Back in June I joined the ranks of the millions of Americans laid off from jobs in the wake of the Great Recession. As I labor through the search for a new job I wonder: Shouldn't my professional experience and ability be the deciding factor in getting hired for a new job rather than my credit score?
ABC News recently explored the question of how bad credit might stop you from getting a job.
According to an interview segment on NPR's "Tell Me More" yesterday, some employers may be using credit checks to unfairly discriminate against job applicants.
Financial consultant Alvin Hall is a regular guest on economic issues and he raised some concerns that trouble me as an unemployed African-American. Hall asserts that credit checks have become an even more important tool that employers use to make hiring decisions as available jobs have become more scarce.
So for example, I was fired unexpectedly from a job back in 2002 and my credit card debt grew in the months I was unemployed and used my cards to charge things and for high interest cash withdrawals. It's depressing to think that a potential employer might look twice at me because of that, even though I worked steadily from 2004 until June of this year for the same company AND worked to pay off a significant chunk of my credit card debt.
Credit card debt affects all Americans but the reality is that bad credit is more likely to adversely impact people of color in this nation because black and Hispanic people in the US on average tend to have less capital and disposable income.
Is it fair to rate someone's ability to do a job based on their credit score?
Visit the NPR Website and listen to Michel Martin's interview broadcast Tuesday afternoon August 11th.
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