States may ban credit checks on job applicants

[tonysam]

It's hard enough to find a job in this economy, and now some people are facing another hurdle: Potential employers are holding their credit histories against them.

Sixty percent of employers recently surveyed by the Society for Human Resources Management said they run credit checks on at least some job applicants, compared with 42 percent in a somewhat similar survey in 2006.

Employers say such checks give them valuable information about an applicant's honesty and sense of responsibility. But lawmakers in at least 16 states from South Carolina to Oregon have proposed outlawing most credit checks, saying the practice traps people in debt because their past financial problems prevent them from finding work.

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How, indeed, can people ever correct their bad credit if they can't get jobs in the first place because of previous bad credit?

[hobbit709]

1. Bad credit makes you a bad driver too.

At least that's what the insurance companies want you to believe.

[SeattleGirl]

30. I know, it's it's utter bullshit. The insurance commissioner in Washington

state has been fighting this for years, as he knows it's bullshit too.

[customerserviceguy]

57. Good luck with that

When it was on the ballot in next-door Oregon, the people actually voted to keep credit checks as part of the auto insurance underwriting system! Obviously, there's a disconnect between the haves and the have-nots that we see mirrored in the healthcare debate.

[change_notfinetuning]

65. Yes, if you don't have a pre-existing condition, i.e. tickets or accidents, they

make one up, even if it's irrelevant to your driving liability from an underwriting standpoint. You can have a perfect driving record for 30 years and still pay more because of your credit.

"He didn't pay his Master Card bill on time? Great, let's charge more on his car insurance."

It makes all the sense in the world . . . if you're a parasitic insurance company. There oughtta be a federal law barring it, and I'm sure they'll get around to it right after they pass a usury law requiring credit card interest rates lower than your neighborhood loan shark's.

[Raschel]

89. All kinds of phony reasons to pay more. Too young, too old, bad neighborhood.

blah blah.

[AllyCat]

67. I asked my agent about this a few years back

She said the acturial tables show people with bad poor driving behavior. I said that was absurd...what was the research. Corporate told them that was the way it was.

Riiigghhhttt....

[hobbit709]

70. The other stunt they pull is not being previously insured.

At one time i hadn't owned a car in 10 years. When I bought one and went to get insurance, i was put in the high-risk category because "I hadn't been previously insured"
It din't matter that I didn't own a car to insure and had no tickets or accidents on my record. When I pointed out that it was "vehicle insurance" and NOT "driver insurance" they told me to take it or leave it. This was State Farm.
I left and found another company that gave me the same coverage for 1/3 the money and didn't quibble about no previous insurance because their attitude was that I hadn't been CANCELED-which was their only requirement.

[jmowreader]

69. Ever hear of Cure Auto Insurance?

If you drive on the New Jersey Turnpike you have. They're the ones who use the blue smiley face logo. It's an automobile insurance exchange. They sell only online, they're nonprofit, they don't sell any other kind of insurance, they don't insure the Menace of the Highways, and they don't look at these four things when setting your rates: credit score, education (a college degree will lower your insurance rates at many companies), occupation and homeownership. They look at your driving record and that's it--and that's how it should be.

[Raschel]

88. Yes. They need to ban credit checks for insurance companies also.

[Scout]

2. that should have been done a loooooong time ago

unless i'm handling cash, they don't need to know my credit history.

[peggygirl]

33. You are so right. The rich always find ways to screw the poor or

and working men and women who actually EARN a living.

[groovedaddy]

83. Even then (cash handling) - which dictates a criminal background check. To run a credit check

for cash handling is to presume that if someone is having credit problems they WILL steal from your business.

[Greyhound]

3. K&R. About goddamn time.

[Ecumenist]

4. Good!! I never understood the reasoning behind those checks

Especially since people often develop bad credit when they don't have a FREAKING JOB!! I could sort of understand that requirement if they are going to handling LARGE amounts of money and their bad credit is due to a gambling and substance addiction but come on! A credit check to get a job typing etc? I have often wondered if this was a way of keeping "certain people" put of jobs without coming right out and saying they don't want certain groups of people working at their companies. As a woman of color, I know alot of folks who look like me who may have problematic credit, typically, for reasons beyond their control...such as LOSING THEIR JOB.

[AngryAmish]

10. My employee have access to other people's money as well as lots of personal information

of our clients. They have to be absolutely trustworthy. If you don't pay a debt you are untrustworthy.

I don't expect perfect credit, but if there is an angry creditor every year or so, that is a red flag to me.

I use credit checks for hiring and will do so while still legal. If made illegal I'll hire investigators to do background checks.

[Donnachaidh]

11. so how would YOU feel if your employees ran your credit?

Even potential employees?

After all, you have access to their personal information and they have to decide if YOU are trustworthy enough to work for.

Got a problem with someone coming in, filling out an application, and then running YOUR credit history?

Works both ways.

[AngryAmish]

12. You see, I pay them.

If they don't like it then they can leave.

If they screw up or steal - I get sued. I screw up or steal - they don't get sued.

It does not work both ways.

And if they were really interested they could hire a PI and do a background check on me. I'd never know.

[Donnachaidh]

28. but you STILL *require* someone to subject their private information to you

with NO guarantees of that job.

If you wish to keep that sort of invasive antic going -- YOU should be just as willing and open to the same sort of scrutiny - based ENTIRELY on your previous argument that YOU are asking for personal private material and the other party should be able to judge YOU on the same level.

It most certainly DOES work both ways. It's been far too long that employers have acted like demi-gods over their little kingdoms.

[Name removed]

60. Deleted sub-thread

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[Name removed]

39. Deleted message

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[kirby]

64. How do they know you will pay them

unless they check your credit to see how 'honest' and 'responsible' a person you are?

[laughingliberal]

73. That's a good point. Over the course of my work life, I have had 3 paychecks bounce

The employers (two) did make them good with a cashier's check once it was brought to their attention but it was a lag of about a week til my bank notified me and they were able to cut a new check which left me with checks bouncing (they reimbursed me for the charges but it was a pain). It does work both ways.

[KansDem]

102. "...but it was a lag of about a week til my bank notified me and they were able to cut a new check"

And during this time some creditors don't get paid, then your credit score is zapped. Then you become one of the economic lepers these employers want to avoid...

I agree..."It does work both ways."

[guyton]

75. employer's credit check

I had some good friends that relocated to work closely for a very famous businessman (you've likely heard of him, he founded a rather large company early in his career). After several months it became clear that he was *never* going to get around to paying them.

A credit check on this jerk would have been pretty useful to them!

[Name removed]

76. Deleted message

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[Raineyb]

97. And how do they know you pay YOUR bills? How do they know your check to them won't bounce.

Maybe they SHOULD do a background check on YOU.

[jmowreader]

71. I wish you COULD run a potential employer's credit history

I used to work for a guy who was trying to run his shop by word of mouth. He didn't advertise and didn't have outside sales people--and this was the kind of industrial business that needed a sales force. I of course did not know this before I started working for him. I stayed seven weeks. When I left his employ, I told him: "I like you and like what you're doing, but you've paid me three times and all three checks bounced. I gotta work for a company that makes enough money to pay its people."

He went out of business soon after. He came to work as a salesman for the same place I was working at, and about six months after he was there he paid me--in cash--the amount of my last paycheck from him. I thought that was a classy thing to do.

[Wapsie B]

101. I do too. There are a few former bosses I'd love to run through the ringer

and see what turns up.

[villager]

15. sometimes, if you don't pay a debt, you're just out of money

Which tends to happen to people in this economy...

[amyrose2712]

85. or the credit card doubled your interest rates.

[villager]

87. there's that -- you were being careful, and planning, and *they* were being rapacious

n/t

[Ecumenist]

17. Just because they haven't paid something, you automatically

condemn them? What if they had the make the choice between paying for something and MEDICINE OR PAYING A MEDICAL BILL to continue treatment for a gravely ill child or spouse...Are you serious? You don't know the reasons behind nonpayment. You're judging folks and saying they're untrustworthy and so many folks nowadays who are having to pick and choose based on priority because of financial pressures....Wow, just wow.

Remember the old saying, "there but for the grace of God, go I". Fortunes can flip suddenly, trust me. You may someday get your own personal tour of this hell...I'd love to hear your opinion on the other side.

[Missy Vixen]

19. Be sure and let us know the name of your business

>If made illegal I'll hire investigators to do background checks.<

Perhaps those applying at your business would like to know in advance they should prepare themselves for a background check.

>If you don't pay a debt you are untrustworthy.<

That's right. All those out of work, doing their best to pay the bills, and surviving on unemployment are "untrustworthy".

:eyes:

[Ecumenist]

20. My point exactly, Missy. nt

[Missy Vixen]

22. We won't find out what his business is

After all, if people knew the extent this guy digs into their backgrounds, his applicant pool (even in a recession) would be decimated.

Anyone who runs background checks on a potential employee should have to disclose that information at the time of interview.

Edited for one more teeny-tiny statement: Wonder what he does with the information? Who has access to it? What's the employee's remedy if their information is accessed by someone who shouldn't have it?

[AngryAmish]

24. All my employees know I am running credit checks

They sign the form.

Haven't you ever gone through a background check? These things are routine for many jobs and licenses.

[Donnachaidh]

29. so WHY do YOU refuse to do the same?

YOU ask for personal information, which you could turn around and hand off to someone who steals identities. The applicant doesn't know that.

So you too should be willing to undergo the *trustworthy* test.

[stopbush]

45. Ever stop to think that bad credit may reflect nothing more than being unemployed long term?

Most people have the funds to keep things on an even keel for a couple of months after they lose a job. But after 3-4 months, most people are having to make hard choices about what they're going to be able to pay in a timely manner, and what they're going to let slide.

You guys in the private sector aren't creating any jobs. The result is that more and more people are going unemployed for longer and longer periods. It now takes an average of 28 weeks to find a job. That's over 6 months. After 6 months of no income coming in, most people start to take hits to the credit scores because they are running out of money.

So, if there are two workers who worked at the same place, and everything else about them was equal except that one of them had been out of work for 6 months and was having credit problems, and the other one had been laid off a month ago but still had good credit, you'd hire the guy with the good credit over the guy who has been suffering without a job, simply because his credit was good.

You've decided upon a measure to evaluate people's trustworthiness and ability to do the job that is totally arbitrary.

I'm sure it makes you feel smart and gives you a sense of being a good businessman, but all it really means is that you could have decided not to hire blond people and it would have made just as much sense. What it comes down to is simple: you're lazy. You cant be bothered to spend the time needed to do a competent evaluation of a potential employee, so you substitute the placebo of a credit score instead.

Brilliant!

[twitomy]

50. Then its a two way street...

A potential employee should be able to run a credit check against YOU to ascertain if you will be
able to make payroll...

[stopbush]

26. Has your business ever been late on payments to creditors?

Are you presently arguing with creditors over billing and withholding payment until things are worked out?

If you're like most businesses, the answer is "yes," but businesses don't have credit records and credit scores like individuals do, do they? Suppliers and creditors don't have a centralized business history to access to help them decide whether or not your business is worthy of extending credit to, or selling supplies to. They're not allowed to call your businesses' bank to ask about your payment history on your small business loan, are they?

If your business suffers because of the economy - poor sales and lost revenues - you have a handy solution: fire a few employees to cut overhead. Those employees are your dependents - they depend on you for the salaries and earnings to put food on their tables, just like the dependents in any family depend on the wage earner to provide sustenance. But a family can't just fire a few dependents to keep their finances in decent shape, can they? You can do so as a business, but they can't as individuals. Yet, you hold the effects of a bad economy against them as if it's a badge of shame, while imagining that you yourself are some paragon of virtue for holding these individuals to a higher standard than you hold yourself when it comes to running your business.

Hate to say it, but so typical of a lot of business people I've met.

[mwooldri]

82. Actually there are business credit reports.

Dun and Bradstreet do 'em for the companies. If the company isn't even registered with D&B, stay clear of that company. You can do the research on the employer, see how their business credit is. If they've defaulted on their bank loans, the banks are definitely going to report this to D&B. Suppliers in theory could also report problems with a company through D&B too.

Also of course is the Better Business Bureau - and you can then see how good a company is by looking at any complaints filed through them and see if they have been resolved in a satisfactory manner (not necessarily to the complainants liking). If the BBB is listing the company as an "F" I would not want to work for them. No rating would not necessarily turn me off, because businesses aren't required to register with the BBB and if no-one complains to the BBB about XYZ company then there may be nothing to worry about but a "No Rating" is the same as a "Don't know" and it's a risk.

[wolfgangmo]

96. That is true.

But the D&B does not look at small or midsized companies, which employ the majority of the employable in America.

Let's face it. Most companies run under the radar.

[Vincardog]

35. Sounds like BULLSHIT to me. If you have a major medical problem without insurance you are going to

miss a payment. You can check criminal activity all you want for trustworthiness.

[fizzgig]

38. i'm untrustworthy because i miss a debt payment?

i've been un or underemployed for two years now and anyone who thinks i'm untrustworthy because i couldn't AFFORD to pay my bills because of that can go fuck themselves

[Greyhound]

42. What a pantload. We've done this before and you're still as wrong today as you were then.

Still a prime example of what is wrong with American BusinessThink®

[verdalaven]

51. Credit rises and falls with opportunity and lack

A person with bad credit isn't untrustworthy, just unlucky. We have been there, done that! This is just another way to say that the poor or people down on their luck are BAD or untrustworthy somehow. It is BS.

PS - I am the same person now that my credit is very good as I was ten years ago when my credit was in the shitter. A good, honest, trustworthy person!

[Raster]

52. What a load of shit. "I don't expect perfect credit..."

Too bad your employees can't pool their funds and have your ass investigated. I wonder what they would find, eh?

[Mopar151]

54. Do your credit checks take interest rates into account?

Or other creditor misconduct? Does your use of them in hiring make you a party to extortion, fraud , or usury?

[backscatter712]

58. It's understandable if we're talking about bank tellers & the like, but not most jobs.

If we're not talking about a worker that's handling large amounts of money & sensitive info, a credit check is inappropriate.

[blueworld]

61. Every white-collar criminal I know of had a stellar credit rating

From Bernie Madoff thru Martha Stewart thru the Enron herd...all stellar credit.

It's ironic that people who are terrified of being late with a bill & having a sour credit rating are sometimes willing to do ANYTHING to avoid it, legal or not. Real kick in the Experian, ain't it? :think:

[freddie mertz]

63. A very typical Republican, corporate argument.

I'd like to audit your business sometime and see if YOU have ever missed a payment for any reason.

Then let's post it here for everyone to read.

Pathetic, right wing, crap.

[Tailormyst]

68. Your assumptions are so offbase

As a single struggling mother my credit is in the trash and has been single the significant other left. You would not find a more honest, responsible, trustworthy employee then me. Not only do I have the most intimate information about all our clients and employees, but I also do payroll and have access to the company credit cards and accounts. I've been here 7 years, rarely take time off that doesn't involve a hospital and am hardly ever late. I'm glad my boss doesn't think like you do and I would bet he is glad he doesn't think like you do.

[wolfgangmo]

93. If you are Amish - I'm a victoria secrets model.

FYI - I'm 5'11" and 240 pound and I don't shave my back.

I don't run background checks on my employees and I run a medical clinic. My employees have access to critical personal information. A credit check doesn't tell you dinky-doo about a persons character.

My dad always said that if you needed a contract to make sure someone was going to treat you right, then you shouldn't do business with that person. I think he was talking about you.

[mwooldri]

98. A criminal record check would be more of a better indicator in this case.

In my present job role, I had a zero credit profile in the United States. I also had no criminal record. Essentially, I had no record of me until I entered the USA beginning March 9th, 1999. I got a social security number, a drivers license, a checking account and that's it. For the employer I did furnish them with a letter from the police from back in the UK that states "there is nothing on file for the above named individual". I took a drug screening... and I got hired. And I've been working here since April 1999.

Bear in mind now that I do deal with thousands of dollars every day, that I have access to very sensitive customer information - enough for me if I wanted to to gather and do identity theft with them, and especially with details involving prominent individuals. This is also a Fortune 100 company and a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

If it is good enough for a Fortune 100 company to allow me, with practically zero background history to come work for them handling very sensitive information, then surely the credit check is not that useful a tool in gauging how reliable and trustworthy an individual is. You might have an individual who applies to work for you and has a credit score in the 800's. But their criminal record shows a felony charge of check fraud. Do you hire them? Or do you hire the individual who has never had so much as a speeding ticket in their life, but their credit score is in the low 500's because of a bunch of medical bills they couldn't meet because their kid got sick whilst between jobs and had no insurance? I know which one I'd hire if both these individuals had the same qualifications and skills and experience I was looking for - the guy with the 500 credit score over the 800 credit score any day of the week. The 500 guy is much more trustworthy.

Mark.

[Name removed]

100. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Boudica the Lyoness]

109. Wow just wow

Bloody hell...So in other words; someone gets loses their job along with their health insurance, and then they or their child gets sick, can't pay their medical bill (or other bills) and you call then untrustworthy. I'd call them unlucky and want to give them a chance.

[whathappened]

113. credit checks

if they are in charge of others peoples accounts they should be bonded as your employee's , no 1 should be working them type of jobs with out a bond and a bond would requier a credit check , were talking chit jobs here , low pay and no need of any history of credit

[tonysam]

5. Kick for visibility n/t

[Raineyb]

6. Good! It's bloody ridiculous to think that one's money problems means one

is a bad employee. I mean really did they expect someone to pull money out of their ass when there's no job bringing in a paycheck?

[leftstreet]

7. K&R

[Gormy Cuss]

8. A Transunion rep even admitted that there was no evidence that it mattered.

In other words, as most of us suspected all along, it's just another way for credit bureaus to milk more revenue out of their product.

http://news.opb.org/article/6662-bill-seeks-ban-job-applicant-credit-checks/

But a representative of the credit agency TransUnion conceded during a hearing last month that there is no evidence to show that people with bad credit are more likely to commit fraud.

Next up, let's make it illegal to use credit reporting data for tenant screening too except for the very specific instance of bad debts on previous rentals. I'm sure that if asked the credit bureaus would have to admit that general credit reports don't matter there either.

[KingFlorez]

9. This is a necessary reform

It makes things unnecessarily difficult for many seeking jobs.

[AnnInLa]

13. Try buying different types of insurance

with a bad credit rating....rates shoot way up. This practice should be outlawed everywhere.

[Ecumenist]

18. A-BLOODY-MEN, AnnInLa!

This is a blanket reason being used to gouge people and prevent them from getting the chance to get back into the world to get a paycheck.

[Mopar151]

55. Especially when insurance companies issue credit cards..n/t

[slackmaster]

14. K&R - I think this is a good idea, as long as there are reasonable exceptions

Like, as stated in the article, banking or Accounts Payable jobs.

Banks are federally regulated, so there is no way states can deny banks the power to perform credit checks on all prospective employees. Banks have some flexibility - They don't have to refuse to hire someone just because the person has had credit problems. However, in some cases information on a credit report could properly identify someone as an embezzlement risk.

[FSogol]

16. K & R. n/t

[bushmeister0]

21. There's already a bill in congress, but it's not going anywhere.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=7820379&mesg_id=7820379

[Dogmudgeon]

23. See this thread, too

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x7820379">You have bad credit because you lost your job, but you can't get a job

--d!

[tabbycat31]

25. as they should

I'll post it on a state blog here and see if it gets any attention. I'd like to see this apply federally personally.

[Lyric]

27. Good!!!

This is nothing but good news, especially for low-income workers. Business and industry did just fine before the credit bureaus became pervasive; they'll do just fine again without that information. If they're worried about a criminal history, that's what criminal background checks are for. The two things are not synonymous.

Just because someone has trouble paying their skyrocketing medical bills (the most common cause of credit deficiency) does not mean that said person would be a bad employee.

[tonysam]

31. Another kick for visibility

:kick:

[Canuckistanian]

32. I'll bet Walmart doesn't do credit checks

Bad credit? No credit? Work for us!

[jmowreader]

72. In some cases they do

All the big retailers run credit checks on people seeking to move into management--at Home Depot even department heads, because they're trained to go into the vault and supervise the accountant's counting down the money from the day, are checked--and on anyone handling a LOT of cash. A cashier might not be, but someone in the check cashing department probably would.

But yeah, I would imagine it's a pretty safe bet someone whose job is to pull motor oil out of the back room and set it on the shelf doesn't get his credit checked.

[tonysam]

34. Another kick for the evening crowd

:kick:

[upi402]

36. we should ban all of these out of control checks

it's gone too far. i used to own rental properties and even I think it's nuts these days.

[branders seine]

37. but it makes sense in our authoritarian corporatocracy

does it not?

Those who fail to deliver the required monthly portion of flesh to the corporation should be doomed to a life of servitude sooner than the willing drudge, should they not?

[DisgustedInMN]

40. K & R

[tabbycat31]

41. I did a blog post about this

however my laptop crashed and my (slow, old) desktop is giving me grief about logging into the website.

I'll try again from a public computer to post it.

[XemaSab]

43. Since I graduated university I've been unemployed half the time

and they're all shocked I'm in default on my student loan? :P

[Jkid]

44. What if you have no credit and you're qualified for the job?

Theoretically, can still not hire you if you have no credit.

If this is the case instead of the no experience, no job and no job , no experience crap, we get no credit, no job and no job, no credit!

[Dont_Bogart_the_Pretzel]

46. It my former employer paid me a decent salary I wouldn't have bad credit.

Although that was a long time ago, but hopefully my next job pays better(a lot).

[travelingtypist]

47. It's almost done in Oregon.

The governor just has to sign the bill.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Ore-jobseeker-credit-checks-apf-3006439168.html?x=0&.v=1&.pf=banking-budgeting&mod=pf-banking-budgeting

Thousands of people have bad credit because of layoffs and medical bills that are beyond their control and have nothing to do with their job qualifications, according to the bill's backers, mostly Democrats. And more than half the nation's businesses use credit histories in hiring decisions.

Opponents, mainly Republicans, say the Legislature shouldn't interfere with business personnel decisions.

The House passed the bill Monday on a 33-26 vote, largely along party lines. Earlier, the Senate passed it with a similar partisan split.

The bill has several exemptions, including banks, credit unions and law enforcement agencies. It would also exempt employers if the credit information is "substantially job-related" and the employer discloses the check to the applicant.

[PhD]

48. It's a matter of security clearance for some jobs

National security positions require investigation to reduce the chances for blackmail. Financial distress is one of the bigger vulnerabilities.

[Raster]

53. So is drinking too much and cheating on your wife.

There are bigger vulnerabilities besides "financial distress."

[Mopar151]

56. Not to mention casino gambling!

[jmowreader]

74. Actually no. Financial distress is THE big one.

Of all the US spies they caught in the 1970s and 1980s, guys like James Hall, Jonathan Pollard and Ronald Pelton, ONLY Jonathan Pollard spied for ideology. Everyone else turned on their country for money. Take Ronald Pelton, who sold NSA secrets to the Soviets after falling deeply in debt.

Spies spy for money, and the government knows it--which is why they don't let people who need a shitload of money right now work with state secrets.

[Raineyb]

99. And what does this have to do with getting some job in the private sector?

Most jobs have squat to do with national security so why does the potential employer need this information again? If I didn't need money I wouldn't have to work for a living in the first place.

[jmowreader]

114. We were discussing credit checks and security clearances

When someone gets a "security clearance" they're normally handling national security information; someone just handling sensitive corporate information would be bonded if that. Someone came back and said "oh no, there are a lot bigger vulnerabilities than financial distress." Sorry. Not in the State Secrets business, there isn't.

Outside of something like banking I don't see a reason why you'd ever need to pull a credit report on someone you were thinking about hiring. I've seen some really stupid jobs, though...in one that stood out they were looking for a "utility worker"--what Army guys call a duty body--who they wanted to pay $8 per hour to. This was to work on construction sites, now...anyone who might want to apply for this job had to undergo a blood drug test (blood! I thought fucking HAIR was bad, but these assholes wanted to draw blood!), credit check, 10 year motor vehicle record, "extensive" background check and you must be bondable. Now remember, this is the guy who's going to go around the worksite picking up the 2x4 chunks, empty joint compound cans and scraps of wire--and they're going to do an investigation more like an armored car driver would receive?

[wolfgangmo]

106. And yet they hand the keys to the bank vault to those with a silver spoon up their ass ...

such as Bush, et.al. .

Fuckers like him, Cheney, etc. robbed us blind and then told their friends where they could find an easy mark.

[sam sarrha]

49. about time... !!!

[onlyadream]

59. There's other ways to check trustworthiness

it's called refereances - past employers, teachers, friends, neighbors...
Credit checks are meaningless (regarding trust) since bad credit can mean bad luck and nothing more.

This should be outlawed for insurance companies too. It's just a design to keep the poor down.

[freddie mertz]

62. This should be banned at the federal level.

Health records are confidential, and non-criminal financial accounts should also be protected by privacy statutes.

[earcandle]

66. We revisited the movie Catch 22 recently. Then it was a shock, now its the rat race.

[change_notfinetuning]

77. Kick people when they're down. Big Business's solution to increasing profits.

[Dappleganger]

78. Wish I could upvote this more!

It's discrimination, pure and simple. Do a background check if necessary, but in this day and age people who have been out of work and are under in their mortgage are not going to have perfect credit.

[lunatica]

79. It won't be long before there's no one left to hire

Because our credit bubbles are bursting in air.

[ElsewheresDaughter]

80. bad credit makes you a bad physician too

[Horse with no Name]

81. Vicious cycle

Employers can fire or lay off at will...depriving folks of money to pay their bills...THEN they get to cherry pick which candidates they want by using their credit reports against them.
THIS is the pure definition of a Ponzi scheme if I ever saw one.

[pecwae]

84. Some of the best news

I've read in a long time. Way past due.

[DirkGently]

86. Amen

It's not like big companies don't have enough leverage now. Get fired and you lose your health coverage AND if you get in debt, you can't get another job, which means you can't get health care, which means you're in debt, which means you can't get another job ...

We're on our way to creating an enormous class of "untouchables," former middle and working class people who fall off the carousel once, and are never permitted back on. "Oh, wait, you can work washing dishes for cash ... like we used have the illegal immigrants and convicted felons do ...?"

[wolfgangmo]

90. HR flacks are right up there with insurance adjusters

When it comes to being the scum of humanity.

[AllyCat]

91. Good! A credit score rarely has anything to do with a person's employability

If they can't actually examine a candidate's qualifications, maybe they need to hire someone who can or amend their processes.

[AllyCat]

92. Good! A credit score rarely has anything to do with a person's employability

If they can't actually examine a candidate's qualifications, maybe they need to hire someone who can or amend their processes.

[femrap]

94. And renting an apartment....?

Having recently moved to a new apartment, I was amazed at the crap and greed that has occurred over the past few years.

I guess I knew they did a credit check, but now they wanted a pay stubs from an employer. What if one is retired? Well then they want to see your bank statements and deposits made into the account. Or if you are freelancing, they want your clients to send them a letter telling them how much money they have paid you.

No wonder there are so many homeless.

Then there's a new charge for renters...an Administration Fee of anywhere from $50 to $200 and it is NOT refundable. I guess the renters are paying the staff to look at you and show you an apartment.

Pet fees of $200...again, NOT refundable. Monthly pet fees of $10 to $25/ month.

Plus the usual Deposit...which now is only partially refundable no matter if the apartment is spotless when you leave.

This is in Ohio where unemployment is high. Many of the apartment complexes are owned by huge out-of-state Corporations who are just greedy, heartless, scum-filled cysts!

I called one apartment which was privately owned (not a corporation....which now of course COLLUDE with each other on prices) and the landlady wanted a Deposit of twice the rent! I was in shock....I said, "Where the hell do you think you are? San Francisco? This is crappy Ohio with no views and no decent restaurants and lots of ignorance. You're a greedy POS."

Oh...and no apartments have snow service anymore. So get yourself a shovel and salt. Disabled? Tough shit...get a shovel. But when you move in, they tell you there is snow service.

Somehow or another I am going to buy some tiny piece of land in the country and build my own small home of less than 1,000 sq. ft. and get away from these horrid people. I told one landlord, "Do I have the word, 'Bank or ATM tatooed on my forehead?"

And when they say 'Moving is Stressful,' I guess I have to agree. This has been horrid.

Sorry for the rant and rather off-topic. But the credit checks keep people from having roofs over their heads as well.

[IsItJustMe]

95. This Genie had done left the bottle. Anyone can now run a credit check on anybody else now.

The internet has now made it impossible for them to enforce such a law.

[winyanstaz]

103. That is good....in times like this...

Just getting sick can ruin your credit scores....so why should people be punished on top of that?

[rasputin1952]

104. Every person or company that requires a "Credit Check"...

or a background check, should themselves be open for such invasive situations. Wonder where the money stolen by Maddoff or Enron would be if these options were there prior to criminal activity?

Same thing for cops, and judges. The public is always, "required" to take such obvious slaps across the face, but those who "require" such things, rarely if ever do. The business world is filled with cutthroat managers and Exec's, if they had to account for all of their deeds, things would be quite different. I want to know if the person who might hire me, arrest or ticket me, or judge me in a court of law has any dignity and honor...other than that placed before me by a title.

Because I have debt, or was forced into bankruptcy, it should not be used to beat me further down into abject poverty. It does not occur to people that perhaps the only way they could pay off their bills in a failing company was to take from that company what was not theirs to take?

Sure, every business needs to ensure their assets are safe, on the other hand, just because someone has outstanding debts does not make them a "bad" person. In fact, they need a job to climb out of debt, even if it takes a while. Every business I've ever worked for has given me an interview, decisions during that interview were made on my character. I have yet to find fault with that approach.

[DesertDiamond]

105. How stupid to hold people's bad credit against them in the middle of a depression??

[Waiting For Everyman]

107. A good first step. Next, regulate what the reports can include, or not include,

and how the scoring is weighted.

For instance, I don't think unpayable medical bills should make a home cost twice as much, as someone else would pay. Neither should student loans.

And far too many Americans are blackballed out of the American economy. That's why we're tanking... and it's over ridiculously arbitrary stuff.

Nobody can recover in a shark-infested environment like this. The whole commercial playing field needs leveling, bigtime. It's all one-sided today, to create a license to steal for the corporations.

That's just plain bad for society - both in terms of impoverishing everyday people, and in creating mega-sharks which corrupt our laws and institutions on the other side of it. It's lose-lose.

But... "good move" that this is being done - or even considered. That's thinking on the right track at least.

[liberation]

108. Funny how there are no "credit checks" when getting billions of dollars in bailouts...

... seriously, how long are people going to be stupid enough to tolerate this bullshit.

Also, if credit checks are not handled by federal agencies, there should not be a federal mandate to request them by employers. And if there is a credit check involved, I assume the employer should have no issue disclossing their financials to their prospective employees... you know, I would not want to go through all the trouble of working hard for a company which may be in the brink of collapse.


What is good for the financial goose, it is never good for us ganders, it seems.

[Deep13]

110. As the bully society, we should embrace credit checks...

...as a way to beat up on and feel morally superior to those with bad credit. Since it is no longer "cool" to bash gays or to refer to the homeless as lazy bums, we need a new group to victimize. Besides, our corporate owners want failure to repay them to be essentially a life-ending event that puts the dead-beat on a permanent outcaste list. Opposing that is socialism.

In case it is not obvious: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm:

[David Zephyr]

111. Honored to be Rec # 131!

Thanks for your thread.

[OneTenthofOnePercent]

112. Poor credit is an adverse attribute that could indicate susceptibility via bribery.

Many larger corporations, government jobs, and defense jobs (especially jobs which require gov't clearance) apply credit checks as a means to guage one's adverse attributes. Someone in financial duress may be much more prone to succumbing to bribery from competing entities. As an employer, this means your confidential data may be subject to the highest bidder if your employees are vulnerable.

For everyday jobs, credit checks are bullshit.
For public official/administrative and other sensitive jobs, credit checking makes sense.

[tabbycat31]

115. my blog post on the subject

http://www.bluejersey.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=14661

[gtar100]

116. Need we more proof that when it comes to business, Americans are cannibals.

In fact, who needs terrorists when we terrorize ourselves plenty. From the top on down.

May you find refuge in good friends.

[WorseBeforeBetter]

117. Good. I don't trust HR/management with this info...

and it is a vicious circle.

At my previous employer, credit/background check info was strewn about the copy room, for all eyes to see. Paperwork wasn't being shredded, either, just stuffed in the trash. I can understand credit checks for certain jobs, but do I really need one to hawk baked goods at the local gourmet grocer? (No money handling was involved.) Personality assessments are another thing expected during this entire miserable process. Two hundred questions for an $8.50/hr PT job is simply ridiculous.

[Corey_Baker08]

118. This Should Be The Law in EVERY State I believe its an Infringement on Our Rights!!!

I look forward to speaking with Governor Strickland and Senator Brown here in the great state of Ohio and getting their support behind this measure.

K&R

:hi:

[BlueIris]

119. Excellent idea. Should have been done years ago. nt