My cousin qualified for a job that doesn%26#039;t require him to handle money or company credit cards. He has the experience, and scored highly on all four tests that were given. But as soon as they ran a credit check and saw that he%26#039;s still paying on a number of college loans and owes $2,000 in credit card debt, he was denied the position. I feel the same way as he. How is a person supposed to rise out of their financial situation if they can%26#039;t get a good paying job? Having bad credit doesn%26#039;t necessarily mean that one is irresponsible, especially if he had been working two and three jobs to pay them off before it made a bad imprint on his credit. I feel bad for him.
Is it Discrimination If One Doesn%26#039;t Qualify For a Job Strictly Because of Their Credit History? While not fair it is legal: Here is the law regarding this issue. Check under (a) 3(b)
TITLE 15--COMMERCE AND TRADE
CHAPTER 41--CONSUMER CREDIT PROTECTION
SUBCHAPTER III--CREDIT REPORTING AGENCIES
Sec. 1681b. Permissible purposes of consumer reports
(a) In general
Subject to subsection (c) of this section, any consumer reporting agency may furnish a consumer report under the following circumstances and no other:
(1) In response to the order of a court having jurisdiction to issue such an order, or a subpoena issued in connection with proceedings before a Federal grand jury.
(2) In accordance with the written instructions of the consumer to whom it relates.
(3) To a person which it has reason to believe--
(A) intends to use the information in connection with a
credit transaction involving the consumer on whom the
information is to be furnished and involving the extension of credit to, or review or collection of an account of, the consumer; or
(B) intends to use the information for employment purposes; or
(C) intends to use the information in connection with the underwriting of insurance involving the consumer; or
(D) intends to use the information in connection with a
determination of the consumer%26#039;s eligibility for a license or other benefit granted by a governmental instrumentality required by law to consider an applicant%26#039;s financial responsibility or status; or
(E) intends to use the information, as a potential investor or servicer, or current insurer, in connection with a valuation of, or an assessment of the credit or prepayment risks associated with, an existing credit obligation; or
(F) otherwise has a legitimate business need for the
information--
(i) in connection with a business transaction that is
initiated by the consumer; or
(ii) to review an account to determine whether the
consumer continues to meet the terms of the account.
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.
Is it Discrimination If One Doesn%26#039;t Qualify For a Job Strictly Because of Their Credit History? To answer your question, no it is not discrimination as defined by our Government.
Is it right, no, but that%26#039;s the way a lot of companies do business and it%26#039;s their right to do it. It%26#039;s called at will employment, which means that they can hire and fire people at will for no reason at all.
Is it Discrimination If One Doesn%26#039;t Qualify For a Job Strictly Because of Their Credit History? Since Discrimination is such a loosely-defined term, this is a tricky question to answer. In the legal sense, the answer is generally no.
A good number of employers these days run credit checks on applicants, as some view potential employees a theft or fraud risk if they have a given amount of debt. The amount(s) are just about as loosely-defined as well.
Is it Discrimination If One Doesn%26#039;t Qualify For a Job Strictly Because of Their Credit History? %26quot;Tip:Under the federal Fair Debt Credit Reporting Act, employers are generally forbidden to use credit reports for hiring or employment decisions unless the job is security-sensitive or the financial integrity of the applicant is essential to successful job performance. If such a report is made, ask for a copy to be sure it is accurate, together with the name and address of the credit agency supplying it. This way you may immediately be able to explain important errors that sometimes need to be corrected on credit reports.%26quot;
From: www.findlaw.com
That could easily be discrimination. If this person happens to be a member of a protected class, such as a minority, and the employer doesn%26#039;t want to hire minorities--even those who do well on the tests--they can use a credit score to disqualify certain people. It is very difficult to prove, but it%26#039;s possible.
The way to prove it would be to see if people who are not members of the protected class, who haven%26#039;t done as well on the tests, and who have credit as bad or worse than his, have been hired by that company.
This would require a subpoena. But if the company was threatened with a subpoena, they might settle out of court.
The thing for him to do is get all the information he has together, and make an appointment with a lawyer working in the area of employment discrimination.
Any halfway decent lawyer will sit down for an hour and give a person a free consultation, especially if that person indicates on the phone that they might have a case.
If he has no money, he might try going to the nearest law school. They often have a legal clinic.
Additional facts: 75% of Americans have false and damaging information on their credit reports. It is possible to change one%26#039;s report, but increasingly difficult, due to the large number of requests for investigations pouring into the major credit reporting agencies.
Employers cannot %26quot;hire and fire at will%26quot; in defiance of the Civil Rights Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, and other applicable laws.
Is it Discrimination If One Doesn%26#039;t Qualify For a Job Strictly Because of Their Credit History? Unfortunately this is getting to be a more commonly used criteria for hiring for high paying jobs and not just ones that handle cash for example. Credit scores can tell you alot about a persons habits and not just about there honesty. For example, A person who agrees to pay 50 dollars a month on a credit card and misses a payment either misappropriated funds, couldn%26#039;t afford to make the charge, or made a impulsive purchase to create the debt rather than living on what they make or is unreliable to do as Agreed and his word or that paper affected his reliability. Although you are not handling money per say when you work for an employer and don%26#039;t show up for work. He loses money. People with good credit statistically miss less days of work and are more prudent with work resources just as they are with their own because they appreciate the value of their word or worth. IE Your credit score. Not exactly the answer I wanted either but I took a credit class and they said your credit score tells a person you honesty, punctuality, reliability, dependability, and other traits a high paying position is looking for. The more they are paying you the more they loose if you quit, miss work don%26#039;t perform or lack in performance as to what you promise to do for them. Hope this helps. It did me cause I realized the value of my credit score and doing my best to repair mine and become a man of my word in promise when I sign that credit purchase as when I promise in person with my mouth or collateral. Credit = Your Word There is NO Collateral
Is it Discrimination If One Doesn%26#039;t Qualify For a Job Strictly Because of Their Credit History? no it is not against the law -- but i do believe it is totally wrong!!!
Is it Discrimination If One Doesn%26#039;t Qualify For a Job Strictly Because of Their Credit History? Not discrimation, is it right? ummm I don%26#039;t think so, but companies definately do it. Tell him to hang in there and pay off credit card and student loans. Financial problem can cause problems at work even if he doesn%26#039;t work with money. I too, feel for him, but he can dig himself out of this and tell him to be upfront when interviewing with an employer....I have these loans out and I%26#039;m being responsible towards my debts.
Is it Discrimination If One Doesn%26#039;t Qualify For a Job Strictly Because of Their Credit History? I agree with Spifiman...It%26#039;s not discrimination at all. It%26#039;s not fair that a lot of qualified people get passed up all the time because of bad decisions that were made in the past. Nevertheless, it is what it is. When I got my underwriting job, they ran my credit. and luckily I didn%26#039;t have anything that kept me from it.
Companies that handle large sums of money, have to protect their investment from the risk of embezzlement. And even though it might not even be the case, people with bad credit are naturally suspected higher than someone that has perfect credit. It%26#039;s like having a convicted felon that works in a bank even though it was non violent. But there are good jobs out there that don%26#039;t require you to handle money. But it%26#039;s always good to try to improve your score so that these type of things don%26#039;t ever come up.
Is it Discrimination If One Doesn%26#039;t Qualify For a Job Strictly Because of Their Credit History? No... it is very common for an employer to pull a credit report as part of the background investigation, and hire based on it.
The government does this as well.
The financial stability is very important, as someone that is in debt trouble is more likely to steal, or be undependable.
