Job applicant credit checks move closer to ban

pre-employment background screening can adversely impact minorities and the jobless. Berrien said: “High unemployment has forced an increasing number of people to enter or re-enter the job market,” said Berrien during a public meeting on Wednesday to discuss the practice. “As a result, an ever increasing number of job applicants and workers are being exposed to employment screening tools, such as credit checks, that could unfairly exclude them from job opportunities.” The main problem with this is that those who have poor credit are relying on getting a job to rise out of debt, but their poor credit history won’t allow them to. It’s a cyclical problem which Berrien wants to stamp out – allowing those in financial trouble due to the recent economic troubles to re-build that stable foundation for them and their families. Many experts believe that Berrien might be the one to finally help usher in restrictions on the practice nationally. She’s got the budget and some say the personality to get stuff done, following eight years under the Bush administration when the agency was decimated by budget and staffing cuts. Perhaps the time has come for that change to happen, although some employers may be hoping it doesn’t come quite so soon.]]>