Updated

Updated · Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP · Jun 11

New York Restricts Employer Credit Checks in Hiring Decisions Effective April 18, 2026

Updated

Updated · Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP · Jun 11

New York Restricts Employer Credit Checks in Hiring Decisions Effective April 18, 2026

Q: Beyond police, which New York jobs can still legally require a credit check?

Yes. Under New York’s statewide ban on most employment credit checks, jobs beyond police can still legally require one only if they fit narrow statutory exceptions. Those exceptions include law-enforcement or investigative roles more broadly, not just police officers. They also cover positions where a credit check is required by federal or state law or by a self-regulatory organization, such as some regulated financial-industry jobs, as well as roles that require bonding or a state or federal security clearance. Credit checks may also still be used for certain sensitive non-clerical jobs. That includes positions with regular access to trade secrets, intelligence information, national security information, or the ability to modify digital security systems protecting an employer’s or client’s networks or databases. Financial-trust roles remain exempt too. Employers may check credit for jobs with signatory authority over third-party assets of $10,000 or more, or for positions carrying fiduciary responsibility to the employer and authority to enter financial agreements of $10,000 or more on the employer’s behalf. The law also preserves an exception for some appointed public positions subject to a state background investigation and involving a high degree of public trust. The key point is that these carveouts are expected to be read narrowly. In New York City, some local protections are even stricter, so employers must follow whichever rule gives workers more protection.

1 articles · Updated · Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP · Jun 11

April 18, 2026 marked the start of a New York State rule making it unlawful in most cases for employers to request or use an applicant's or employee's consumer credit history in hiring, pay or other job decisions.
Section 380-b of the General Business Law broadly defines consumer credit history to include credit reports, scores, payment history and other information bearing on creditworthiness obtained from reporting agencies or directly from individuals.
The restriction is not absolute: New York carved out exceptions for some law-enforcement, data-security, financial and fiduciary roles, and for jobs where state or federal law requires background checks.
The amendment brings state law closer to New York City's 2015 Stop Credit Discrimination in Employment Act and aligns New York with states such as California and Illinois that already limit employment credit checks.