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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (March 20, 2013)
Opinion Credit Check: Employment Barrier “Challenging People to Shape a Better Future Now” B ERNIE F OSTER Founder/Publisher B OBBIE D ORE F OSTER Executive Editor T ED B ANKS Advertising Manager J ERRY F OSTER Account Executive L ISA L OVING News Editor H ELEN S ILVIS Multimedia Editor B RUCE P OINSETTE Reporter D AVID K IDD Graphic Designer M ONICA J. F OSTER Seattle Office Coordinator J ULIE K EEFE S USAN F RIED Photographers The Skanner Newspaper, established in October 1975, is a weekly publica- tion, published each Wednesday by IMM Publications Inc., 415 N. Killingsworth St., P.O. Box 5455, Portland, OR 97228. Telephone (503) 285-5555. A s Black America continues to struggle with high unemployment rates, a new research report by Demos, a public policy organization titled, Discredited: How employment credit checks keep qualified work- ers out of a job, unveils how the use of credit history in employ- ment decisions is often leaving people of color in the unemploy- ment lines. Among employers with fiduci- ary responsibilities, it is a long- standing practice to include credit reviews in hiring decisions. Banks, credit unions and similar employers should be careful in handling others’ money and deposits. But the Demos report found that employment credit checks now are becoming stan- dard operating procedures for many employees without such responsibilities. In these instances, disproportionately screening peo- ple of color out of jobs can lead to discriminatory hiring. With higher rates of unemploy- ment and the additional burden of wealth disparities, many African-American and Latino households have a greater need to borrow for emergencies and are also at a greater risk for fore- closure or loan default. Surveying nearly 1,000 low- and middle-income households with credit card debt, Demos found that people of color are dis- proportionately likely to report worse credit than Whites. Even for employed persons seeking a promotion at work, credit scores can be a factor in deciding which employee will get the better job. Consumers surveyed shared that much of the debt going to collec- tions agencies was for unexpected R ESPONSIBLE L ENDING Charlene Crowell medical costs rather than for retail credit card usage. Households without health coverage were more than twice as likely to report that their credit score had declined respondents.” Amy Traub, the report’s author and a senior policy analyst at Demos, was even more frank. “This practice continues because it financially benefits the compa- nies that market and sell this infor- mation to employers with little concern for the negative impact to the economic security of those with most at stake – low and mid- dle-income Americans struggling to find work in a tough job mar- ket.” This specific finding on medical at work credit scores can be a factor in deciding which employee will get the better job. in the past three years. “It makes little sense to say that someone is not a good candidate for a job because they are still cop- debt mirrors another by the Feder- al Reserve Board. According to the Fed, 52 percent of all accounts reported by collection agencies It makes little sense to say that someone is not a good candidate for a job because they are still coping with the expense of a costly family medical emergency several years ago ing with the expense of a costly family medical emergency several years ago,” the report said. “Yet this may be exactly the type of sit- uation that a blemished credit his- tory indicates: having unpaid medical bills or medical debt is cited as one of the leading causes of bad credit among survey consisted of medical debt. These consistent findings on medical debt are also reflected in America’s disproportionate unem- ployment data. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics continues to show that Black unemployment doubles that of Whites. From December 2012 through February 2013, White unemployment averaged 7 percent. By contrast, Black unem- ployment stood at 14 percent. So what is a debt-burdened, unemployed consumer to do? The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) allows employers to request credit reports on job appli- cants and existing employees. The statute also lays out specific steps under which these credit checks must occur. By law, employers must: First obtain written permission from the affected consumer before a credit review; Notify individuals before any adverse action is taken as a result of the credit review; Offer the employee or applicant a copy of the credit report, along with a written summary of his/her consumer’ rights; and Provide job applicants with a brief period of time to dispute any errors in their report. Additionally, eight states have laws against employment discrim- ination involving applicants’ cred- it history: California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Ore- gon, Washington, and Vermont. Currently three other states are now considering similar legisla- tion: Colorado, Massachusetts and New York. If your state lacks laws against this type of discrimination, contact your local legislator about passing such legislation. Charlene Crowell is a communi- cations manager with the Center for Responsible Lending. E-mail: info@theskanner.com World Wide Web site: http://www.theskanner.com Fax: (503) 285-2900 The Skanner is a member of the National Newspaper Pub lishers Associ- ation and West Coast Black Pub lishers Association. COMING SOON New Look Website All photos submitted become the property of The Skanner. We are not re - spon sible for lost or damaged photos either solicited or unsolicited. © 2012 The Skanner. ALL RIGHTS RE SERVED. REPRODUCTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART WITHOUT PERMISSION PROHIBITED. To see The Skanner News on your smart phone go to theskannermobile.com or scan this QR code with your app. • • • • • • • • Local news Opinions Jobs, Bids Sports Entertainment Music reviews Bulletin board RSS feeds Page 4 The Portland Skanner with a host of new features March 20, 2103
