候选人的信用记录可以成为筛选申请涉及金融交易或处理敏感信息的职位的候选人的有意义的工具。试图降低欺诈或盗窃风险的雇主经常将信用报告用于涉及计费功能或获取现金、商品或个人财产的职位，因为这些报告可以帮助识别可能容易对公司资金管理不善的申请人
然而，一些待定的州和联邦立法直接影响那些使用信用检查作为其就业前筛选过程的一部分的雇主。通过将信用检查限制在某些“高风险”职位，这些规定旨在通过防止不当使用信用检查来保护求职者。在高失业率时期，州和联邦机构可能对任何可能不必要地取消申请人就业资格的筛选特别敏感。
下面我们将回顾联邦和州一级涉及就业信用检查的现行和未决法律，并深入了解未来立法的方向。
联邦法规
当前的联邦法律根据公平信用报告法 (FCRA)和联邦破产法限制雇主使用信用检查。
• FCRA 要求雇主获得求职者的书面许可，作为进行包括信用检查在内的聘用前背景审查的先决条件。
• 联邦破产法规限制雇主使用破产信息对现有雇员采取任何雇佣行动。但是，这并不限制在招聘决定中使用破产信息。
在本文发表时，金融机构和消费者信贷小组委员会正在审查一项决议（美国众议院第 3149 号决议——“人人平等就业法案”），该决议将进一步限制雇主使用信用报告。如果获得通过，该法案将修订 FCRA 并限制公司为就业目的进行信用检查，金融组织、政府机构的某些职位或需要国家安全许可的职位除外。由于众议院的控制权已经转移，该法案似乎不太可能通过，但表明了对就业信用检查进行更多监管的趋势。
平等就业机会委员会 (EEOC)最近关于雇主使用信用记录作为就业筛选工具的公开会议，表明未来监管的另一个迹象是明显的。预计 EEOC 最终将发布有关雇主何时以及如何使用信用检查的规定。
不同的州级限制
2010 年，几个州出台了立法来限制在招聘期间使用信用记录。在撰写本文时，四个州——华盛顿、夏威夷、伊利诺伊州和俄勒冈州——已经通过了规范就业信用检查的法律。
要了解州一级通过的不同程度的立法，雇主应查看俄勒冈州和伊利诺伊州通过的法律。俄勒冈州的立法被认为是最严格的，目前正在生效。俄勒冈州只允许对银行和信用合作社、公共安全官员以及法律要求检查信用的任何组织进行就业信用检查。俄勒冈州确实允许其他类型的雇主使用信用检查，但前提是相关职位满足一系列严格的要求。
伊利诺伊州的新立法于 2011 年 1 月 1 日生效，其限制性远低于俄勒冈州。如果工作涉及超过 2,500 美元的监护权或无人监督的访问权、每笔交易超过 100 美元的商业资产的签字权、管理职位、可以访问敏感信息的职位，或者如果需要信用记录，伊利诺伊州雇主可以在招聘期间使用信用报告依法。
雇主应了解州一级不同程度的限制，并考虑其所在州的类似立法将如何影响背景筛选过程。
4 雇主须知
当前和待定的州和联邦立法表明，有一种趋势是限制雇主在就业前筛选期间访问候选人信用记录的权利。
未来几年，州和联邦层面很可能会通过其他立法。以下是雇主了解新法规并遵守现有法律的四个关键要点：
• 为“雇主信用记录”和类似短语设置 Google 新闻提醒，以了解国会未决法案以及您所在州正在引入的新 EEOC 法规或法律。
• 仔细考虑哪些职位涉及信用记录是有效的工作相关指标的职责。
• 如果您确实进行了信用记录检查，请仅在招聘过程结束时为求职者提供信用记录，从而限制求职者潜在的身份盗窃和隐私风险。
• 指派更有经验的人力资源代表审查候选人信用报告。这为候选人的财务身份和个人隐私增加了一层额外的保护。
credit history can be a meaningful tool for screening candidates that are applying for a position that involves financial transactions or the handling of sensitive information. Employers that are trying to reduce the risk of fraud or theft frequently use credit reports for positions involving billing functions or access to cash, merchandise or personal property, as these reports can help identify applicants who may potentially be pre-dispositioned to mismanagement of company funds
However, several pieces of pending state and federal legislation directly affect those employers that use credit checks as part of their pre-employment screening process. By limiting credit checks to certain “high-risk” positions, these regulations are meant to protect job applicants by preventing inappropriate uses of credit checks. During times of high unemployment, state and federal agencies can be especially sensitive to any screening that may unnecessarily disqualify applicants from employment.
Below we’ll review current and pending laws at the federal and state level involving credit checks for employment and provide insight into the direction of future legislation.
Federal Regulations
Current federal law restricts employers’ use of credit checks under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and federal bankruptcy laws.
• The FCRA mandates that an employer obtain written permission from the job candidate as a pre-condition to conducting pre-employment background screening including credit checks.
• Federal bankruptcy statutes limit employers from using bankruptcy information to take any employment actions against current employees. However, this does not restrict the use of bankruptcy information in a hiring decision.
At the time of this article’s publication, the Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit is reviewing a resolution (U.S. House Resolution 3149—“The Equal Employment for All Act”) that would further restrict the use of credit reports by employers. If passed, this bill will amend the FCRA and restrict companies from performing credit checks for employment purposes except for certain positions in financial organizations, government agencies, or positions requiring national security clearance. This bill seems less likely to pass now that control of the House of Representatives has shifted, but indicates a trend toward more regulation of employment credit checks.
Another indication of future regulation is evident by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC) recent public meeting on employer use of credit history as an employment screening tool. It is anticipated that the EEOC will eventually release regulations around when and how employers may use credit checks.
Varying State-Level Restrictions
In 2010, several states introduced legislation to limit the use of credit history during hiring. At the time of this blog article, four states—Washington, Hawaii, Illinois, and Oregon—have passed laws regulating employment credit checks.
To understand the varying degree of legislation being passed at the state level, employers should review the laws passed in Oregon and Illinois. Oregon’s legislation is considered to be the most restrictive and is currently in effect. Oregon only allows employment credit checks for banks and credit unions, public safety officers, and any organizations that are required to check credit by law. Oregon does permit other types of employers to use credit checks, but only if the position at issue meets a stringent set of requirements.
Going into effect on January 1, 2011, Illinois’ new legislation is much less restrictive than Oregon. Illinois employers can use credit reports during hiring if a job involves custody or unsupervised access to more than $2,500 dollars, signatory powers over business assets of $100 or more per transaction, managerial positions, positions with access to sensitive information, or if credit history is required by law.
Employers should be aware of the varying degrees of restrictions at the state level and consider how similar types of legislation in their state would affect the background screening process.
4 Takeaways for Employers
Current and pending state and federal legislation indicate a trend toward restricting an employer’s right to access a candidate’s credit history during pre-employment screening.
It’s likely there will be additional legislation passed at both the state and federal level in the coming years. Here are four key takeaways for employers to stay apprised of new regulations and remain in compliance with existing laws:
• Set up Google news alerts for “employer credit history,” and similar phrases, to be aware of the pending bill in Congress as well as new EEOC regulations or laws being introduced in your home state.
• Carefully consider which positions involve duties for which credit history is a valid, job-related indicator.
• If you do conduct credit history checks, limit the potential identify theft and privacy risks to job candidates by only requesting credit history at the end of the hiring process for job finalists.
• Assign more experienced HR representatives to review candidate credit reports. This adds an extra layer of protection for the candidate’s financial identity and personal privacy.
