Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Why Employee Credit Checks are Good

Cleveland, OH, December 1, 1010...Starting January 1, 2011, many states across the nation will be making it illegal for employers to consider a candidate's credit history. Timothy A. Dimoff CPP, a high-risk workplace security expert thinks this is a big mistake! He says the use of credit reports to determine the future predictability of an applicant's future interaction at work can be very important in determining the person's behavior patterns. Dimoff states "Companies are experiencing significant thefts across the board, especially in this economy and the more tools we have to make logical predictions of behavior the better we can predict the possibility of negative employee behavior once they are hired. Checking a prospective employee's credit history can help to determine high-risk employees. This is especially relevant for positions that involve access to funds, personal information, trade secrets, etc. It is important to note that credit reports are not the same as credit scores. "

In 2009 the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), conducted a survey that found 60 percent of employers said they conduct credit checks on at least some prospective hires. That means if an applicant's credit report includes negative items such as unpaid bills, foreclosures or high debt levels, it could have a negative impact on getting a job. And, in this economy that applies to more people than ever!

Since 2007, four states -- Hawaii, Washington, Oregon and Illinois -- have enacted legislation limiting employers' use of credit information. In 2010, data from the National Conference of State Legislatures show that lawmakers from 18 other states and the District of Columbia have introduced legislation that aims to limit the use of credit information in employment decisions. At the national level, Democratic U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen of Tennessee introduced the Equal Employment for All Act, which would amend the FCRA by prohibiting the "use of consumer credit checks against prospective and current employees for the purposes of making adverse employment decisions.

It should be noted that there are a few exceptions to the new laws including positions in law enforcement, investigation, some financial jobs and investments

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