The shutdown is over (for now), but the pain it is STILL creating for workers is very real.

The shutdown caused many federal workers and employees of federal contractors to miss payments on their car loans, credit cards, or mortgages.  Security guards, janitors, and other workers employed by federal contractors missed entire paychecks. And small businesses like cafes near federal buildings or taxi and ride-sharing drivers lost business.

This loss of income will likely cause hurt these workers’ credit reports and lead to lower credit scores, simply because of a shutdown that they had no role or responsibility in causing.

That’s why we are urging the credit bureaus — Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion — to proactively remove any negative information that appears during the shutdown period from consumer credit reports for workers affected by the shutdown.

We are also urging the credit bureaus to institute a special program where workers, federal contractors, and small businesses affected by the shutdown can apply directly to the credit bureaus to remove negative information caused by the shutdown.

Will you join us?