Equal Employment for All Act of 2025
The Equal Employment for All Act of 2025 would tighten limits on how employers can use consumer credit information in hiring and employment decisions. Specifically, it would generally bar both prospective and current employers from using a consumer report or investigative consumer report—i.e., a credit history report or similar background check—to assess creditworthiness or to make adverse employment decisions. The bill creates narrow, explicit exceptions (notably for jobs requiring national security clearance or where law requires otherwise) and adds a limited, authorization-based path that allows use of credit-related information only in very specific circumstances. It also preserves existing disclosure and notification requirements and adjusts the Fair Credit Reporting Act’s structure to accommodate these changes. In short, the bill aims to reduce the role of credit history in employment decisions, expanding protections for job applicants and workers, while still allowing limited, legally or security-mandated uses in particular cases. It would be a significant change for how employers screen candidates and manage workforce risk, potentially reducing disparities tied to credit history but also affecting how some employers assess qualifications in sensitive roles. Sponsored and introduced in the House on September 15, 2025 by Rep. Cohen and several co-sponsors (Davis of Illinois, Mullin, Norton, and Schakowsky); referred to the Committee on Financial Services.
Key Points
- 1General prohibition: Employers may not use a consumer report or investigative consumer report to evaluate a consumer’s creditworthiness, credit standing, or credit capacity for employment purposes or to take an adverse employment action, with limited exceptions.
- 2Consent not required for prohibition: The ban applies regardless of whether the consumer consented to the procurement or use of the credit-related report for employment purposes or adverse actions.
- 3Narrow exceptions: Employers may use credit-related reports only in two situations—(A) for positions that require national security clearance, and (B) when otherwise required by law.
- 4Authorized-use pathway (with safeguards): A new subsection allows use of credit-related information only if the consumer authorizes the procurement (as described in the bill) and only in cases where the job involves access to classified information or when law requires. Importantly, an employer may not deny employment solely because the applicant or employee did not authorize procurement, except under the narrowly defined authorized-use scenarios.
- 5Disclosure/notification still required: The exceptions do not waive other disclosure or notification requirements that accompany permissible use of a consumer report for employment purposes or adverse actions.