Pre-employment credit checks (1 Viewer)


I refuse to sign any request for consent for a credit check form for a perspective employer. Such infomration has nothing to do with the job a person does and don't want to work for anyone who makes employment decisions on such a poor indicator.

You can be a fantastic employeee, but a divorce can ruin your credit. IMO its nothign more than Human Resource lazyness.
 
I use credit checks on all my employees and it is not fail-safe but there is a strong correlation between bad credit and job instability. It is not the case in all circumstances, such as divorce, medical problems, etc.

I also use it as an honesty check...say to the prospective employee "We run background checks, is there anything you need to let me know"...Answer, "no"...credit check run and numerous bad accounts, etc. = LIAR = no hire.
 
I use credit checks on all my employees and it is not fail-safe but there is a strong correlation between bad credit and job instability. It is not the case in all circumstances, such as divorce, medical problems, etc.

I also use it as an honesty check...say to the prospective employee "We run background checks, is there anything you need to let me know"...Answer, "no"...credit check run and numerous bad accounts, etc. = LIAR = no hire.

I would take serious issue with you if you told me you were running a background check and then you checked my credit (and vice versa). Otherwise, I agree.
 
I would take serious issue with you if you told me you were running a background check and then you checked my credit (and vice versa). Otherwise, I agree.

Actually, we say we run various background checks including MVR, criminal, workers comp and credit.
 
I would take serious issue with you if you told me you were running a background check and then you checked my credit (and vice versa). Otherwise, I agree.

Although, isn't a credit check technically a "background" check?
 
Although, isn't a credit check technically a "background" check?

Semantically, probably so. But "background check" usually means "criminal background check" which is distinctly different from running a credit check. On the releases we use, there are separate releases for credit and background, implying that they are different.

You certainly don't lose anything and you definitely limit your liability by being upfront with your prospects about which reports you are going to run on them.
 
I use credit checks on all my employees and it is not fail-safe but there is a strong correlation between bad credit and job instability. It is not the case in all circumstances, such as divorce, medical problems, etc.

I also use it as an honesty check...say to the prospective employee "We run background checks, is there anything you need to let me know"...Answer, "no"...credit check run and numerous bad accounts, etc. = LIAR = no hire.


All that makes sense, but unfortunately, for folks such as myself, I am the baby getting thrown out with the bathwater. Credit checks have kept me form gaining employment at a couple of places, yet, I have 0 criminal issues on my record, even going back to my juvenile record. I even carry state issued proof of this. Its really dumb for people like me.
 
We have about 50 employees normally, less now it's slow. Employees in bad financial situations miss more work and are less dependable in my experience. You would think that if they were in need of money they would come to work and earn some.

We don't do credit checks because no one is in the position to handle the money but me.
 
All that makes sense, but unfortunately, for folks such as myself, I am the baby getting thrown out with the bathwater. Credit checks have kept me form gaining employment at a couple of places, yet, I have 0 criminal issues on my record, even going back to my juvenile record. I even carry state issued proof of this. Its really dumb for people like me.

That is a tough situation, unfortunately most businesses are required to do the credit checks by their insurance companies (general liability) to keep rates manageable. I have never eliminated a potential hire based on the credit check alone, IF they are honest and explain why their credit is so bad.
 
If you really want to have a problem getting hired, just submit a worker's comp claim. Our W/C policy prohibits us from hiring anyone that has more than one claim on their W/C claim report. I guess prohibits isn't the right word...they "strongly discourage" it.
 
That is a tough situation, unfortunately most businesses are required to do the credit checks by their insurance companies (general liability) to keep rates manageable. I have never eliminated a potential hire based on the credit check alone, IF they are honest and explain why their credit is so bad.

Oh, I understand, I really dont like it though, but I understand it.

Speaking for myself though, I am always upfront and honest. There really is no point to be otherwise, especially if the potential employer is gonna do checks anyway. Its about as nonsensical as standing behind a clear glass window and pretending you cant see me. :tard:

for the sake of convo, I have a bankruptcy from '02

If you really want to have a problem getting hired, just submit a worker's comp claim. Our W/C policy prohibits us from hiring anyone that has more than one claim on their W/C claim report. I guess prohibits isn't the right word...they "strongly discourage" it.


Thats my other problem, and its also something that makes me very irate to know that any company would not hire based on this(im not directing it at you, in this post though). I am fairly certain this has also been a wall in front of me keeping me form work. Stupid part is, One is for a toe injury that my employer at the time practically forced me to do to cover himself, theother is for a full on legit back problem.

Im employed now, but whenever Ive had to do interviews, I have run into one or both beign an issue, and it really irritates me.

Honestly, with the economic problems today, employers are going to turn away a lot of people.
 
That 7 years thing isn't accurate. If it's RESOLVED it is cleared completely after 7 years. Otherwise what the companies do is just sell your debt off to another company, and now you owe THEM money. It's a scam dude.
 
Do you mean to tell me that if I dont pay my debts that my creditors are alllowed to say bad things about me? That's scandalous! It aint MY fault they were crazy enough to let me buy stuff on their dime. They shoulda known I wasnt any good at keeping promises. This sort of outrage needs to end!
 
Well if I'm a boss, I ain't gonna do it. Just gonna show some faith. The ****ing world hands most of us a load of **** daily. Some come out of it cleaner than others. I can't stand the idea of judging someone based on some arbitrary number on a piece of paper. Talk to them face-to-face and go with my gut. I'd rather be wrong than not give someone a chance.
 
for the sake of convo, I have a bankruptcy from '02

FWIW and FYI - many companies (and admittedly not all) will not hold a bankruptcy against you (for the purposes of employment) - especially if your record since is good. It's seen as a valid way to expunge debt. Obviously, YMMV and your experience may very well be different.

That 7 years thing isn't accurate. If it's RESOLVED it is cleared completely after 7 years. Otherwise what the companies do is just sell your debt off to another company, and now you owe THEM money. It's a scam dude.

It is not a scam. You are correct in that debts have to be resolved to drop off. What is wrong with a company selling your debt to a company that is equipped to manage the collection in order to recoup some of their loss? Sure, the collection calls are irritating and it tends to follow you around, but you can stop all that by paying what you owe. And often, you can settle sold debt for much less than you actually owe, since the collection companies themselves bought the debt for less.

And while there are certainly shady companies involved in the credit/collections game, the system itself is not a scam, and it's ignorant for you to declare that it is. Maybe the fact that you don't take the time to properly understand it and how it works is why you got in trouble in the first place? (and this is coming from someone who did the same thing back in the day - you can definitely fix it and turn your credit around).
 

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