Earlier this month, Visa USA published a "report" titled "Americans Unaware That Employers Can Legally Refuse to Hire Job Applicants with Low Credit Scores".
What Visa USA said originally in the press release:
Many
employers have made checking a credit score a mandatory part of the job
application process, just as drug testing and criminal background
checks are now common requirements for jobs in many industries.
How Experian spokeswoman Maxine Sweet contradicts Visa USA:
"We do not score for employment reports. If you chose to do that, I think you would be breaking the law."
How Fair Isaac spokesman Craig Watts contradicts Visa USA:
"Credit scores don't help employers make smarter employment decisions. They are for judging credit risk."
How the Fair Credit Debt Reporting Act contradicts Visa USA:
The
Fair Debt Credit Reporting Act restricts employers from using credit
reports for hiring or employment decisions. If such a report is made,
companies are required to advise the applicant or employee that the
report is being ordered, together with the name and address of the
credit agency supplying it. Finally, the report can be ordered only if
it serves a legitimate business purpose.
How the EEOC's policies contradict Visa USA:
An
applicant's poor credit rating has also been ruled by the courts to be
an unlawful basis for refusal to hire unless a business necessity for
such a policy can be established. Inquiries about charge accounts and
home or car ownership may be unlawful unless required because of
business necessity.
What Visa USA said after being pressed by Detroit News columnist Brian O'Connor about all of the contradictions:
"We don't have figures on whether that's true or not, but anecdotally it seems that more and more employers are doing it."
Technically it is true that an employer can legally not hire you
because of low credit scores, but the types of jobs in which a person
would be subject to credit scoring scrutiny is limited to those very
few jobs in which a person's credit rating matters for their job's
basic functions.
And there you have it. One more reason to read beyond the
headlines. Especially when the source of the information is a company
with something to sell.
Sources:
"Americans Unaware That Employers Can Legally Refuse to Hire Job Applicants with Low Credit Scores", Visa USA. September 13, 2007
Brian O'Conner. "Employers Myth Out On Credit Scores", Detroit News. 15 September 2007.