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Wednesday, February 3, 2010 | 8:23am
CONGRESS TO EMPLOYERS: No More Credit Checks When Hiring
In effort to boost job market, new legislation may prohibit employers from considering credit history as an HR tool.
Ok so Obama’s Stimulus plan was barely a tickle, unemployment rate is still higher than your Captiol One Visa APR and the job market is like swap meet on Sunday, Closed! So if you’re one of the millions of Americans currently employed chances are not only are you suffering financially but your credit score has taken a hit as well.
So although they can’t devise a plan to effectively put a job on your resume or money in your pocket Congress has apparently looking to enact legislation that will make it illegal for employers to implore the use your credit checks in the hiring practice.
Companies have used these checks, that are often paid out of the job candidate’s already broke pocket, as a tool to weed out potential financial liabilities especially in retail and financial industries citing individuals with poor credit ratings become a threat for theft.
It is believed that 43 percent of companies currently conducting some sort of credit check in the application screening program, a practice the Congressional committe that’s drafting the new legislation believes is preventing good talent that has fallen on rough times recently from re-entering the workforce and thus bolstering the economy.
What are your thoughts? Should employers be able to use your credit history as a factor in determining whether to hire you?
Via: corcodilos.com
FILED IN Need to Know, News
Credit history has nothing to do with working. no credit checks!
I always hated the idea of companies using credit scores when hiring. They are employing you, not loaning you money. And of course since black folk and other minorities are more likely to have bad credit do to poverty, it’s just one more way to discriminate. Glad to see them trying to get rid of this shady practice
this is good shi# since i had bad credit since i was like 5 years old had the con ed bill in my name and all the different cable companies and all that. 5 years old and according to the bills i was head of household LOL
I agree for the most part, but I think there should be a few exceptions.
.
If you have a guy whose job is moving large amounts of cash, it’s worth knowing if he’s got his back to the wall with the loan sharks.
.
If you’re hiring someone to be the financial manager of your large corporation, then you might want to know if he’s having trouble managing his own finances.
.
That being said, I’m opposed to credit checks and drug testing for you basic 9-5 drone jobs.
I agree, Malcolm.
Now if we can just get rid of credit checks when trying to get an apartment! It’s not like getting a mortgage.
Well I would imagine Uncle Paulie’s betting tab is not going to appear on your Credit report. lol.
They should get rid of this, it sucks to know that Corporations require a credit check before hiring. I know plenty of people who are good people, just down on their luck who have been refused good decent jobs because of low credit scores. Which is a damn shame. I’m glad they are trying to stop companies from doing this.
I know its simplistic and kind of silly but shouldn’t the individual with bad credit be considered first for the job? After all he needs it the most and will work hardest to keep it.
Don’t confuse simplicity with accuacy, they are fequently the sane
They are only getting rid of this because those same companies and corporations are now feeling it themselves, business closing down, everyone losing their homes, cars and having to file bankruptcy, now the shoe is on the other foot.
credit checks are a way of assessing risk. an employee with poor credit is more likely to steal, sell company ideas or engage in corporate espionage. in fact, the main reason you see multiple companies producing introducing the same “new” product or technology is because of espionage. rival companies find employees with high debt or who are at risk of losing something like their home or car, and dangle money in front of them.
i personally don’t see a real problem with it, so long as it confined to specific items -
if you’re pursuing an upper mgmt or administrative job: foreclosures, repossessions, defaulted loans
if you’re pursuing an entry-level or middle mgmt job: bad or bounced checks, slow pays, defaulted loans.
The critical part is that HR should not be allowed to use your credit check to tailor a salary offer. This is and should continue to be unethical.
I think there’s a place for credit checks, personally. As a previous-posted stated, if someone has exposure to significant amounts of cash, or personal identification information (social security numbers, PINS, addresses) which could be used to open lines of credit, then companies are only doing what is necessary to protect their bottom line and our credit.
That said, companies hiding behind credit checks as a way to veil their poor hiring practices should be exposed. If the job description doesn’t make sense compared to the requirement, then change the requirement.
Finally, let’s say companies are no longer able to use credit checks as a portion of their pre-employment screening. It seems likely they’ll just move to running criminal background checks and will then start making hiring decisions based on things like misdemeanors, if possible.
Wait. Let me get this right. Companies terminate you because they can’t meet their payroll. Companies aren’t hiring so that they can reap higher profits. You are financially devasted. So now they turn around and use what they did to you intitally, as a form of weeding you out from getting any kind of employment, when it was them that caused your financial credit score to take a hit in the first place. Ok now I get it….we have lost all civil rights! Thanksf for clearing that up corporate America.