From the AP:
Under federal law, prospective employers must get written permission from applicants to run a credit check on them. But consumer advocates say most job applicants do not feel they are in a position to say no.
Most of the bills being proposed this year resemble laws in Hawaii and Washington that prevent employers from using credit reports when hiring for most positions. The laws contain exceptions in cases where such information could be relevant to the job — for example, if the person is applying to work in a bank or an accounts-payable office.
I understand employer’s interest in doing this, but at the end of the day it may lead to incentivize bankruptcy, which has anti-discrimination provisions built in. As the article points out, California had a similar bill that was recently vetoed. In an up economy, there’s probably a stronger correlation between credit and HR concerns. In this economy?
