With the goal of aiming to better protect American families and to address practices that may harm workers in the gig economy and other labor markets, the CFPB and NLRB announced an agreement that creates a formal partnership between the two agencies.

Their two areas of immediate concern include employer surveillance and employer-driven debt, according to the agencies. The agreement aims to identify and end financial practices that harm workers and to enhance the enforcement of federal consumer financial protection and labor laws and regulations.

The agreement supports the two agencies’ collaboration on related efforts, and recognizes the overlap of potentially harmful conduct that may pose risks to consumers and workers under federal consumer financial protection law and the National Labor Relations Act.

The agencies stated that an “information sharing agreement is a step towards ensuring that workers are more fully protected from bad actors, debt traps, and illegal labor practices through promoting transparency and information sharing between the CFPB and NLRB.”