Tie employment to credit check?
States may ban credit checks on job applicants
Excerpt:
Sixty percent of employers recently surveyed by the Society for Human Resources Management said they run credit checks on at least some job applicants, compared with 42 percent in a somewhat similar survey in 2006.
Employers say such checks give them valuable information about an applicant's honesty and sense of responsibility. But lawmakers in at least 16 states from South Carolina to Oregon have proposed outlawing most checks, saying the practice traps people in debt because their past financial problems prevent them from finding work.
Comment: I can see it if someone works directly with money .... like a teller! Otherwise I am not sure. Thoughts?
Hard call. Do you imprison someone in debt, or do you realize that a lot of debt represents a lack of self-control and a motivation for embezzlement or selling company secrets?
ReplyDeleteI'm reminded of an interview my dad (and grandma) described to me; the company put him up in a wonderful hotel room with a full bar. My dad called his mom to say how cool it was, and grandma (bless her) pointed out what it was; the company was going to see how much he drank when liquor was free to gauge his self-control.
Needless to say, he didn't have a headache the next morning.
I agree with both sides to the argument, but tend to think the "imprisonment" angle would be more likely in today's world. With the unemployment and underemployment rates as high as they are, people that are normally careful and have self control can still find themselves in debt.
ReplyDeleteDunno, Tobin. I have interacted with a fair number of people in serious debt trouble, and self-control is always a huge issue for them, even now.
ReplyDeleteThere are probably a few with circumstances out of their control, but when you dig below the surface, it's nowhere near what the media will tell you.
That surprises me - good to know.
ReplyDelete