UPDATE 1-Equifax unit settles FTC disclosure charges

WASHINGTON, July 9 (Reuters) - TALX Corp, which provides credit information to a range of clients, has settled civil charges that it failed to make required disclosures and agreed to pay a $350,000 penalty, the Federal Trade Commission said on Thursday.

TALX, a subsidiary of Equifax Inc (EFX.N), maintains a database of employment and income information and sells that data to lenders and other clients.

That means that TALX is subject to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, or FCRA, which means it must provide disclosures to the companies which supply TALX information and the companies to which TALX gives reports, according to the FTC.

Disclosures, for example, inform the companies that furnish and use TALX information that if they take an adverse action -- such as denying a loan -- because of the information, that they must let the consumer know.

This gives consumers a chance to challenge information that could be inaccurate, said Katherine Armstrong of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Affairs.

As part of the settlement, TALX denied any wrongdoing and agreed to pay the $350,000 penalty and make the disclosures.

"We agreed to resolve certain issues with the FTC regarding the FCRA ... primarily to avoid the time and expense of potential litigation," said Tim Klein, a spokesman for Equifax. (Reporting by Diane Bartz, editing by Gerald E. McCormick)