chapter, or other debt collector without
9 verifying that such sale, resale, or distribution was disclosed to the
10 consumer to whom such employment information pertains in a separate
11 stand-alone document. Employment information shall include, but not be
12 limited to, payroll and earnings information, hours worked, consumer
13 history and health insurance information.
14 (b) Such disclosure and consumer consent shall be given in a separate,
15 stand-alone document and consent shall be limited to the particular use
16 or transaction for which consent is given.
17 (c) Wherever there shall be a violation of this section, an applica-
18 tion may be made by the attorney general in the name of the people of
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD02323-03-5
A. 1071--A 2
1 the state of New York to a court or justice having jurisdiction by a
2 special proceeding to issue an injunction, and upon notice to the
3 defendant of not less than five days, to enjoin or restrain the contin-
4 uance of such violation; and if it shall appear to the satisfaction of
5 the court or justice that the defendant has, in fact, violated this
6 section, an injunction may be issued by such court or justice, enjoining
7 and restraining any further violation, without requiring proof that any
8 person has, in fact, been injured or damaged thereby. In any such
9 proceeding, the court may make allowances to the attorney general as
10 provided in paragraph six of subdivision (a) of section eighty-three
11 hundred three of the civil practice law and rules, and direct restitu-
12 tion. Whenever the court shall determine that a violation of this
13 section has occurred, the court may impose a civil penalty of not more
14 than two thousand dollars for each violation. In connection with any
15 such proposed application, the attorney general is authorized to take
16 proof and make a determination of the relevant facts and to issue
17 subpoenas in accordance with the civil practice law and rules.
18 (d) In addition to any right of action granted to the attorney general
19 pursuant to this section, any person who has been injured by reason of
20 any violation of this section may bring an action in his or her own name
21 to enjoin such unlawful act or practice, an action to recover his or her
22 actual damages and one thousand dollars, or both such actions. The court
23 may, in its discretion, award the prevailing plaintiff in such action an
24 additional award not to exceed five thousand dollars, if the court finds
25 the defendant willfully violated the provisions of this section. The
26 court may award reasonable attorneys' fees to a prevailing plaintiff.
27 § 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
28 it shall have become a law.
