You have bad credit because you lost your job, but you can't get a job ...

[bushmeister0]

because you have bad credit. Doesn't seem fair, does it?

AP:

"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."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100301/ap_on_bi_ge/us_banning_credit_checks

On the national level, Rep. Steve Cohen (D.Tenn.) has sponsored HR3149, The Equal Employment for All Act. It, naturally, has been bottled up in the House Financial Services Committee since July of last year. This is really something Obama should jump on, right away. Let's see the Party of NO argue this is a bad deal for the unemployed! This along with Sen. Bunning holding up unemployment extensions could really get quite a nice little drip, drip, drip going.


http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h111-3149

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=h111-3149

[Fumesucker]

1. Classic Catch 22..

[Donnachaidh]

2. Who the f*ck are they to access your credit?

They should NOT have access to anyone's credit rating.

[Gormy Cuss]

5. Applicants give permission, otherwise employers can not access it.

Of course, refusing to give permission is pretty much a guarantee that the applicant won't get the job.

And just to make it even more infuriating, there is no basis for using credit scores as a basis for judging employee worthiness for jobs in general.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=7820314&mesg_id=7820420

This is why we need laws to correct the practice.

[BlueJazz]

19. And even Worse .....A Friend of mine (A lady) had her identity stolen.

The Prick (S) ran her credit cards into 5 figures.
My friend's credit was ruined and she is STILL trying to fix it after 3 years.

My point is...if she got laid off and had to get another job, the poor woman would be royally screwed through no fault of her own.

Damn!

[ramapo]

3. Intrusive, demeaning, unfair and unAmerican

Background checks have become a disturbing standard operating procedure for many companies, big and small. It has spawned a cottage industry performing these checks. Gone are the days when hiring managers took a read of your personality, conduct, demeanor, and potential. Now it seems you are subject to an intrusive and demeaning investigation for your basic employment.

Privacy is dead.

Credit checks should be the first to go.

[Hello_Kitty]

4. Debtors prisons will be making a comeback, I fear. eom

[eridani]

6. Health insurers do that too--

--and "reform" isn't going to stop them.

[bushmeister0]

7. And landlords, too.

How f'd up is that? Not only can't you get a job, but you can't rent an apartment, either.

And this info lingers for years and years.

[SeattleGirl]

11. And car insurance companies. n/t

[TheMightyFavog]

12. There's a website in Wisconsin that lists a person's court records...

The state is seriously considering taking the site down becauses landlords are using it to screen potentail renters.

[Dogmudgeon]

8. Make it illegal

"(H)onesty and sense of responsibility"?

I worked hard all my life, and spent half of it in the medical field, which does not tolerate irresponsibility. Then I was laid low by severe illness without health insurance. Pre-existing conditions were not covered, and I was "up-rated" -- charged at 800% standard premium -- so I said "no, thanks".

I lost EVERYTHING. All my debts went into default. Early 40s and nothing to show for 20+ years of work. Fortunately, I have an extremely good family, so I never had to endure sleeping on heating grates in center city Philadelphia. I'm finally starting to make progress again, no thanks to 8 years of Republican misrule; but plenty to Gov. Ed Rendell, who rebuilt the safety net in Pennsylvania to a serviceable status.

http://www.opencongress.org/bill/111-h3149/show">Support Rep. Cohen's bill, HR 3149.

--d!

[stopbush]

9. Employers whose businessses have taken a big hit in this economy can't understand

when that same economy takes a hit on the personal finances of people applying for jobs.

For some reason, they act like something is wrong with the person whose credit has been mangled due to the economy. Why? Can't they see that that the economy that exacted a toll on their business in poor sales and lost revenue has its counter in the realm of personal finances?

Many businesses - especially small businesses - are forced to juggle payments to creditors, robbing Peter to pay Paul, just as individuals do. The difference is that when things get really tight for a business, they can lay off their "dependents" - ie: employees - to cut costs. Families don't have the option of laying off their dependents to cut costs.

[SoCalDem]

10. More applicants than jobs=closer scrutiny

In a perverse way, it really is "just business"..

If you were the hirer and you had 100 applicants, and had whittled it down to 4 or 5, you would want the best person of the bunch, and as unfair as it seems to the applicant, you (as the boss) might want to know if the person you may hire is desperate for money, and has had severe financial woes.

That does NOT mean that he/she would steal from you, but if 2 of the 5 have a stellar credit history, are you really going to be altruistic and bypass them , in favor of the person who has a terrible credit score? Assume that all are equally qualified to DO the job, and all present themselves well..you can only choose one.. EVERY bit of information will weigh in on your decision..

I know it's "discrimination", but when we choose the green shirt over the yellow one, we are also discriminating...and if a woman with several small children is pitted against 3 single people, she will often lose out...she may not know it was because of the missed work that small children often create.

[bushmeister0]

13. You know, there are also so many jobs taken by adults

that could be just as easily be done by children, too. If I were an employer, I'd also look at their smaller fingers, stomachs and ability to keep working free of all the nonsense adults get wrapped up in like relationships, coffee breaks, illness, children.

It doesn't sound fair, either, but it is just business, after all.

The more profits the corporation makes by paying children less, the more we'll all have down the line. I'm sold! (SARCASM!)

[SoCalDem]

14. If they thought they could get away with it, they might just do that

because the bottom line is everything..

People with bad credit often have better luick finding jobs by networking with people who know them personally and are willing to help them out..

My friend declared bankruptcy, and was having a hell of a time finding a place to rent, so I asked everyone I knew if they knew anyone who needed a fantastic renter..no pets, non-smoker, no kids, in the same job for 30 years..and within a week, someone told us about a brother-in-law whose parents had a rental.. They overlooked her credit because there was a personal connection..

Jobs are often the same.. If your credit stinks and you think a prospective employer will check, you can either own it right up front and hope that he/she has a family member in a similar circumstance...or you can just not apply for that job..

[Berry Cool]

15. It is SO illegal to discriminate against mothers.

Even so, I've read job interview advice that says: If you are a woman, don't even let your potential employers know that you are a parent. It's illegal for them to ask, but you mustn't give it away by allowing yourself to be led by pre- or post-interview small talk about children and parenting. They will use that knowledge as a reason not to hire you, assuming that child care will interfere with your ability to work.

[SoCalDem]

21. Yep.. they can be very sneaky

and they know that interviewees will be nervous, so they deliberately use small talk to draw them out.. that's where they find out what your lifestyle is like...and of course you will never really know why you did not get a job.. they know better than to tell you it's because of the small kids, or the recent divorce or the fact that you may not be gorgeous, slim and young..

Every workplace has a "style", and interviewers often make snap judgments about how you would "fit in"..even though you just really need the job, and would be a good worker.. and as a woman you pay the price for any "problems" they may have had with previous employees who had daycare problems or ill-child issues..

[Gormy Cuss]

22. Problem is, screening out based on credit reports is no more reliable than reading tea leaves.

That's why the practice needs to stop. Employers were sold a bill of goods with no basis in fact and it's a gross violation of privacy to have employers and landlords have access to the list of your credit cards and bank balances. It's not a legitimate basis for judging candidates -- even Transunion admits that it's not supported by any rigorous research.

[gimama]

16. I just applied for a j-o-b

that at the end of the online process, the app said by submitting my application I was consenting to not only a credit & background check, that the Patiot Act would also be used to confirm my statements..this was not for some high security clearance position, but for a measly college bookstore minimum wage position! Due to my PEACE Activism, I was highly annoyed, & tried to cancel my application..danged if it didn't 'submit' anyway!

[lonestarnot]

17. Sooooo. Are you beginning to get the shock and awe?

[Juche]

18. They need to abolish criminal background checks also

They trap people in poverty too, and create a vicious circle.


Its a fucked up system. Get a serious illness, go bankrupt, then nobody will hire you.

[Hannah Bell]

20. I remember when you didn't get a credit check to apply for a job.

this started coming in around reagan.