In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s classic novel set in the 1850’s the Scarlet Letter, Hester Pyrnne struggled to regain dignity following an adulterous affair. In antiquity, lepers were scorned because people believed they were dirty and being punished by God. In 2012 60% of jobs filled are screened for bad credit ratings. Individuals you may know of good integrity and skills are looked over because they lost their job or faced uninsured health bills, and fell behind on their mortgage or credit card payments.
According to the Wall Street Journal, “For Job-Seekers, a New Push to Keep Financial Skeletons Buried,” it is only illegal in 7 states to run credit reports on prospective employees. 19 additional states are considering similar laws, and on the federal level a bill outlawing this practice is in committee. I’ve met hundreds of good people in the past few years who are struggling financially, some because of bad decisions, others because of unfortunate circumstances. A large majority of them are good honest people and would make excellent employees, yet because of hiring policies even in positions that their credit would not be related to performance or security risk, have additional barriers to overcome
I am going to write my congressman about moving the bill out of committee.