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Fair Credit Reporting
Act (FCRA)
THE FAIR CREDIT REPORTING ACT
As a
public service, the staff of the Federal Trade
Commission (FTC) has prepared the
following complete text of the Fair Credit Reporting Act
(FCRA), 15 U.S.C. § 1681 et seq.
Although staff generally followed the format of the U.S.
Code as published by the Government
Printing Office, the format of this text does differ in
minor ways from the Code (and from West’s
U.S.
Code Annotated). For example, this version uses FCRA
section numbers (§§ 601-625) in
the
headings. (The relevant U.S. Code citation is included
with each section heading and each
reference to the FCRA in the text.) Although the staff
has made every effort to transcribe the
statutory material accurately, this compendium is
intended only as a convenience for the public
and
not a subtitute for the text in the U. S. Code. This
document was posted on July 30, 2004.
This
version of the FCRA includes the amendments to the FCRA
set forth in the Consumer
Credit Reporting Reform Act of 1996 (Public Law 104-208,
the Omnibus Consolidated Appro-
priations Act for Fiscal Year 1997, Title II, Subtitle
D, Chapter 1), Section 311 of the
Intelligence Authorization for Fiscal Year 1998 (Public
Law 105-107), the Consumer Reporting
Employment Clarification Act of 1998 (Public Law
105-347), Section 506 of the Gramm-Leach-
Bliley Act (Public Law 106-102), Sections 358(g) and
505(c) of the Uniting and Strengthening
America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to
Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of
2001
(USA PATRIOT Act) (Public Law 107-56), and the Fair and
Accurate Credit Transactions
Act
of 2003 (FACT Act) (Public Law 108-159).
The
provisions added to the FCRA by the FACT Act will become
effective at different times.
In
some cases, the provision includes its own effective
date. In other cases, the FACT Act provides
that
the effective dates be prescribed by the FTC and Federal
Reserve Board. See 16 CFR Part 602.
(69
Fed. Reg. 6526; February 11, 2004) (69 Fed. Reg. 29061;
May 20, 2004).
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July 30, 2004
TABLE OF CONTENTS
§
601 Short title
§
602 Congressional findings and statement of purpose
§
603 Definitions; rules of construction
§
604 Permissible purposes of consumer reports
§
605A Identity theft prevention; fraud alerts and active
duty alerts
§
605B Block of information resulting from identity theft
§
605 Requirements relating to information contained in
consumer reports
§
606 Disclosure of investigative consumer reports
§
607 Compliance procedures
§
608 Disclosures to governmental agencies
§
609 Disclosures to consumers
§
610 Conditions and form of disclosure to consumers
§
611 Procedure in case of disputed accuracy
§
612 Charges for certain disclosures
§
613 Public record information for employment purposes
§
614 Restrictions on investigative consumer reports
§
615 Requirements on users of consumer reports
§
616 Civil liability for willful noncompliance
§
617 Civil liability for negligent noncompliance
§
618 Jurisdiction of courts; limitation of actions
§
619 Obtaining information under false pretenses
§
620 Unauthorized disclosures by officers or employees
§
621 Administrative enforcement
§
622 Information on overdue child support obligations
§
623 Responsibilities of furnishers of information to
consumer reporting agencies
§
624 Affiliate sharing
§
625 Relation to state laws
§
626 Disclosures to FBI for counterintelligence purposes
§
627 Disclosures to governmental agencies for
counterterrorism purposes
§
628 Disposal of records
§
629 Corporate and technological circumvention prohibited
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July 30, 2004
§
601. Short title
This
title may be cited as the “Fair Credit Reporting Act”.
§
602.
Congressional findings and statement of purpose
[15 U.S.C. § 1681]
(a)Accuracy
and fairness of credit reporting. The Congress makes
the following findings:
(1)The banking system is dependent upon fair and
accurate credit reporting.
Inaccurate credit reports directly impair the efficiency
of the banking system, and
unfair credit reporting methods undermine the public
confidence which is
essential to the continued functioning of the banking
system.
(2)An elaborate mechanism has been developed for
investigating and evaluating the
credit worthiness, credit standing, credit capacity,
character, and general
reputation of consumers.
(3)Consumer reporting agencies have assumed a vital
role in assembling and
evaluating consumer credit and other information on
consumers.
(4)There is a need to insure that consumer reporting
agencies exercise their grave
responsibilities with fairness, impartiality, and a
respect for the consumer's right
to
privacy.
(b)Reasonable
procedures. It is the purpose of this title to
require that consumer
reporting agencies adopt reasonable procedures for
meeting the needs of commerce
for
consumer credit, personnel, insurance, and other
information in a manner which is
fair
and equitable to the consumer, with regard to the
confidentiality, accuracy,
relevancy, and proper utilization of such information in
accordance with the
requirements of this title.
§
603. Definitions; rules of construction
[15 U.S.C. § 1681a]
(a)Definitions
and rules of construction set forth in this section are
applicable for the
purposes of this title.
(b)The
term “person” means any individual, partnership,
corporation, trust, estate,
cooperative, association, government or governmental
subdivision or agency, or
other entity.
(c)The term “consumer” means an individual.
(d)Consumer Report
(1)In
general. The term "consumer report" means any
written, oral, or other
communication of any information by a consumer reporting
agency bearing on a
consumer's credit worthiness, credit standing, credit
capacity, character, general
reputation, personal characteristics, or mode of living
which is used or expected
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July 30, 2004
to
be used or collected in whole or in part for the purpose
of serving as a factor in
establishing the consumer's eligibility for
(A) credit or insurance to be used primarily for
personal, family, or household
purposes;
(B) employment purposes; or
(C) any other purpose authorized under section 604 [§
1681b].
(2)Exclusions.
Except as provided in paragraph (3), the term
"consumer report" does
not
include
(A) subject to section 624, any
(i)
report containing information solely as to transactions
or experiences
between the consumer and the person making the report;
(ii)
communication of that information among persons related
by common
ownership or affiliated by corporate control; or
(iii) communication of other information among persons
related by
common ownership or affiliated by corporate control, if
it is clearly
and
conspicuously disclosed to the consumer that the
information may
be
communicated among such persons and the consumer is
given the
opportunity, before the time that the information is
initially
communicated, to direct that such information not be
communicated
among such persons;
(B) any authorization or approval of a specific
extension of credit directly or
indirectly by the issuer of a credit card or similar
device;
(C) any report in which a person who has been requested
by a third party to
make
a specific extension of credit directly or indirectly to
a consumer
conveys his or her decision with respect to such
request, if the third party
advises the consumer of the name and address of the
person to whom the
request was made, and such person makes the disclosures
to the consumer
required under section 615 [§ 1681m]; or
(D) a communication described in subsection (o) or (x).
(3)Restriction
on sharing of medical information. Except for
information or any
communication of information disclosed as provided in
section 604(g)(3), the
exclusions in paragraph (2) shall not apply with respect
to information disclosed
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July 30, 2004
to
any person related by common ownership or affiliated by
corporate control, if
the
information is--
(A)
medical information;
(B)
an individualized list or description based on the
payment transactions of the
consumer for medical products or services; or
(C)
an aggregate list of identified consumers based on
payment transactions for
medical products or services.
(e)The term “investigative consumer report” means a
consumer report or portion
thereof in which information on a consumer's character,
general reputation, personal
characteristics, or mode of living is obtained through
personal interviews with
neighbors, friends, or associates of the consumer
reported on or with others with
whom
he is acquainted or who may have knowledge concerning
any such items of
information. However, such information shall not include
specific factual information
on a
consumer's credit record obtained directly from a
creditor of the consumer or
from
a consumer reporting agency when such information was
obtained directly from
a
creditor of the consumer or from the consumer.
(f)
The term “consumer reporting agency” means any person
which, for monetary fees,
dues, or on a cooperative nonprofit basis, regularly
engages in whole or in part in the
practice of assembling or evaluating consumer credit
information or other
information on consumers for the purpose of furnishing
consumer reports to third
parties, and which uses any means or facility of
interstate commerce for the purpose
of
preparing or furnishing consumer reports.
(g)The
term “file,” when used in connection with information on
any consumer, means
all
of the information on that consumer recorded and
retained by a consumer
reporting agency regardless of how the information is
stored.
(h)The
term “employment purposes” when used in connection with
a consumer report
means a report used for the purpose of evaluating a
consumer for employment,
promotion, reassignment or retention as an employee.
(i)
The term “medical information” --
(1)means information or data, whether oral or recorded,
in any form or medium,
created by or derived from a health care provider or the
consumer, that relates to--
(A)
the past, present, or future physical, mental, or
behavioral health or
condition of an individual;
(B)
the provision of health care to an individual; or
(C)
the payment for the provision of health care to an
individual.
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July 30, 2004
(2)
does not include the age or gender of a consumer,
demographic information about
the
consumer, including a consumer's residence address or
e-mail address, or any
other information about a consumer that does not relate
to the physical, mental, or
behavioral health or condition of a consumer, including
the existence or value of
any
insurance policy.
(j)
Definitions Relating to Child Support Obligations
(1)The “overdue support” has the meaning given to such
term in section 666(e) of
title 42 [Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. § 666(e)].
(2)The term “State or local child support enforcement
agency” means a State or local
agency which administers a State or local program for
establishing and enforcing
child support obligations.
(k)Adverse Action
(1)Actions
included. The term “adverse action”
(A) has the same meaning as in section 701(d)(6) of the
Equal Credit
Opportunity Act; and
(B) means
(i) a denial or cancellation of, an increase in
any charge for, or a reduction
or
other adverse or unfavorable change in the terms of
coverage or
amount of, any insurance, existing or applied for, in
connection with
the
underwriting of insurance;
(ii)
a denial of employment or any other decision for
employment purposes
that
adversely affects any current or prospective employee;
(iii) a denial or cancellation of, an increase in any
charge for, or any other
adverse or unfavorable change in the terms of, any
license or benefit
described in section 604(a)(3)(D) [§ 1681b]; and
(iv) an action taken or determination that is
(I)
made in connection with an application that was made by,
or a
transaction that was initiated by, any consumer, or in
connection
with
a review of an account under section
604(a)(3)(F)(ii)[§ 1681b]; and
(II) adverse to the interests of the consumer.
(2)Applicable
findings, decisions, commentary, and orders. For
purposes of any
determination of whether an action is an adverse action
under paragraph (1)(A),
all
appropriate final findings, decisions, commentary, and
orders issued under
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July 30, 2004
section 701(d)(6) of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act by
the Board of Governors
of
the Federal Reserve System or any court shall apply.
(l)
The term “firm offer of credit or insurance” means any
offer of credit or insurance to
a
consumer that will be honored if the consumer is
determined, based on information
in a
consumer report on the consumer, to meet the specific
criteria used to select the
consumer for the offer, except that the offer may be
further conditioned on one or
more
of the following:
(1)The consumer being determined, based on information
in the consumer's
application for the credit or insurance, to meet
specific criteria bearing on credit
worthiness or insurability, as applicable, that are
established
(A)
before selection of the consumer for the offer; and
(B) for the purpose of determining whether to extend
credit or insurance
pursuant to the offer.
(2)
Verification
(A) that the consumer continues to meet the specific
criteria used to select the
consumer for the offer, by using information in a
consumer report on the
consumer, information in the consumer's application for
the credit or
insurance, or other information bearing on the credit
worthiness or
insurability of the consumer; or
(B) of the information in the consumer's application for
the credit or insurance,
to
determine that the consumer meets the specific criteria
bearing on credit
worthiness or insurability.
(3)The consumer furnishing any collateral that is a
requirement for the extension of
the
credit or insurance that was
(A) established before selection of the consumer for the
offer of credit or
insurance; and
(B) disclosed to the consumer in the offer of credit or
insurance.
(m) The term “credit or insurance transaction that is
not initiated by the consumer” does
not
include the use of a consumer report by a person with
which the consumer has an
account or insurance policy, for purposes of
(1)
reviewing the account or insurance policy; or
(2)
collecting the account.
(n)The term “State” means any State, the Commonwealth of
Puerto Rico, the District of
Columbia, and any territory or possession of the United
States.
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July 30, 2004
(o)Excluded
communications. A communication is described in
this subsection if it is a
communication
(1)that, but for subsection (d)(2)(D), would be an
investigative consumer report;
(2)that is made to a prospective employer for the
purpose of
(A)
procuring an employee for the employer; or
(B)
procuring an opportunity for a natural person to work
for the employer;
(3)that is made by a person who regularly performs such
procurement;
(4)that is not used by any person for any purpose other
than a purpose described in
subparagraph (A) or (B) of paragraph (2); and
(5)with respect to which
(A)
the consumer who is the subject of the communication
(i)
consents orally or in writing to the nature and scope of
the
communication, before the collection of any information
for the
purpose of making the communication;
(ii)
consents orally or in writing to the making of the
communication to a
prospective employer, before the making of the
communication; and
(iii) in the case of consent under clause (i) or (ii)
given orally, is provided
written confirmation of that consent by the person
making the
communication, not later than 3 business days after the
receipt of the
consent by that person;
(B) the person who makes the communication does not, for
the purpose of
making the communication, make any inquiry that if made
by a
prospective employer of the consumer who is the subject
of the
communication would violate any applicable Federal or
State equal
employment opportunity law or regulation; and
(C)
the person who makes the communication
(i)
discloses in writing to the consumer who is the subject
of the
communication, not later than 5 business days after
receiving any
request from the consumer for such disclosure, the
nature and substance
of
all information in the consumer's file at the time of
the request, except
that
the sources of any information that is acquired solely
for use in
making the communication and is actually used for no
other purpose,
need
not be disclosed other than under appropriate discovery
procedures
in
any court of competent jurisdiction in which an action
is brought; and
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July 30, 2004
(ii)
notifies the consumer who is the subject of the
communication, in
writing, of the consumer's right to request the
information described in
clause (i).
(p)The term “consumer reporting agency that compiles and
maintains files on
consumers on a nationwide basis” means a consumer
reporting agency that regularly
engages in the practice of assembling or evaluating, and
maintaining, for the purpose
of
furnishing consumer reports to third parties bearing on
a consumer's credit
worthiness, credit standing, or credit capacity, each of
the following regarding
consumers residing nationwide:
(1)Public record information.
(2)Credit account information from persons who furnish
that information regularly
and
in the ordinary course of business.
(q)
Definitions relating to fraud alerts.
(1)The term “active duty military consumer” means a
consumer in military service
who--
(A)
is on active duty (as defined in section 101(d)(1) of
title 10, United States
Code) or is a reservist performing duty under a call or
order to active duty
under a provision of law referred to in section
101(a)(13) of title 10,
United States Code; and
(B)
is assigned to service away from the usual duty station
of the consumer.
(2)The terms “fraud alert” and “active duty alert” mean
a statement in the file of a
consumer that--
(A)
notifies all prospective users of a consumer report
relating to the consumer
that
the consumer may be a victim of fraud, including
identity theft, or is
an
active duty military consumer, as applicable; and
(B)
is presented in a manner that facilitates a clear and
conspicuous view of
the
statement described in subparagraph (A) by any person
requesting such
consumer report.
(3)The term “identity theft” means a fraud committed
using the identifying
information of another person, subject to such further
definition as the
Commission may prescribe, by regulation.
(4)The term “identity theft report” has the meaning
given that term by rule of the
Commission, and means, at a minimum, a report--
(A)
that alleges an identity theft;
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July 30, 2004
(B)
that is a copy of an official, valid report filed by a
consumer with an
appropriate Federal, State, or local law enforcement
agency, including the
United States Postal Inspection Service, or such other
government agency
deemed appropriate by the Commission; and
(C)
the filing of which subjects the person filing the
report to criminal
penalties relating to the filing of false information
if, in fact, the
information in the report is false.
(5)The term “new credit plan” means a new account under
an open end credit plan
(as
defined in section 103(i) of the Truth in Lending Act)
or a new credit
transaction not under an open end credit plan.
(r)
Credit and Debit Related Terms
(1)
The term “card issuer” means--
(A)
a credit card issuer, in the case of a credit card; and
(B)
a debit card issuer, in the case of a debit card.
(2)The term “credit card” has the same meaning as in
section 103 of the Truth in
Lending Act.
(3)The term “debit card” means any card issued by a
financial institution to a
consumer for use in initiating an electronic fund
transfer from the account of the
consumer at such financial institution, for the purpose
of transferring money
between accounts or obtaining money, property, labor, or
services.
(4)The terms “account” and “electronic fund transfer”
have the same meanings as in
section 903 of the Electronic Fund Transfer Act.
(5)The terms “credit” and “creditor” have the same
meanings as in section 702 of the
Equal Credit Opportunity Act.
(s)
The term “Federal banking agency” has the same meaning
as in section 3 of the
Federal Deposit Insurance Act.
(t)
The term “financial institution” means a State or
National bank, a State or Federal
savings and loan association, a mutual savings bank, a
State or Federal credit union,
or
any other person that, directly or indirectly, holds a
transaction account (as defined
in
section 19(b) of the Federal Reserve Act) belonging to a
consumer.
(u)
The term “reseller” means a consumer reporting agency
that--
(1)assembles and merges information contained in the
database of another consumer
reporting agency or multiple consumer reporting agencies
concerning any
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July 30, 2004
consumer for purposes of furnishing such information to
any third party, to the
extent of such activities; and
(2)does not maintain a database of the assembled or
merged information from which
new
consumer reports are produced.
(v)
The term “Commission” means the Federal Trade
Commission.
(w) The term “nationwide specialty consumer reporting
agency” means a consumer
reporting agency that compiles and maintains files on
consumers on a nationwide
basis relating to--
(1)
medical records or payments;
(2)
residential or tenant history;
(3)
check writing history;
(4)
employment history; or
(5)
insurance claims.
(x)
Exclusion of Certain Communications for Employee
Investigations
(1)
A communication is described in this subsection if--
(A)
but for subsection (d)(2)(D), the communication would be
a consumer
report;
(B)
the communication is made to an employer in connection
with an
investigation of–
(i)
suspected misconduct relating to employment; or
(ii)
compliance with Federal, State, or local laws and
regulations, the rules
of a
self-regulatory organization, or any preexisting written
policies of
the
employer;
(C)
the communication is not made for the purpose of
investigating a
consumer's credit worthiness, credit standing, or credit
capacity; and
(D)
the communication is not provided to any person except--
(i)
to the employer or an agent of the employer;
(ii)
to any Federal or State officer, agency, or department,
or any officer,
agency, or department of a unit of general local
government;
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July 30, 2004
(iii) to any self-regulatory organization with
regulatory authority over the
activities of the employer or employee;
(iv)
as otherwise required by law; or
(v)
pursuant to section 608.
(2)Subsequent
disclosure. After taking any adverse action based
in whole or in part on a
communication described in paragraph (1), the employer
shall disclose to the
consumer a summary containing the nature and substance
of the communication
upon
which the adverse action is based, except that the
sources of information
acquired solely for use in preparing what would be but
for subsection (d)(2)(D) an
investigative consumer report need not be disclosed.
(3)For purposes of this subsection, the term
“self-regulatory organization” includes any
self-regulatory organization (as defined in section
3(a)(26) of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934), any entity established under
title I of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act
of
2002, any board of trade designated by the Commodity
Futures Trading
Commission, and any futures association registered with
such Commission.
§
604. Permissible purposes of consumer reports
[15 U.S.C. § 1681b]
(a)In
general. Subject to subsection (c), any consumer
reporting agency may furnish a
consumer report under the following circumstances and no
other:
(1)In response to the order of a court having
jurisdiction to issue such an order, or a
subpoena issued in connection with proceedings before a
Federal grand jury.
(2)In accordance with the written instructions of the
consumer to whom it relates.
(3)To a person which it has reason to believe
(A)
intends to use the information in connection with a
credit transaction
involving the consumer on whom the information is to be
furnished and
involving the extension of credit to, or review or
collection of an account
of,
the consumer; or
(B)
intends to use the information for employment purposes;
or
(C)
intends to use the information in connection with the
underwriting of
insurance involving the consumer; or
(D)
intends to use the information in connection with a
determination of the
consumer's eligibility for a license or other benefit
granted by a
governmental instrumentality required by law to consider
an applicant's
financial responsibility or status; or
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July 30, 2004
(E) intends to use the information, as a potential
investor or servicer, or
current insurer, in connection with a valuation of, or
an assessment of the
credit or prepayment risks associated with, an existing
credit obligation; or
(F)
otherwise has a legitimate business need for the
information
(i)
in connection with a business transaction that is
initiated by the
consumer; or
(ii)
to review an account to determine whether the consumer
continues to
meet
the terms of the account.
(4)In response to a request by the head of a State or
local child support enforcement
agency (or a State or local government official
authorized by the head of such an
agency), if the person making the request certifies to
the consumer reporting
agency that
(A) the consumer report is needed for the purpose of
establishing an
individual’s capacity to make child support payments or
determining the
appropriate level of such payments;
(B) the paternity of the consumer for the child to which
the obligation relates
has
been established or acknowledged by the consumer in
accordance with
State laws under which the obligation arises (if
required by those laws);
(C) the person has provided at least 10 days’ prior
notice to the consumer
whose report is requested, by certified or registered
mail to the last known
address of the consumer, that the report will be
requested; and
(D) the consumer report will be kept confidential, will
be used solely for a
purpose described in subparagraph (A), and will not be
used in connection
with
any other civil, administrative, or criminal proceeding,
or for any
other purpose.
(5)To an agency administering a State plan under Section
454 of the Social Security
Act
(42 U.S.C. § 654) for use to set an initial or modified
child support award.
(b)Conditions for Furnishing and Using Consumer Reports
for Employment Purposes.
(1)Certification
from user. A consumer reporting agency may furnish
a consumer
report for employment purposes only if
(A)
the person who obtains such report from the agency
certifies to the agency
that
(i)
the person has complied with paragraph (2) with respect
to the consumer
report, and the person will comply with paragraph (3)
with respect to the
consumer report if paragraph (3) becomes applicable; and
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July 30, 2004
(ii)
information from the consumer report will not be used in
violation of
any
applicable Federal or State equal employment opportunity
law or
regulation; and
(B) the consumer reporting agency provides with the
report, or has previously
provided, a summary of the consumer's rights under this
title, as prescribed
by
the Federal Trade Commission under section 609(c)(3) [§
1681g].
(2) Disclosure to Consumer.
(A) In general. Except as provided in
subparagraph (B), a person may not
procure a consumer report, or cause a consumer report to
be procured, for
employment purposes with respect to any consumer,
unless--
(i) a clear and conspicuous
disclosure has been made in writing to the
consumer at any time before the report is procured or
caused to be
procured, in a document that consists solely of the
disclosure, that a
consumer report may be obtained for employment purposes;
and
(ii) the consumer has authorized in
writing (which authorization may be
made
on the document referred to in clause (i)) the
procurement of the
report by that person.
(B) Application by mail, telephone,
computer, or other similar means. If a
consumer described in subparagraph (C) applies for
employment by mail,
telephone, computer, or other similar means, at any time
before a
consumer report is procured or caused to be procured in
connection with
that
application--
(i) the person who procures the
consumer report on the consumer for
employment purposes shall provide to the consumer, by
oral, written,
or
electronic means, notice that a consumer report may be
obtained for
employment purposes, and a summary of the consumer's
rights under
section 615(a)(3); and
(ii) the consumer shall have
consented, orally, in writing, or electronically
to
the procurement of the report by that person.
(C) Scope. Subparagraph (B) shall
apply to a person procuring a consumer
report on a consumer in connection with the consumer's
application for
employment only if--
(i) the consumer is applying for a
position over which the Secretary of
Transportation has the power to establish qualifications
and maximum
hours of service pursuant to the provisions of section
31502 of title 49,
or a
position subject to safety regulation by a State
transportation
agency; and
1
The
references in Sections 604(b)(3)(A) and 604(b)(3)(B)
should be to Section 609(c)(1), not (c)(3) that
no
longer exists as the result of Congress’ re-organization
of Section 609(c) in 2003 (FACT Act).
15
July 30, 2004
(ii) as of the time at which the
person procures the report or causes the
report to be procured the only interaction between the
consumer and
the
person in connection with that employment application
has been by
mail, telephone, computer, or other similar means.
(3) Conditions on use for adverse actions.
(A) In general. Except as
provided in subparagraph (B), in using a consumer
report for employment purposes, before taking any
adverse action based in
whole or in part on the report, the person intending to
take such adverse
action shall provide to the consumer to whom the report
relates--
(i) a copy of the report; and
(ii) a description in writing of the
rights of the consumer under this title, as
prescribed by the Federal Trade Commission under section
609(c)(3).1
(B) Application by mail, telephone,
computer, or other similar means.
(i) If a consumer described in
subparagraph (C) applies for employment
by
mail, telephone, computer, or other similar means, and
if a person
who
has procured a consumer report on the consumer for
employment
purposes takes adverse action on the employment
application based in
whole or in part on the report, then the person must
provide to the
consumer to whom the report relates, in lieu of the
notices required
under subparagraph (A) of this section and under section
615(a),
within 3 business days of taking such action, an oral,
written or
electronic notification--
(I) that adverse action has
been taken based in whole or in part on a
consumer report received from a consumer reporting
agency;
(II) of the name, address and
telephone number of the consumer
reporting agency that furnished the consumer report
(including
a
toll-free telephone number established by the agency if
the
agency compiles and maintains files on consumers on a
nationwide basis);
(III) that the consumer
reporting agency did not make the decision to
take
the adverse action and is unable to provide to the
consumer
the
specific reasons why the adverse action was taken; and
(IV) that the consumer may,
upon providing proper identification, request
a
free copy of a report and may dispute with the consumer
reporting
agency the accuracy or completeness of any information
in a report.
16
July 30, 2004
(ii) If, under clause (B)(i)(IV),
the consumer requests a copy of a consumer
report from the person who procured the report, then,
within 3 business
days
of receiving the consumer's request, together with
proper identifi-
cation, the person must send or provide to the consumer
a copy of a
report and a copy of the consumer's rights as prescribed
by the Federal
Trade Commission under section 609(c)(3).
(C) Scope. Subparagraph (B) shall
apply to a person procuring a consumer report
on a
consumer in connection with the consumer's application
for employment
only
if--
(i) the consumer is applying for a
position over which the Secretary of Trans-
portation has the power to establish qualifications and
maximum hours of
service pursuant to the provisions of section 31502 of
title 49, or a position
subject to safety regulation by a State transportation
agency; and
(ii) as of the time at which the
person procures the report or causes the
report to be procured the only interaction between the
consumer and
the
person in connection with that employment application
has been by
mail, telephone, computer, or other similar means.
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