On June 7, 2016, Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney signed bill number 160072 as passed by The City Council of Philadelphia, amending Chapter 9-1100 of The Philadelphia Code entitled “Fair Practices Ordinance: Against Unlawful Discrimination.”  This amendment added a section prohibiting employers from obtaining or using credit-related information regarding employees and job applicants in certain circumstances, under certain terms and conditions, for employment purposes, and was effective as of July 7, 2016.

The ordinance does not apply:

(a) to any law enforcement agency or financial institution;
(b) to the City of Philadelphia with respect to efforts to obtain information regarding taxes or other debts owed to the City;
(c) if such information must be obtained pursuant to state or federal law;
(d) if the job requires an employee to be bonded under City, state, or federal law;
(e) if the job is supervisory or managerial in nature and involves setting the direction or policies of a business or a division, unit or similar part of a business;
(f) if the job involves significant financial responsibility to the employer, including the
authority to make payments, transfer money, collect debts, or enter into contracts, but not including handling transactions in a retail setting;
(g) if the job requires access to financial information pertaining to customers, other employees, or the employer, other than information customarily provided in a retail transaction; or
(h) if the job requires access to confidential or proprietary information that derives
substantial value from secrecy.

If an employer relies, in whole or in part, on credit information to consider adverse employment action with respect to any person, and certain subsections above apply, the employer:

(a) shall disclose the fact of such reliance to the person in writing and identify and
provide the particular information upon which the employer relied; and
(b) give the employee or applicant an opportunity to explain the circumstances surrounging the information at issue before taking any such adverse action.

Read the ordinance here.