Last year, A bill named "Equal Employment For All Act" was proposed by U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN). If it became law, the bill would limit employers' use of an applicant's credit report when screening that person for a job.
Actually, the Equal Employment For All Act would amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act to prohibit employers from using credit checks when making adverse employment decisions. Of course, there are exceptions to this hard and fast rule like a national security position, financial institutions, etc.
However, the overwhelming number of employers really do not need this information in my opinion. I have never seen an instance where a credit report was a good indicator of a person's willingness to work, desire to do a good job and ability to produce real results. Just because someone has a blemish on their credit report, which lasts 7 years (far too long in my opinion) does not mean that they are going to ruin the business that they are working for. As a matter of fact, I see the exact opposite.
I see quite a few people each and every day who put their heart, soul and hard-earned money into their homes only to see it dwindle away due to a bad economy. I see people who were told by their mortgage companies that the only way they will get a modification is if they miss three payments on their mortgage. The missed payments crush their credit scores. Are they unemployable because they tried to save their homes. Give me a break.
