Consumer Financial Protection Circular 2024-06 — Background Dossiers and Algorithmic Scores for Hiring, Promotion, and Other Employment Decisions

Excerpt:  “Today, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued guidance to protect workers from unchecked digital tracking and opaque decision-making systems. The guidance warns that companies using third-party consumer reports — including background dossiers and surveillance-based, “black box” AI or algorithmic scores about their workers — must follow Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) rules. This means employers must obtain worker consent, provide transparency about data used in adverse decisions, and allow workers to dispute inaccurate information. As companies increasingly deploy invasive tools to assess workers, this ensures workers have rights over the data influencing their livelihoods and careers.”