Definitions under CFPA retaliation

Affiliate means any person that controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with another person.

• This definition is found in 1985.101(a).
• In practice, "control" can be through ownership, management, or other power to direct policies or actions, so corporate parents, subsidiaries, and sister companies can be affiliates.

The Assistant Secretary means the Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health or the person(s) to whom that official delegates authority under the CFPA.

• See the definition in 1985.101(b).
• This means decisions or actions credited to the Assistant Secretary may be carried out by authorized deputies or designees.

Bureau refers to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).

• The term is defined in 1985.101(c).
• Use this definition when a rule or procedure refers to actions, filings, or authority of the CFPB.

Business days are counted as days other than Saturdays, Sundays, and Federal holidays.

• The definition appears in 1985.101(d).
• When computing time limits for filing or response deadlines, exclude weekends and federal holidays.

CFPA means Section 1057 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010.

• The statutory citation is given in 1985.101(e).
• This definition ties the OSHA procedures to the employee protection provisions in that portion of Dodd-Frank.

A Complainant is the person who filed a CFPA complaint or on whose behalf a complaint was filed.

• See 1985.101(f).
• That can be the employee themselves or someone (like a representative) who files for them.

A Consumer is an individual or an agent, trustee, or representative acting on behalf of an individual.

• This is defined in 1985.101(g).
• Corporate entities are not "consumers" under this definition unless acting as an agent or representative for an individual.

A consumer financial product or service is a financial product or service described in one or more categories in 12 U.S.C. 5481(15) and offered primarily for personal, family, or household use, or certain items described in clause (i), (iii), (ix), or (x) of that statute when provided in connection with such products or services.

• See 1985.101(h) and its subparts 1985.101(h)(1) and 1985.101(h)(2).
• In practice, this ties the definition to the statutory categories in 12 U.S.C. 5481(15), so review those statutory categories when determining coverage.

Section 1985.101(h)(1) limits covered products and services to those described in the categories in 12 U.S.C. 5481(15) and offered primarily for personal, family, or household purposes.

• See the specific language in 1985.101(h)(1).
• This means that a product must both fit a statutory category and be aimed at consumer (not primarily commercial) use to be covered.

A covered employee is any individual performing tasks related to offering or providing a consumer financial product or service.

• The full definition with examples is in 1985.101(i).
• The term includes present and former employees, job applicants, and others whose employment could be affected by a covered person or service provider when they were performing tasks related to the consumer financial product or service.

A covered person is any person that engages in offering or providing a consumer financial product or service, and includes any affiliate that acts as a service provider to such a person.

• See 1985.101(j) with subsections 1985.101(j)(1) and 1985.101(j)(2).
• Practically, this covers banks, mortgage lenders, fintech firms, and their affiliates that provide services related to the consumer financial products.

Federal consumer financial law means any law described in 12 U.S.C. 5481(14).

• See the definition in 1985.101(k).
• When an OSHA procedure references compliance with federal consumer financial law, consult the list in 12 U.S.C. 5481(14) to identify the specific statutes and authorities involved.

OSHA means the Occupational Safety and Health Administration of the U.S. Department of Labor.

• The definition is in 1985.101(l).
• References to OSHA in these procedures refer to that federal agency and its authority under the CFPA-related rules.

Person means an individual, partnership, company, corporation, association, trust, estate, cooperative organization, or other entity.

• See the full definition in 1985.101(m).
• This broad definition ensures both natural persons and many kinds of legal entities are covered by the rules.

A Respondent is the person named in the complaint who is alleged to have violated the Act.

• This definition is in 1985.101(n).
• The respondent may be an employer, affiliate, service provider, or other entity depending on the complaint.

Secretary means the Secretary of Labor or a person to whom authority under the CFPA has been delegated.

• See 1985.101(o).
• Actions or orders attributed to the Secretary may be taken by a delegated official.

A service provider is any person that provides a material service to a covered person in connection with offering or providing a consumer financial product or service, including participating in design, operation, maintenance, or processing transactions.

• See the definition and subparts in 1985.101(p), 1985.101(p)(1), and 1985.101(p)(2).

• Examples of covered services include system development, transaction processing (beyond incidental transmission), and other material services tied to the consumer product or service.

A vendor becomes a service provider when it processes transactions relating to a consumer financial product or service in a way that is more than unknowingly or incidentally transmitting or processing undifferentiated financial data.

• See the language in 1985.101(p)(2) and the exclusion in 1985.101(p)(3).
• If a third party merely passes along generic data without special handling tied to the consumer financial product, it may be excluded; if it actively processes or manages transactions connected to the product, it is a service provider.

A vendor is excluded from being a service provider if it only offers a support service of a type generally provided to businesses or a similar ministerial service.

• This exclusion is stated in 1985.101(p)(3)(i).
• Typical examples include general office cleaning, generic IT hosting that does not involve specialized consumer financial product functions, or other back-office services provided broadly across industries.

No — offering time or space for advertisements for a consumer financial product or service does not by itself make a company a service provider.

• The advertising exclusion is in 1985.101(p)(3)(ii).
• A media company that simply sells ad slots or print space is excluded unless it provides other material services tied to the covered person's consumer financial product or service.