N.Y. General Business Law 380-J – Prohibited information
§ 380-j. Prohibited information. (a) No consumer reporting agency shall report or maintain in the file on a consumer, information:
Terms Used In N.Y. General Business Law 380-J
- adverse information: means information that is likely to have a negative effect upon the ability or eligibility of a consumer to obtain credit, insurance, employment, or other benefits, goods or services or information that is either wholly or partially responsible for increases in charges for credit or insurance. See N.Y. General Business Law 380-A
- Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
- Bankruptcy: Refers to statutes and judicial proceedings involving persons or businesses that cannot pay their debts and seek the assistance of the court in getting a fresh start. Under the protection of the bankruptcy court, debtors may discharge their debts, perhaps by paying a portion of each debt. Bankruptcy judges preside over these proceedings.
- Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
- consumer: means an individual. See N.Y. General Business Law 380-A
- 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 to be used or collected in whole or part for the purpose of serving as a factor in establishing the consumer's eligibility for (i) credit or insurance to be used primarily for personal, family, or household purposes, (ii) employment purposes, or (iii) other purposes authorized under section three hundred eighty-b of this article. See N.Y. General Business Law 380-A
- consumer reporting agency: means any person who, 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 or investigative consumer reports to third parties. See N.Y. General Business Law 380-A
- Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
- 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. See N.Y. General Business Law 380-A
- 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. See N.Y. General Business Law 380-A
- 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. See N.Y. General Business Law 380-A
- Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
- medical debt: means any obligation or alleged obligation of a consumer to pay any amount whatsoever related to the receipt of health care services, products, or devices provided by a hospital licensed under Article 28 of the public health law, a health care professional authorized under title eight of the education law, or an ambulance service certified under Article 30 of the public health law. See N.Y. General Business Law 380-A
- person: means any individual, partnership, corporation, trust, estate, co-operative, association, government or governmental subdivision, agency or other entity. See N.Y. General Business Law 380-A
- Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
- Statute of limitations: A law that sets the time within which parties must take action to enforce their rights.
(1) relative to an arrest or a criminal charge unless there has been a criminal conviction for such offense, or unless such charges are still pending,
(2) relative to a consumer's race, religion, color, ancestry or ethnic origin,
(3) relative to a medical debt as defined in this statute; or
(4) which it has reason to know is inaccurate.
(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph one of subdivision (a) of this section, a consumer reporting agency may collect, evaluate, prepare, use or report information relative to a detention of an individual by a retail mercantile establishment, provided that:
(1) the individual has executed an uncoerced admission of wrongdoing;
(2) with respect to a detention made on or after the effective date of this article the retail mercantile establishment has, prior to transmitting to a consumer reporting agency information concerning such detention, delivered to the individual a written notice containing:
(i) a statement that the information may be furnished to a consumer reporting agency, and that such information may be reported to a retail mercantile establishment for employment purposes,
(ii) a statement that the individual may request disclosure by the consumer reporting agency of information in the agency's file on such individual, and that the completeness or accuracy of such information may be disputed by the individual, and
(iii) the name and address of such consumer reporting agency; and
(3) the user of such information certifies to the consumer reporting agency that such information will be used only in connection with employment purposes.
(c) In the event that a criminal charge is filed subsequent to the detention described in subdivision (b) of this section, the disposition of such charge shall be recorded by the consumer reporting agency in the file on such individual upon the request of such individual and upon his furnishing proof of such disposition.
(d) No consumer reporting agency shall issue a consumer report which lists a person as having been denied credit if the sole reason for such denial is lack of sufficient information to grant credit, unless the report states that the denial was for such reason.
(e) Consumer reporting agencies shall maintain reasonable procedures designed to assure maximum possible accuracy of the information concerning the individual about whom the report relates.
(f) (1) Except as authorized under paragraph two of this subdivision, no consumer reporting agency may make any consumer report containing any of the following items of information.
(i) bankruptcies which, from date of adjudication of the most recent bankruptcy, antedate the report by more than fourteen years;
(ii) judgements which, from date of entry, antedate the report by more than seven years or until the governing statute of limitations has expired, whichever is the longer period; or judgments which, from date of entry, having been satisfied within a five year period from such entry date, shall be removed from the report five years after such entry date;
(iii) paid tax liens which, from date of payment, antedate the report by more than seven years or, a paid, satisfied or vacated tax lien involving a purchaser, transferee or assignee in a bulk sale transaction who has been deemed liable by the state tax commission for sales taxes due from a seller, transferrer or assignor under subdivision (c) of § 1141 of the tax law, where the receipt by a credit reporting agency from such purchaser, transferee or assignee of a notice, or true copy thereof, from the state tax commission to such purchaser, transferee or assignee that his liability has been wholly paid or satisfied or no longer exists, antedates the report by more than thirty days;
(iv) accounts placed for collection or charged to profit and loss which antedate the report by more than seven years; or accounts placed for collection or charged to profit and loss, which have been paid and which antedate the report by more than five years;
(v) records of conviction of crime which, from date of disposition, release, or parole, antedate the report by more than seven years;
(vi) information regarding drug or alcoholic addiction where the last reported incident relating to such addiction antedates the consumer report or investigative consumer report by more than seven years;
(vii) information relating to past confinement in a mental institution where the date of last confinement antedates the report by more than seven years;
(viii) information relating to a medical debt regardless of the date it was incurred; or
(ix) any other adverse information which antedates the report by more than seven years.
(2) The provisions of this subdivision shall not apply to:
(i) a credit transaction involving, or which may reasonably be expected to involve, a principal amount of fifty thousand dollars or more;
(ii) the underwriting of life insurance involving, or which may reasonably be expected to involve, a face amount of fifty thousand dollars or more; or
(iii) the employment of any individual at an annual salary which equals, or which may reasonably be expected to equal twenty-five thousand dollars, or more.
(g) No consumer reporting agency shall collect, evaluate, report, or maintain in the file on a consumer any results, opinions, analyses, transcripts or information of any nature concerning, related to, or derived from a polygraph examination, an examination by any device or instrument of any type used to test or question individuals for the purpose of detecting deception, verifying truthfulness, or measuring deceptive tendencies, or the questioning or interviewing of an individual by the examiner prior to or after such an examination.
(h) No consumer reporting agency shall collect, evaluate, report, or maintain in the file on a consumer the credit worthiness, credit standing or credit capacity of members of the consumer's social network for purposes of determining the credit worthiness of the consumer; the average credit worthiness, credit standing or credit capacity of members of the consumer's social network; or any group score that is not the consumer's own credit worthiness, credit standing or credit capacity. The provisions of this subdivision shall be enforced concurrently by the superintendent of financial services and the director of the division of consumer protection and each shall utilize their consumer complaint and assistance hotlines to document complaints by consumers who believe that group credit ratings of their social media network are being used to deny them credit.