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Bad credit? No job for you
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Many jobless Americans are unaware that companies are checking their credit history as part of a background check for employment. Since there is no law prohibiting this particular practice there is nothing you can do about it. If you happen to have relatively good credit it can be tarnished each time a company checks your credit. Think about that the next time you agree to a background check. Every time your credit is run by a company it drops a few points.
Most companies today give you the option to reject a background check but if you reject you will most certainly not get the job. To say it is voluntary is the same as calling you an idiot. It’s like saying income tax is voluntary. Government is now talking about creating a new stimulus package to get the unemployment numbers down. Here’s an idea, make it illegal for businesses to invade your privacy by checking your credit history. It’s really none of their business.
You cannot claim it is an invasion of your privacy presently because you volunteered the information. You signed the paper. This is a legal loophole allowing companies to get away with it and that loophole must be closed. Most people who have poor credit are not bad people nor does it mean they are irresponsible. It certainly does not mean they are less productive so why an employer would hold that against someone is beyond comprehension.
People fall behind for various reasons out of their control such as divorce, child support, alimony, medical bills, or college loans. All those obligations can add up especially if you have been laid off from your job in the middle of a recession. So will lawmakers do the right thing and introduce legislation to finally do some good? Don’t hold your breath on this one.
Rep. Steve Cohen, (D-Tenn) along with 26 others has introduced H.R. 3149, which would prohibit the use of credit information in most employment decisions. Only two states in the entire United States have that sort of legislation, Hawaii and Washington. In order to get people working again this would be far better than any stimulus plan or at least a real good start. This piece of legislation was introduced on July 9th of this year and still has not made it out of committee for a vote yet other pieces of useless legislation have. If lawmakers have your best interests in mind wouldn't this have been brought to the floor already?
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