Should Employers View Credit Reports?
Saturday November 7, 2009
| When you put in a job application, the employer might check your credit report. Why? To predict job irresponsibility or financial overload that could interfere with the job. In some financial jobs, credit reports are used to assess the risk of embezzlement or other financial dishonesty.
You do have the right to view the report and dispute any inaccurate information if the employer takes some adverse action against you based on your report. But is a credit report a reliable way to predict how someone will perform on a job? Does having several past due bills indicate that you can't or won't perform well? What do you think? Should employers be allowed to use your credit report in hiring, promotion, and reassignment decisions? |
More Reading:
When To Check Your Report | Credit Report Dispute | How To Read Your Report
A guy with outstanding bills probably needs money – and if he’s looking for a job maybe he intends to pay them when he can. To me it would indicate someone who is willing to work – not a bad selection criteria
Kevin
Agreed. Credit reports should be used to predict the likelihood that one will pay his/her bills. Nothing more.
There are too many factors that can affect a credit score, i.e. loss of job,unexpected medical bills, to predict an individuals work ethic or ability. Try having one income, having a mortgage, credit card debt and a dependant grandchild and suddenly lose a professional position that you’ve been at for over 10 years and see how fast that affects your credit score. You already have experience, income requirements and age against you in obtaining employment..now credit also!!
I think that this will not be right for employers to see your credit report, because it’s not relevant and what if you have been so good with your credit that you’ve been saving your money instead to buy the things you need for years and there is nothing on your credit report that would say you are a good paying and reliable person.