As of April 18, 2026, New York State employers may no longer use consumer credit history when making hiring or employment decisions. By amending the State’s Fair Credit Reporting Act, New York became the eleventh state to restrict or prohibit an employer’s use of credit information, an emerging trend in jurisdictions across the country.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed Senate Bill S3072 into law on December 19, 2025. The approved bill amends Section 380 of New York’s General Business Law (also known as the New York Fair Credit Reporting Act) to substantially limit how employers may use credit information when making employment decisions for both prospective and current employees. The new law expands coverage within the state, as New York City employers have faced similar credit history restrictions since September 2015, when NYC’s Stop Credit Discrimination in Employment Act (“SCDEA”) went into effect.
Statutory Restrictions
At its core, the new law makes it unlawful for an employer, labor organization, employment agency, or its agent to:
- Request or use consumer credit history for employment purposes; or
- Use consumer credit history when making decisions related to employment, such as hiring, compensation, or the terms or conditions of employment.
Broad Coverage and “Consumer Credit History” Definition
The statute’s restrictions apply broadly regarding the persons it covers and the definition of “consumer credit history.”
Regarding coverage, the amendment is not limited to job applicants or the hiring process; instead, the new law also covers current employees and all other employment-related decisions, like compensation decisions.
The law also broadly defines “consumer credit history” as “an individual’s credit worthiness, credit standing, credit capacity or payment history, as indicated by: (1) a consumer credit report; (2) credit score; or (3) information an employer obtains directly from the individual regarding (i) details about credit accounts, including the individual’s number of credit accounts, late or missed payments, charged-off debts, items in collection, credit limit or prior credit report inquiries, or (ii) bankruptcies, judgments or liens.”
Statutory Exemptions
Significantly, the new law includes several explicit exemptions that mirror the narrow exemptions included in NYC’s SCDEA. The statute does not apply to the following entities and individuals:
- Employers required to use an individual’s consumer credit history pursuant to state or federal law, or by a self-regulatory organization;
- Persons applying for positions or employed as peace officers, police officers, or positions with a law enforcement or investigative role within a governmental agency;
- Persons in an appointed position subject to a state-administered background investigation where the role involves a high degree of public trust;
- Persons in a position required to be bonded under state or federal law;
- Persons in a position required to possess security clearance under state or federal law;
- Persons in a non-clerical position with regular access to trade secrets, intelligence information or national security information;
- Persons in a position (a) with signatory authority over third-party funds or assets valued at $10,000 or more; or (b) involving a fiduciary duty or authority to enter financial agreements valued at $10,000 or more on behalf of the employer; or
- Persons in a position with regular duties allowing the employee to modify digital security systems that protect the employer’s or client’s networks or databases.
Unless one of the above exemptions applies, New York State employers and their agents may not use or request consumer credit history for employment purposes or to make employment-related decisions.
Scope and Considerations for Employers
Notably, the statute also applies to background screening agencies or similar entities. Specifically, organizations like credit bureaus and background check companies may not provide employers with reports containing consumer credit history for employment purposes unless one of the narrow exemptions listed above applies.
New York joins an increasing number of jurisdictions that have enacted similar laws restricting an employer’s use of credit history in employment decisions, including ten states — California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Nevada, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington — and major U.S. cities: New York City, the District of Columbia, Chicago, Illinois, Madison, Wisconsin, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Accordingly, New York State employers should review their hiring policies — and policies and procedures relating to compensation and other employment-related decisions — in order to ensure compliance with this new law.