Ex-student loan official who resigned from CFPB in protest launches new watchdog group
by Jillian Berman, Marketwatch
Seth Frotman, who resigned in protest earlier this year from his position as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s student loan ombudsman, announced Wednesday that he’s launching a new organization aimed at tackling the nation’s student loan problem. Read More ›
California bans toxic flame retardant chemicals in furniture
Consumers, firefighters, environmental and public health advocates overcome decade long resistance from chemical manufacturers Read More ›
The perils of microtask work
by Megan Geuss, Ars Technica
Microtask platforms recruit humans to do the rating, tagging, review-writing, and poll-taking work that can’t quite be automated with an algorithm yet. A new study from the United Nations’ International Labor Organization (ILO) questions whether these platforms are as good for society as the Silicon Valley investors and digital evangelists claim. Read More ›
The final insult for desperate job seekers: Employers doing credit checks
by Jacob Passy, MarketWatch
A new working paper demonstrates how pre-employment credit screenings perpetuate the ‘poverty trap.’ Read More ›
Facebook is letting job advertisers target only men
by Ariana Tobin & Jeremy B. Merrill, Ars Technica (via Propublica)
Hundreds of thousands of Americans drive for Uber. And the company is looking for many more. It runs ads on Facebook that say, for example, “Driving toward something? Make extra money when it works for you and get there faster.” There’s just one catch: Many of those ads are not visible to women. Read More ›
CFC-sponsored garage safety law signed by Governor
Governor Brown signed Senate Bill 969, a new law designed to save lives in home fires. The Consumer Federation of California sponsored SB 969 by Senator Bill Dodd, which requires newly sold or installed electric garage door openers to be equipped with a battery backup to prevent people … Read More ›
A California Supreme Court case started as a $7,812.03 hospital bill
by Barbara Anderson, Fresno Bee
The Fresno case began after a patient disputed a bill he received for treatment of an injured wrist at the emergency department at Community Regional Medical Center. A couple of X-rays and a splint resulted in a bill totaling $7,812.03. Read More ›
California Supreme Court rules some consumer loans so expensive they break the law
by James Rufus Koren, Los Angeles Times
California’s high court has ruled that interest rates on consumer loans can be so high that they become “unconscionable” and, therefore, illegal — a decision that could call into question the validity of millions of loans and upend the state’s subprime lending market. In a unanimous opinion … Read More ›
Poll: Majority of likely voters support CFPB mission
by Sylvan Lane, The Hill
The results found broad support for the CFPB’s historically aggressive oversight coupled with opposition to changes implemented or proposed by Acting Director Mick Mulvaney. Read More ›
CFC supports AB 3080 (Gonzalez Fletcher)
The Consumer Federation of California supports AB 3080 (Gonzalez Fletcher), which will prevent employers from requiring workers to sign waiver of rights agreements as a condition of employment. These rights include: (1) disclosing to any person an instance of sexual harassment that the employee or independent contractor … Read More ›
States try to quash robocalls, but they’re worse than ever
by Elaine S. Povich, Philly.com
The calls are not just nuisances — consumers are cheated out of an estimated $350 million a year by phone scams, many involving automatic dialing. States are trying to act. Read More ›
How Kavanaugh could shape the coming “watershed” moment for digital privacy
by Kathyrn Watson, CBS News
Over the course of the next two decades, the Supreme Court will likely undertake some of the most consequential digital privacy cases that will reverberate across generations to come. And Judge Brett Kavanaugh could be a deciding voice. Read More ›
Trump administration moves to make it harder for defrauded students to erase debt
by Laura Meckler, Danielle Douglas-Gabriel, Washington Post
The package is a win for colleges, particularly for-profit ventures. It’s a defeat for consumer advocates who favor a more aggressive posture against colleges that they say routinely take advantage of veterans and older students. Read More ›