Maine Revises State Fair Credit Reporting Act to be More Consistent with Federal FCRA

Maine Governor Paul LePage signed LD 1410 in June of 2013 to update the state’s consumer reporting law by adopting most of the provisions of the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), 15 United States Code, Section 1681 et seq., as amended. LD 1410 incorporates the federal fair credit reporting laws into state law while preserving enhanced protections found in current state law in Maine. The full text of LD 1410 is available at http://www.mainelegislature.org/legis/bills/bills_126th/billtexts/SP050401.asp.

The revised Maine FCRA repeals the former Maine FCRA. For example, the revised Maine FCRA does not contain a requirement that employers provide additional state-specific disclosures to job applicants and employees prior to obtaining a consumer credit report – which was included in the former Maine FCRA –  and employers in that state now need only comply with the notice requirements in the federal FCRA. The full text of the federal FCRA is available at http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/031224fcra.pdf.

However, the revised Maine FCRA still contains certain obligations specific to the state and includes different enforcement and remedial schemes than the federal FCRA. The revised Maine FCRA also has requirements concerning “security freezes” when a notice is placed in a consumer report that prohibits the release of information in the report without the consumer’s authorization. These requirements do not apply to an employer’s use of credit information for pre-screening in the revised Maine FCRA.

Employers must stay in compliance with federal and state FCRA laws. As reported earlier on ESR News, a trucking company is facing a class action lawsuit over employment background checks for allegedly violating the federal FCRA. For information about background checks, visit Employment Screening Resources® (ESR) – a nationwide background screening firm accredited by The National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS®) – at https://www.esrcheck.com or call Toll Free 888.999.4474.

Sources:

http://www.mainelegislature.org/legis/bills/bills_126th/billtexts/SP050401.asp

http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/031224fcra.pdf

https://www.esrcheck.com/wordpress/2013/08/06/trucking-company-faces-class-action-lawsuit-over-employment-background-checks/

About Employment Screening Resources® (ESR):

Founded by safe hiring expert Attorney Les Rosen in 1997, Employment Screening Resources® (ESR) – ‘The Background Check Authority®’– provides accurate and actionable information that empowers employers to make informed hiring decisions for the benefit of their organizations, employees, and the public. CEO Rosen literally wrote the book on background checks with “The Safe Hiring Manual” and ESR is accredited by The National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS), a distinction held by a small percent of screening firms. Employers choosing ESR know they have selected an agency meeting the highest industry standards. To learn more about ESR, visit https://www.esrcheck.com or call toll free 888.999.4474.

About ESR News: 

The Employment Screening Resources® (ESR) News blog – ESR News – provides employment screening information for employers, recruiters, and jobseekers on a variety of topics including credit reports, criminal records, data privacy, discrimination, E-Verify, jobs reports, legal updates, negligent hiring, workplace violence, and use of search engines and social network sites for background checks. For more information about ESR News or to send comments or questions, please email ESR News Editor Thomas Ahearn at [email protected]. To subscribe to the ESR News Blog Feed, visit https://www.esrcheck.com/wordpress/feed/. To subscribe to the complimentary ESRcheck Report monthly newsletter, please visit https://www.esrcheck.com/Newsletter/.