PRIA, Government Policy, Made Personal

Summary

Consumer reporting agencies must not put negative information in a consumer report if that bad item happened because the person was a victim of a severe form of human trafficking or sex trafficking and the person gives the agency official trafficking documentation. Trafficking documentation means official papers from a Federal, State, Tribal government or a court that say the person is a trafficking victim and that point out which negative items were caused by the trafficking and should not be reported. The terms “severe forms of trafficking in persons” and “sex trafficking” are defined in the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000. A “victim of trafficking” means someone who suffered those kinds of trafficking. The Director had to issue rules not later than 180 days after December 27, 2021, to put this rule into effect. Those rules must set up a way for people to give their trafficking documentation to consumer reporting agencies.

Title 15, §1681c–3

Commerce and Trade, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)In this section:

(1)The term “trafficking documentation” means—

(A)documentation of—

(i)a determination that a consumer is a victim of trafficking made by a Federal, State, or Tribal governmental entity; or

(ii)by a court of competent jurisdiction; and

(B)documentation that identifies items of adverse information that should not be furnished by a consumer reporting agency because the items resulted from a severe form of trafficking in persons or sex trafficking of which the consumer is a victim.

(2)The terms “severe forms of trafficking in persons” and “sex trafficking” have the meanings given, respectively, in section 103 of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7102).

(3)The term “victim of trafficking” means a person who is a victim of a severe form of trafficking in persons or sex trafficking.

(b)A consumer reporting agency may not furnish a consumer report containing any adverse item of information about a consumer that resulted from a severe form of trafficking in persons or sex trafficking if the consumer has provided trafficking documentation to the consumer reporting agency.

(c)(1)Not later than 180 days after December 27, 2021, the Director shall issue rules to implement subsection (a).

(2)The rules issued pursuant to paragraph (1) shall establish a method by which consumers shall submit trafficking documentation to consumer reporting agencies.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

Pub. L. 117–81, div. F, title LXI, § 6102(c), Dec. 27, 2021, 135 Stat. 2384, provided that: “The

Amendments

made by this section [enacting this section] shall apply on the date that is 30 days after the date on which the Director of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection issues a rule pursuant to section 605C(c) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act [15 U.S.C. 1681c–3(c)], as added by subsection (a) of this section. Any rule issued by the Director to implement such section 605C [15 U.S.C. 1681c–3] shall be limited to preventing a consumer reporting agency from furnishing a consumer report containing any adverse item of information about a consumer (as such terms are defined, respectively, in section 603 the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681a)) that resulted from trafficking.”

§1681c–3 Adverse Information in Cases of Trafficking