Credit checks by potential employers should be illegal

Originally Posted by mercurialbliss

!. It's an invasion of privacy.

2. The main reason it's done is to determine if you're responsible with money. But, as we all know, people go into debt for many reasons: catastrophic illness that health insurance won't cover, divorce (me), being laid off from work, victim of internet or other fraudulent activity - none of these reasons show on a credit check. All it shows is that you owe someone money. It doesn't show if you've made arrangements to pay or if you're waiting for money from another source in order to pay the debt. All it takes is one run of bad luck.

3. If you refuse to consent to a credit check, then you might as well walk out the door because the employer thinks you have something to hide.

4. Employers mistakenly think that a clean credit report ensures against theft or embezzlement. Unless you're an accountant or applying for work in finance, there's no reason to think someone with less spotty credit will show more character, better judgment, or is more trustworthy than someone with a score of 760. I'd wager Arthur Anderson from Enron had an impeccable credit score.

5. Employers are required by law (in the US)to inform the applicant if they've decided not to offer them the position based on the credit check. They conveniently skip this part as i'm discovering for myself. The last few companies I've interviewed with asked for credit checks. I said yes each time and even took the time to explain my debt situation to one potential employer. They made it clear they were very interested in me and I've gone back for second interviews. The last second interview I was told they would schedule me to start in two weeks. I've called them twice and they haven't returned my calls. I'm fairly certain it's because they checked my credit and despite my discussion with the general manager about my debt and how I planned to repay it, they decided against hiring me.

Three years ago, I would've had my choice of any of the last few positions I applied for. Now they won't touch me. Even the staffing agency I spoke with today asked me if I could provide proof that my debt was due to divorce. WTF?

I don't get it. I'm educated and experienced in my field and it means absolutely nothing now.

Oh, well. Next time the gov't wants something from me, I'll just tell them "I'm sorry, you have a $9 trillion dollar debt therefore I cannot in good conscience recognize your plea".
*Sigh*

Originally Posted by mindseye

Fact-check!



Don't believe everything you get e-mailed (and don't pass it on without checking!)

This has been floating around the internet since at least 1999, and has "morphed" a few times since then. You can find an earlier version of the same report at:

Urban Legends Reference Pages: Congress Wrongdoings

(...and the 10000+ Google hits suggest how widely and indiscriminately the report has been circulated.)

Note how vague the language is: 36 have been "accused" of spousal abuse, 19 have been "accused" of writing bad checks. How many of these accusations were supported by evidence? How many were convicted?

And which ones? By not mentioning names or specific details, this misinformation is vague enough that people like Osiris mistake it for current nine years after the original was written.