The district court decided that New Jersey can require national credit reporting agencies to provide consumers with disclosures in Spanish—but it can’t mandate translation into other languages.
04/30/2024 2:20 P.M.
1.5 minute read
A federal district court partially vacated a New Jersey law requiring national credit reporting agencies (CRAs) to translate credit file disclosures into at least 10 foreign languages other than Spanish. CRAs are required to offer disclosures in English and Spanish, U.S. District Judge Georgette Castner decided.
In this case, the Consumer Data Industry Association sued the New Jersey attorney general, seeking an injunction to block enforcement of a 2019 amendment to New Jersey’s Fair Credit Reporting Act.
The amendment required national CRAs (which include Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion) to provide New Jersey consumers, upon request, with the consumer’s credit file information in either English, Spanish, or one of “at least” 10 other languages.
CDIA argued that requiring disclosures in any language other than English is preempted by the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act and, even if not preempted, infringes upon its members’ commercial speech rights under the First Amendment.
According to the state, 36.2% of New Jersey residents speak Spanish—by far the most common language spoken other than English.
The court agreed with the state that requiring the translation of credit file disclosures prevents consumer confusion and aids with financial literacy. However, it questioned whether the state’s requirement to offer disclosures translated in least 10 languages was reasonable, noting that “the evidence cited suggests that the ninth and tenth language requirement may serve less than two percent of consumers in the state.”
The court ultimately decided to sever the 10+ language translation provision because it was “unnecessarily burdensome.”
The CDIA told Reuters “we agree with the spirit of inclusion New Jersey’s law represents, but it is not the appropriate vehicle to achieve that goal.”
Read the case, Consumer Data Industry Association v. Platkin, U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, No. 3:19-cv-19054, here.