Cook County, Illinois enacted a bill (No. 15-3088) that amends the Cook County Human Rights Ordinance to restrict employers from asking about or otherwise considering a prospective or current employee’s credit history in employment decisions. The new ordinance is nearly identical to laws in Illinois and Chicago that were enacted a few years ago, and falls in line with a growing trend around the country. The new ordinance applies to private employers that have a principal place of business, or “do business,” in Cook County, as well as prospective and current employees of such employers, whether for paid or unpaid employment. The new ordinance also expansively defines “credit history” as an individual’s record of past borrowing and repaying, including information about late payments and bankruptcy.

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