The purpose of this Training and Employment Guidance Letter (TEGL) is to provide information to the public workforce system and other entities (including the "covered entities" listed above) that receive federal financial assistance to operate job banks, about the use of credit information to exclude, screen, or select applicants for employment and to provide tools to educate employers about the practical and legal drawbacks of this employment practice. This guidance is being issued by the Employment and Training Administration (ETA), in conjunction with the Civil Rights Center (CRC).

This TEGL is accompanied by Training and Employment Notice (TEN) number 12-14: Promising Practices and Resources for Addressing Long-Term Unemployment,¹ which outlines proactive steps that a number of employers, employer organizations, and workforce agencies have implemented or pledged to implement to address the unique barriers to employment facing many of the long-term unemployed. One of these barriers, the practice of using credit information to exclude applicants from employment, is the subject of this TEGL. Long-term unemployed individuals may be more likely than employed or short-term unemployed individuals to fall into debt due to prolonged periods when they lack sufficient income or employer-sponsored benefits such as health insurance to meet basic needs. As a result, these long-term unemployed individuals may be more likely to be negatively impacted by these credit screening practices.

To provide information regarding the provisions of the HEART Act as they affect Federal employment taxes.

To inform the public workforce system and employers about affirmative efforts by employers, employer organizations, and workforce agencies to increase economic competitiveness by tapping into the talent pool of long-term unemployed individuals, which includes many qualified, experienced, and skilled workers. And to encourage the workforce system, through resources and information, to assist the long-term unemployed in returning to work by: (a) partnering with employers to implement promising human resources practices; (b) targeting and expanding work-based learning models, such as on-the-job training; (c) offering specialized services, such as financial counseling, behavioral health counseling, and enhanced job search assistance; and (d) boosting job seeker outreach and engagement strategies to better reach the long-term unemployed.

To provide instructions for the preparation and submission of Program Year (PY) 2010 NFJP Housing Assistance grant plans under Section 167 of the Workforce Investment Act.

To provide guidance to states and other recipients of funds under title I of WIA on the use and reporting of PY 2014 funds for planning and implementation activities associated with the transition to WIOA.

To announce the release and availability of ETA Occasional Paper 2010-01: Evaluation of the Limited English Proficiency and Hispanic Worker Initiative (LEPHWI) prepared by Coffey Consulting, LLC and its sub-contractor Excelencia in Education.

To issue rescissions for obsolete Older Worker Bulletins (OWBs) or ones replaced by Training and Employment Guidance Letters (TEGLs).

To notify State Workforce Agencies (SWAs) of the availability of FY 2010 UI funds to 1) develop or update UI IT Contingency Plans, including obtaining an Independent Verification and Validation (IV&V) and 2) improve UI IT Security.

To remind states of the U.S. Department of Labor's (Department) interpretation of the confidentiality requirement for unemployment compensation (UC) appeals information and to clarify when confidential UC information in UC appeals records may be disclosed to the public under 20 CFR 603.5(b).

To provide states and outlying areas with WIA Title I Adult, Dislocated Worker and Youth Activities program allotments for Program Year (PY) 2010; final allotments for PY 2010 Wagner-Peyser Employment Service (ES) Program, as required by section 6(b)(5) of the Wagner-Peyser Act, as amended; and the Workforce Information Grants to States allotments for PY 2010. Allotments for the Work Opportunity Tax Credit program are being announced separately from these programs this year.