Why Employers Use Credit Checks For Employment

Credit Checks for Employment

Having a good stable job has always been the goal that people want to achieve. People want to earn a lot of money to satisfy their dreams. Due to the financial crisis and the economic recession, people sometimes have to face layoffs or unemployment leading to bad debts and bad credit. They suddenly become a job seeker or a candidate for a new job. One of the major barriers is that today's employers want to check the applicant’s credit history as part of their capacity assessment. Even though, many people think that a credit report is unnecessary and should not be used in job hiring because it does not determine one’s skills for the job, employers are saying the opposite. According to a survey in 2012 by Human Resource

Management, about 47% of employers check credit history to make their decisions on hiring applicants (Marquit 2014). The policy of checking the applicant’s credit history should be stopped because it does not say anything about how competent an applicant is and it violates their personal information.
First of all, a credit history does not say anything about how competent an applicant is, so an employer can not predict how one would perform.

Researchers say that there is no research that shows a correlation between somebody's credit report and their job performance or a possibility to commit embezzlement (Weston 2013). This means there is no evidence to prove the link between bad credits and bad morals because people with bad credit are not at fault. For example, many people with no insurance because they are not able to afford and then carry a medical debt. The employers will never really know how one would perform unless employers actually hire them. A talented applicant should not be determined by credit reports. If so, employers could possibly lose a talented worker. It is clearly unfair for those who have a bad credit because they are poor. They cannot pay their bill on time, but they can perform their job

well.
In addition, the credit check policy that some companies do is violating the workers’ personal information and their privacy. Many people know that credit reports contain personal information including family status, disability, medical conditions, bills, debts, loans, bankruptcy, and balances. What happens if their personal information is revealed to criminals or opponents? In fact, there are candidates who are traders, investors, and businessmen. They are doing online business and investment, or they have contracts about the sensitive and confidential field. So, if their information is disclosed to competitors, the deal will be unsuccessful and it will cause great damage. Besides, some criminals steal one’s real information and use it to scam their loved ones, their friends, or buy something online. For instance, Mr. Steve, a Texas resident who lost money without knowing the reason. After investigating, the bank told him that someone had used his credit information to purchase online.
Supporters argue that the policy of checking the applicant's credit history is necessary to eliminate those potentially at risk of harming the company's image.

It may be true that if the applicants have a red flag in their credit report, there is a possibility that applicants would accept bribes or sell confidential information about the workplace and their financial issues could lead to peculation. Wendy Powell, author of “Management Experience Acquired” says that employers are constantly reviewing credit histories, for example, like jobs from the bank, brokerage houses, and other financial institutions. It is applied to accounting or anything related to managing money since there is possible frauding or embezzlement (Farrell 2010). The proponents also say that the credit report information is excellent when comparing two employees for one position. If an applicant has a significantly high debt or bad credit, it could distract them from fulfilling their job properly, and it would be information that should be taken into consideration (Farrell 2010). It may not be true because not everyone has bad debt also be tempted to compromise their honor and career. Since they are trying to find a good job and make money to cover their costs and debt. They are educated and realize that having a good job is really meaningful for those who have experienced unemployment

crisis.