Some States May Ban Credit Checks for Employment

[Flamingo]

With all the recent "personality" and other talk above, go basic facts...to get a job, one must apply and submit a job application or resume. The HR person for the hiring business/company collects the incoming information/documents sent in for the position by prospective applicants. That pile is gleaned through as to those who would qualify for the job via the submitted resume; i.e., if the position is for an airline pilot, resumes submitted by those with no airline pilot experience are removed. The remaining passing group of resumes is reviewed by the main hiring person for the position along with HR. Those chosen get called for the interview that pass the initial screenings. If a signed application is submitted with the resume, the applicant gave permission via the signature for the prospective employer to run a credit/background check as the clause indicating the employer will do that upon signature is listed right in the application. If the prospective employee just submitted a resume and is called in for an interview, an application is always filled out at that time and the prospective employee advised after the interview that they will be contacted later.

After all the above, HR and the main hiring folks involved will glean through their notes from the interviews and determine who they think will best fill the position. Yes things like how one acts, personality, etc. and results of feedback from references is all discussed. Employers are looking for the best "package" in an prospective employee that will be loyal, show up for work each day, and basically make money for the business. If one has a bad past business/work ethic, i.e., missing a lot of days at former jobs, a history of leaving work early/coming in late, etc., etc., that can work against that employee.

If an interviewer/employer does not like what he is seeing/feeling from the person being interviewed, that can have a negative effect on the result inasmuch as that employer could feel that that person just will not fit in, may not do well, and could be a detriment instead of an asset for the company.

Lots involved in most businesses/companies as to picking the right employee. Why do you think they want to interview you in person? :-)

[Flamingo]

Why do you think prospective employers want to do face-to-face interviews after previous screenings from submitted applications, resumes and/or phone interviews? If one doesn't have what an employer is looking for when asked various questions, what they would do in certain situations, etc., the employer realizes that person will not fit in with the company, may not perform well, and be a detriment to the company instead of an asset. Most people are asked a question as to how they would handle a specific job related performance issue/deadline issue/management/sales issue, etc. Your response is critical as to how you handle yourself in the presence of others and how you can stand on your feet and handle something. Someone who just sits there and has to think about the situation may not be a good fit for the position. It's all part of the screening process.

[Pizza]

I've read employment ads that actually say 'if you're in school, don't bother applying'.

Everyone's got different standards.

[dakota112]

Einstein was told by his teachers that he was a failure. You cannot judge a book by its cover. I can see someone who files BK as a way of life every 8 years but for most people fortunes come and go and no one really knows their future. With the vast numbers of people who have filed bk, I would think there would be no one left to work if they were discriminated on this basis. How about all the failed businesses in this country? I would bet that a 1st grader could do a better job managing a Fortune 500 company than the corrupt CEO's that rob them and the shareholders of millions for doing nothing more than delegating, eating well, flying around like some prince and playing golf.

[Flamingo]

. (snip)....Somehow as an HR employee, you feel comfortable about turning down others based on credit, but how comfortable are you knowing that you could be let go as a result of your own history (yes - they fire for bad credit also), or that if you were looking for another job, you could end up broke again as a result of being unemployable, without a chance of filing? As a collective group of BKers or soon-to-be BKers, we are all faced with this reality; why such opposition then? (snip...)

Since you replied to one of my postings, I am assuming what I highlighted in red above was directed toward me. Realize I do not work in the HR Department but work in levels that control the HR Dept. and Corporate matters, of my Company and many others. I do not hire/fire but know the ropes and have personally seen things that are done in the hiring process where many are not hired for many reasons...in the end the hiring party will take the person they feel is the best fit for their company/business and your past resume and background/credit checks are part of that process to show the kind of person you are. If you have a BK sitting on your credit reports and are shaking in your boots hoping to get the job and you did not get to that spot by having 100 credit cards charged up to their limits just to buy stuff, then by all means don't be afraid to mention why you had to file and that your filing will have nothing to do with your performance on the job if you get it and your focus is on their company making money by you working there. If you are a good fit for the position, have the qualifications, the company can get around the credit issues if they want...I personally know of a matter where a prospective employee had a BK on her credit because her husband left her and they had a nasty divorce resulting in a lot of debt. Since the debt was joint, she had to file because she could not pay her share. She was not denied the job due to the BK on her records due to the circumstances. This was with a major financial company.

[squeaks]

Flamingo, do you really believe it gets to the point where an HR manager is interested in why there was a bankruptcy? Your responses in the latter part of these posts have all the warmth of a snow pea and sound like the same contrived corporate rhetoric used by so many of those at the top who are willing to destroy lives to personally raise his or her income from 18 million to 22 million a year.

I think you need to take a step back and look at what we are doing to each other in this society because the big picture is horrid. With the credit check being used as a bazooka to clear out the number of candidates, it is definitely one strike and you're out. Whether you have a great reason or not, there are too many in positions to make decisions who do not have a clue because mom and dad paid for that degree with the all impressive C-average from some teacher factory that ensures that new managers are well schooled in post modern feminism so they can either be emasculated men or "angry for the sake of it" women who look upon male counterparts as the person who has been standing on her throat for generations.

I attended a Merril Lynch function recently and was appalled at how many of their lower and mid level managers acted. It was pretty damned close to a Girls Gone Wild commercial and I kept thinking to myself, "these are the people who make decisions?" The sense of right and wrong in our society has definitely shifted towards the bizarre. If someone loses their job, it can have consequences that keep the individual trapped in debtor's prison for years if not the rest of their lives and this credit check BS is and will be a huge reason behind this. The credit reporting system is extremely flawed and to rely on it for life altering decisions is ridiculous.

[Flamingo]

=squeaks;396454]Flamingo, do you really believe it gets to the point where an HR manager is interested in why there was a bankruptcy? Your responses in the latter part of these posts have all the warmth of a snow pea and sound like the same contrived corporate rhetoric used by so many of those at the top who are willing to destroy lives to personally raise his or her income from 18 million to 22 million a year.

Hey, I don't make the decisions - I've seen the decisions made. A company can involve anyone in their managerial/executive staffing to be interested in any hiring of any person. Business and hiring decisions are emotionless or else everyone would learn to burst out crying at an interview to get the job. I am only giving some scenes from behind the hiring curtain; there is very little warmth involved in deciding who gets the job and who doesn't. It's competition and who is best suited for the position; It's not how many cookies one sells for school bake sale. I don't know why you are coming down on me for factual information.

I think you need to take a step back and look at what we are doing to each other in this society because the big picture is horrid.

I don't understand why you are asking me to do that because it is beyond any control I have and I am well aware of the big picture.

With the credit check being used as a bazooka to clear out the number of candidates, it is definitely one strike and you're out. Whether you have a great reason or not, there are too many in positions to make decisions who do not have a clue because mom and dad paid for that degree with the all impressive C-average from some teacher factory that ensures that new managers are well schooled in post modern feminism so they can either be emasculated men or "angry for the sake of it" women who look upon male counterparts as the person who has been standing on her throat for generations.

I attended a Merril Lynch function recently and was appalled at how many of their lower and mid level managers acted. It was pretty damned close to a Girls Gone Wild commercial and I kept thinking to myself, "these are the people who make decisions?" The sense of right and wrong in our society has definitely shifted towards the bizarre. If someone loses their job, it can have consequences that keep the individual trapped in debtor's prison for years if not the rest of their lives and this credit check BS is and will be a huge reason behind this. The credit reporting system is extremely flawed and to rely on it for life altering decisions is ridiculous.

Unfortunately, it's this day and age. A company can hire and fire whoever it wants and if one is an at will employee like most are, it can be for any reason and one can leave a job for any reason. We cannot change how businesses are run as to their hiring practices because most of those decisions come from their Executive and Legal sectors. All one can do is the best they can as to their situation, do their homework and apply for the job.

[ForumReader]

Here is the big picture out of the whole country and in this world, we are all humans and companies are run by humans. Credit companies are run by humans and so forth. Companies that have bellied up, poor decisions made by humans. I personally am against the idea of using a credit background for grounds of hiring purposes unless it involves top security clearance for top classified work both financial and scientific that can affect mankind.

[NHC]

Actually, it's not just companies that handle finances that will do that. Years ago, fresh out of the Navy, I took a job at a MAJOR engineering firm through a placement agency. I worked there as a 'contractor' for 6 months...as an Expense Report Auditor. Mind you, I did not cut the checks nor process any sort of payment. I merely insured adherence to company/Federal travel guidelines. The company finally lifted the hiring freeze and 3 of us - who had applied for the jobs - were interviewed. I was offered the job. I was sent all the paperwork necesary to begin employment as an employee of the company. (Let's also remember that I was freshly divorced...and got all the bills in the deal.)

The last piece of paperwork in the stack was authorization for a credit check....I didn't think anything of it. Two days later, I was called into my prospective bosse's office and he said "didn't you say you're divorced?" I said "yeah, really recently too"...he said "well, the whole thing has apparently done a real number on your credit report...I'm sorry...but we can't hire you. In fact, you really can't even finish the work day because of this." (He was a really nice guy who did let me work the rest of the day anyway....he said he could 'ignore' the email for a couple hours....hehehee...he didn't think that was fair practice either....)

Now honestly, after 6 months of working my butt off and performing 'top notch' you would have thought they might overlook that credit report....nope. It was the SOLE reason I did not get the job. The Placement Agency that had placed me there didn't even know about the credit check....

So, how fair is that??

[Pizza]

Whatever you say, Flamingo. The average job lasts less than five years these days. I doubt you would remain fond of these checks if you were on the job searching end of the equation.

[MSbklawyer]

One of the best persons I ever hired, I hired because she had filed for bankruptcy.

I had the most dingbat secretary Hollywood casting could have ever dreamed up. After two years of trying, I could not get it through her head that phone messages required a name AND a return number AND a message. She always got one or two of the three, but never a complete message.

About the time dingbat gave her two week notice, a bankruptcy client came in. She had all her bills clipped together, alphabetized and organized. She had even gone on line and printed out her bankruptcy petition and had filled it out all by hand. All I had to do was have the dingbat put the information into the software and file it.

She was filing BK because she had lost her job. I had no qualms whatsoever about hiring her even though she had a bad credit history.

[Flamingo]

Whatever you say, Flamingo. The average job lasts less than five years these days. I doubt you would remain fond of these checks if you were on the job searching end of the equation.

Where in here did I say I was fond of these checks? And I have been through looking for work within several weeks after filing and had to deal with the worry myself which I have mentioned on here in previous postings as to my situation. Before you cast stones at any poster, ask. Reality bites hard. You can't change facts and you can't change what goes on as to hiring with each specific company - if credit checks are eventually banned, as others have stated on here there are other ways to evaluate prospective employees and a BK is easily found if someone is looking to see if a prospective employee filed. None of us like to deal with the stigma of bankruptcy and argue it should not affect us at all....but it does and it will for a while so the best way to deal with it as to employment is to research the company/business to which one is applying as to their hiring practices, review employee manuals/company policy if you file bankruptcy while employed and be open and honest about your situation if asked or if it bothers you. And as I always state, never let a BK stand in your way of applying for any job. Do your homework and go for it.

I wish I could hold hands and tell everyone everything will be fine and OK but the real world is not like that. One has to do the best they can in the situation they are in at the specific time.

[Pizza]

Where in here did I say I was fond of these checks?

Pretty much everywhere: 'opening the doors to illegals' and whatnot. I never understood what the outstanding balance on someone's MasterCard has to do with screening illegals, but feel free to elaborate. If laws are passed to eliminate the use of credit checks, I'm confident that ammendments can be passed to ensure RELEVANT information, such as citizenship and education, could be verified elsewhere. Actually, they already can.

And I have been through looking for work within several weeks after filing and had to deal with the worry myself which I have mentioned on here in previous postings as to my situation. Before you cast stones at any poster, ask. Reality bites hard. You can't change facts and you can't change what goes on as to hiring with each specific company - if credit checks are eventually banned, as others have stated on here there are other ways to evaluate prospective employees and a BK is easily found if someone is looking to see if a prospective employee filed. None of us like to deal with the stigma of bankruptcy and argue it should not affect us at all....but it does and it will for a while so the best way to deal with it as to employment is to research the company/business to which one is applying as to their hiring practices, review employee manuals/company policy if you file bankruptcy while employed and be open and honest about your situation if asked or if it bothers you. And as I always state, never let a BK stand in your way of applying for any job. Do your homework and go for it.

It is already illegal to discriminate against someone solely for filing bankruptcy, but the bankruptcy IS a visible public record. So actually, the filing should not even be accessible to an employer, since its visibility defeats the purpose of the anti-discrimination law. You seem to feel comfortable explaining your situation to a potential employer, but the reality is that if these checks become so routine that virtually 100% of employers use them as a weeder - all the way from janitor to flipping burgers (if they really are burgers) at McDonald's, prospective candidates will not make it to an interview to explain anything. Bad credit = Paper shredder... NEXT... and there lies the path to perpetual unemployment for millions. That's what I truly believe is in the works.

[nc73]

I moved from the UK and the last job I was in required a background check. Never heard credit reports ever used before for any company.

[Pizza]

I moved from the UK and the last job I was in required a background check. Never heard credit reports ever used before for any company.

A credit check is often part of the background check 'package'. Usage varies from company to company and what constitutes a 'background check' is (probably intentionally) hidden.