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Human Resources Outsourcing (HRO – PEO – ASO – Payroll – Agency)

State and Federal Governments Consider Ban on Credit Checks for Most Applicants

States and the federal government are considering banning employers from using credit checks to screen job applicants.  High unemployment rates are forcing people to go into debt.  If companies won’t hire people because of a negative credit history, they will not be able to dig themselves out of debt, perhaps go into even deeper debt, continuing the vicious cycle.

Sixteen states (Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Vermont and Wisconsin) have proposed legislation, modeling laws in Hawaii and Washington that ban credit checks for most jobs.  The law in those states will take effect July 1, 2010.  Congressman Steve Cohen, D-Tenn., introduced a similar bill in the House last summer, but it still sits in committee.

The exception to the ban would be applicants applying for jobs in the financial sector or for those individuals who would have access to company finances or financial records.

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