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As a job seeker, if you've been late on your mortgage or missed a credit card payment, it just may cost you to be overlooked on your next job application. 60 percent of employers are incorporating the practice of running a credit check on their job applicants. That's up 30 percent from last year. Like thousands of other people, I don't completely go along with correlating a person's credit score to their job performance. Of course I can see the pertinence in running a credit check if the applicant was applying as an accountant or to balance the company's budget. A credit check would reveal the applicant's diligence over his or her own finances, as proof that they were qualified to balance other peoples' . But if the applicant is being hired to drive a bus, or teach kindergartners, what is the relevance?
The unfairness in credit checks, is that it doesn't take into consideration the individual. A great deal of employees, with less than perfect credit scores, are pretty reliable workers but find themselves in financial binds due to medical bills, divorce settlements, or some unforeseen ordeal.
Tai Davis, who was interviewed in "Chicago's Breaking Business" Recounts that she had medical problems that caused her to miss a lot of work. After returning from medical leave, she found she had lost her job. With $20,000 in medical bills and no work, her credit score plummeted. “I have been told I can not be hired because of my credit. They will not even interview me,” Filing bankruptcy could possibly help her repair her credit, but she fears it would be an even greater barrier to finding work.
Many states are proposing bans on credit check for job applicants. Not only is the relevance of a credit check in question, but applicants fear that employers can dig into their past in ways that have nothing to do with the job. Submitting to credit checks can give both employer and staff access to your social security number, credit card number, home address, bank account number, and other sensitive information. For this purpose a link has been provided to Privacy Rights which explains the why and how of background checks. It also explains what can be covered in a background report, your rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act,
and what you can do to prepare. For more information, go to the References section at the end of the link.
Talk back to us and let us know your thoughts on employers' use of credit checks as standards for hiring.
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