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A person should be informed if an employer is going to engage in this behavior, but it shouldn't be outlawed outright. That's the business of the employer and the person seeking the job. Don't want your credit checked by a certain employer? Don't apply for that job. No need of interference from the government. Moderator cut: snip
Last edited by 7G9C4J2; 12-18-2013 at 08:24 PM..
Reason: Removed political comment
I believe your credit report/financial information is private. Unless someone has a compelling reason to see it (opening/maintaining an account) they have no business accessing it. Allowing lazy/bigoted HR people a lame way to screen people is not a compelling reason in my book.
As someone who deals with credit reports for a living, I fully support this bill. Just because I wouldn't trust you enough to grant you a car loan does not mean that you would place my company in trouble if you got hired on as an IT guy or a plumber. A lot of people saw their credit score drop to the mid and lower 500s as a result of the great recession which included tightened credit, a lot of layoffs, and a bumper crop of foreclosures.
Also what the hell are you going to tell someone who just got through beating an aggressive cancer but has $200k+ in medical bills after insurance to do? Pay on those impossible bills and sacrifice food and a roof to keep their credit good or declare bankruptcy and wipe the slate clean and rebuild their lives and put their money towards surviving?
One caveat I have to this bill, is to exclude the banking field, specifically handling actual banking transactions.
I have so much respect for E.W.
11 years ago my mother was abandoned by my father after 24 years of marriage and left with 5 kids to raise. Having been a SAHM since having children, and having dropped out of college in order to work and help put my dad through school, she had not been in the work force for decades. After the divorce, as my father spiraled farther and farther into mental illness, alcoholism, and, in general, onto a self-destructive path, she had to first learn a trade and then return to the workforce. Due to my father currently owing her $200,000 in child support and her only being able to work part-time due to having her children to look after, her credit is absolutely shot. She owes as much on her house as she's put in already, can't afford the mortgage payments anymore (the house was bought when they were still married), and she wouldn't even be able to rent an apartment, after selling her house, due to her bad credit --none of which is her fault.
IOW, bad credit should not be taken as proof of a lack of character and should not prohibit someone from finding employment.
Last edited by ThisIsMe123; 12-18-2013 at 05:15 PM..
I know in many positions requiring security clearance, they want to ensure you are not on the brink of collapse. If you are, your a potential risk to misuse of info.
A person should be informed if an employer is going to engage in this behavior, but it shouldn't be outlawed outright. That's the business of the employer and the person seeking the job. Don't want your credit checked by a certain employer? Don't apply for that job. No need of interference from the government. Particularly not from a non native american who lies about her ethnicity. She is an insane socialist.
I'm with you. There are times it is reasonable and times it is silly. The law is a blunt instrument and would do poorly at differentiating. Informed consent and holding employers to the same requirements as creditors (must obtain consent and notify if results are adverse) would alleviate most of the issues.
If you apply for a loan/job, they run a credit check, and you are denied the loan/job then you must be properly notified of the reasons for the denial and you are entitled to a copy of your credit report. That would deter many employers since they generally do not like having to notify applicants who did not get a job offer, much less the reasons.
I'm with you. There are times it is reasonable and times it is silly. The law is a blunt instrument and would do poorly at differentiating. Informed consent and holding employers to the same requirements as creditors (must obtain consent and notify if results are adverse) would alleviate most of the issues.
If you apply for a loan/job, they run a credit check, and you are denied the loan/job then you must be properly notified of the reasons for the denial and you are entitled to a copy of your credit report. That would deter many employers since they generally do not like having to notify applicants who did not get a job offer, much less the reasons.
There is an exemption in the bill for security clearances, who will still be able to run the credit checks. Given the recent controversy surrounding the contracted screening agencies, I'm not convinced of the helpfulness of this step as it is done now anyway.
As someone who deals with credit reports for a living, I fully support this bill. Just because I wouldn't trust you enough to grant you a car loan does not mean that you would place my company in trouble if you got hired on as an IT guy or a plumber. A lot of people saw their credit score drop to the mid and lower 500s as a result of the great recession which included tightened credit, a lot of layoffs, and a bumper crop of foreclosures.
Also what the hell are you going to tell someone who just got through beating an aggressive cancer but has $200k+ in medical bills after insurance to do? Pay on those impossible bills and sacrifice food and a roof to keep their credit good or declare bankruptcy and wipe the slate clean and rebuild their lives and put their money towards surviving?
One caveat I have to this bill, is to exclude the banking field, specifically handling actual banking transactions.
Yeah.
Someone can't pay their bills because they don't have a job and can't get a job because they haven't paid their bills?
I as a taxpayer don't want the government to have to support them.
Although I understand how a credit rating can be an accurate barometer of a persons character
Yeah, I sure hope any future employer is going to be amused by the fact that my mortgage payment was late a couple months in a row, or that my VISA payment has been late three times this year because the bank keeps screwing up my address.
I believe your credit report/financial information is private. Unless someone has a compelling reason to see it (opening/maintaining an account) they have no business accessing it. Allowing lazy/bigoted HR people a lame way to screen people is not a compelling reason in my book.
Pretty much agree with this. Doing credit checks is just another filter for employers to weed out applicants. I think for most positions out there, credit checks are overkill in my book and financial information is very personal and private, similar to your own medical history. Medical history screening will probably be next as a filter for potential employees.
You can have awesome credit and you're an awful employee.
You can have terrible credit like my uncle, who is also in so much debt it would make me cry, while graduating from an Ivy League and being one of the top engineers in your firm.
Your credit can be destroyed by an identity thief or an error by a collection company.
Unless it has something to do directly with the job, it should never matter.
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