Nonprofit credit counseling services list required; collection agents can work remotely

People who work for collection agencies can continue to work from home as they had during the COVID-19 emergency under a portion of a new law.

Effective June 1, 2022, “An employee of a licensed collection agency may work from a location other than the licensee's business location if the licensee and employee comply with all requirements under this section that would apply if the employee were working at the business location.”

Effective July 1, 2022, the law also requires the Department of Commerce to create and maintain a list of nonprofit credit counseling organizations and requires debt collection agencies include the list in their first written communication to a debtor.

Per the law, “Contact information for organizations that provide credit counseling services in languages other than English to individuals whose primary language is other than English must be included. The document shall include the following statement in English, Spanish, Somali, Hmong, Vietnamese, and Chinese:

"There are resources available to help manage your debt. The following Minnesota organizations offer debt and credit counseling services. The Department of Commerce does not control or guarantee any of the services provided by these organizations. The provision of this list is not a referral to, or endorsement or recommendation of, any organization or the organization's services."

Rep. Jordan Rasmusson (R-Fergus Falls) and Sen. Karin Housley (R-Stillwater) sponsor the law.

HF4048/SF2922*/CH70

SF2922* / HF4048 / CH70