{"id":38985,"date":"2026-04-21T14:47:32","date_gmt":"2026-04-21T18:47:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/?p=38985"},"modified":"2026-04-21T14:48:05","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T18:48:05","slug":"business-report-nys-bans-employment-credit-checks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2026\/04\/business-report-nys-bans-employment-credit-checks\/","title":{"rendered":"Business Report: NYS Bans Employment Credit Checks"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_38987\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-38987\" style=\"width: 248px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-38987\" src=\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/109\/2026\/04\/amanda-smith-2-1-248x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"248\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/109\/2026\/04\/amanda-smith-2-1-248x300.jpg 248w, https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/109\/2026\/04\/amanda-smith-2-1.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 248px) 100vw, 248px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-38987\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A Partner at Tully Rinckey PLLC, Amanda focuses on\u00a0 Employment and Labor Law.<br \/>Courtesy Tully Rinckey, PLLC<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>By Amanda Smith, Esq.<\/p>\n<p>With \u201clittle to no evidence\u201d indicating a correlation between credit history and job performance, a new law will ban employers, labor organizations or employment agencies from conducting consumer credit checks on employees or potential new hires.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Employment Consumer Credit Checks<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>In today\u2019s job market, the majority of large employers use credit checks as part of their hiring process and in how they treat their existing employees, the bill\u2019s text states, adding that in addition to lacking any such meaningful correlation, a Federal Trade Commission study indicates that as many as one in four consumers may have a \u201cmaterial error\u201d in their credit report.<\/p>\n<p>Signed into law by Gov. Kathy Hochul, the text of the bill states that because millions of Americans have errors in their credit reports, it puts them in a lower credit risk tier, whether they are aware of any errors or not. Many New Yorkers, through no fault of their own, have less than ideal credit histories that may stem from issues completely unrelated to their job performance or capabilities, making them disadvantaged because employers are using credit reports to determine if they are worthy of a job or a promotion, according to the bill.<\/p>\n<p>Further, the bill states that there is \u201clittle to no evidence that shows a correlation between credit history and job performance.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><b><span class=\"Apple-converted-space\"><strong><span class=\"s1\"><span class=\"s2\"><!--more--><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/b>No More Consumer Credit Checks for Employees, Prospective New Hires in New York State<\/p>\n<p>Effective April 18, 2026, New York state will not allow employers, labor organizations or employment agencies to conduct consumer credit checks on most employees or potential new hires.<\/p>\n<p>The new law will prohibit an employer or potential employer from using a job applicant or employee\u2019s consumer credit report in his or her decision to:<\/p>\n<p>hire;<\/p>\n<p>terminate;<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>promote;<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>demote;<\/p>\n<p>discipline;<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>compensate; or<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>set the terms, conditions, or privileges of employment.<\/p>\n<p>What Employers Need to Know<\/p>\n<p>Once seen as a litmus test for an employee\u2019s potential responsibility or trustworthiness, credit history may now be identified as a potential source of bias. The law, however, creates a new avenue for employment discrimination claims if credit history is requested or used improperly.<\/p>\n<p>Therefore, employers should be aware that the new law bans credit checks for employees and potential employees, amending New York\u2019s General Business Law to substantially restrict the use of an applicant\u2019s or employee\u2019s credit history in employment decisions, unless they fall within a handful of narrowly defined exceptions.<\/p>\n<p>Except for specific exemptions, employers may not request or use credit history when making hiring, compensation or employment-condition decisions for most employees or job applicants. According to the bill, exceptions may include:<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>police officers or peace officers;<\/p>\n<p>positions requiring bonding or security clearance;<\/p>\n<p>high\u2011trust financial roles;<\/p>\n<p>roles involving regular access to trade secrets;<\/p>\n<p>persons in a position having signatory authority over third-party funds or assets<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>valued at 10,000 or more or that involve a fiduciary responsibility to<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>the<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>employer<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>with the authority to<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>enter financial agreements valued at $10,000 or more on behalf of the employer;<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>persons in a position with regular duties that allow the employee to modify digital security systems established to prevent the unauthorized use of the employer\u2019s or client\u2019s networks or databases.<\/p>\n<p>Employers should not underestimate the scope of this change, and be aware of the new law limiting credit checks on employees and applicants, and also have an understanding about which positions may qualify for exemption from the new law. What was once a routine part of background checks is now largely off-limits, and missteps could carry legal consequences.<\/p>\n<p>A knowledgeable employment attorney can help you gain an understanding of the unique difficulties each workplace conflict presents and work toward a solution that benefits you.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Amanda Smith, Esq. With \u201clittle to no evidence\u201d indicating a correlation between credit history and job performance, a new law will ban employers, labor organizations or employment agencies from conducting consumer credit checks on employees or potential new hires.\u00a0 Employment Consumer Credit Checks\u00a0 In today\u2019s job market, the majority of large employers use credit [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":89,"featured_media":38989,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-38985","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\r\n<title>Business Report: NYS Bans Employment Credit Checks - Glens Falls Business Journal<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2026\/04\/business-report-nys-bans-employment-credit-checks\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Business Report: NYS Bans Employment Credit Checks - Glens Falls Business Journal\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Amanda Smith, Esq. With \u201clittle to no evidence\u201d indicating a correlation between credit history and job performance, a new law will ban employers, labor organizations or employment agencies from conducting consumer credit checks on employees or potential new hires.\u00a0 Employment Consumer Credit Checks\u00a0 In today\u2019s job market, the majority of large employers use credit [&hellip;]\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2026\/04\/business-report-nys-bans-employment-credit-checks\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Glens Falls Business Journal\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-04-21T18:47:32+00:00\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-21T18:48:05+00:00\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/109\/2026\/04\/amandasmith_fi.png\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jake Van Ness\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jake Van Ness\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\r\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2026\/04\/business-report-nys-bans-employment-credit-checks\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2026\/04\/business-report-nys-bans-employment-credit-checks\/\",\"name\":\"Business Report: NYS Bans Employment Credit Checks - 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