Credit Report:
"Can Employers Legally Check Your Credit"
Generally, a potential employer is permitted to conduct an employment credit
check to make a hiring decision about you. Subsequently, a potential employer
might check your credit report as part of your employment background check.
After hiring you, your employer is generally permitted to conduct an employment
credit check to make other decisions about you too, such as those regarding
promotion, reassignment and retention.
An employer is generally permitted to do so, primarily because there is no
Federal discrimination law that specifically prohibits employment discrimination
on the basis of a bad credit report.
Although it's generally legal for employers to conduct an employment credit
check on you, the related provisions in the Federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)
and state credit-check laws at least somewhat regulate how employers obtain and
use the information. For example, generally under the FCRA:
•An employer must first inform you that someone will be conducting a credit
check on you and get your permission in writing (unless you work in the trucking
industry, in which case your permission might not be required). Technically, you
may refuse to allow it; but, in reality, you might not keep your job or land a
new one if you do that.
•Before an employer may take an adverse action against you (e.g., eliminate you
as a job candidate or fire you) based solely on a credit check, the employer
must give you a "pre-adverse action disclosure" that consists of a copy of your
credit report and a written summary of your rights under the Fair Credit
Reporting Act.
•After an employer has taken adverse action, the employer must then provide you
with an "adverse action notice". The employer must also give you the name,
address, and phone number of the agency that provided your credit report, so
that you may dispute inaccurate information.
•An employer must keep the results of a credit check confidential and can't
store any information about it in your personnel file.
How to Beat Them at Their Own Game
First get a copy of your own credit report. If you get it through this link your score will not
be effected. You will be seeing the exact same
report that your
employer sees.
Secondly, Use a fast credit repair agency. You might be surprised at how fast
your credit can be repaired. With all the technology today the old system of
mailing in a dispute letter has been replaced with "rapid rescoring" techniques.
One such company recommended by our readers is
www.24hrCreditFix.com
This company was started by an
ex-credit bureau manager and uses state of the art techniques.
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