Cahill Proposes Legislation to Prevent Employer Credit Checks

Type :	Announcements
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 27, 2010 Contact: Amy Birmingham 978-979-9252 Juli Sweeney 617-875-9026 Cahill Proposes Legislation to Prevent Employer Credit Checks Massachusetts State Treasurer and Independent candidate for Governor Tim Cahill intends to file legislation that would prevent employers from running credit checks on job applicants. With unemployment a major issue for the Massachusetts middle class, this legislation would open up closed doors for potential employees with past credit issues. The Society for Human Resources Management currently reports that 60% of employers surveyed said they run credit checks on potential jobs applicants, compared to the 40% of employers in 2006. “The obstacles unemployed citizens face each day are tremendous and these credit checks are an additional unnecessary hurdle that they have to overcome,” said Cahill. “As leaders we must do everything in our power to put people back to work and move our state forward.” The proposed legislation would prevent employers from requesting or obtaining a credit history or credit report for both current and prospective employees. Most importantly, it would prohibit employers from using a current or prospective employee’s credit history as part of the employment process. Employers would no longer be able to take the following actions against a person as a result of his or her credit score: -Fail or refuse to hire a prospective employee. -Fire, lay off or terminate from employment in any way. -Demote, suspend or retaliate against the employee in any way. -Discriminate with respect to their compensation, denial of a promotion or any term or privilege of employment. -Discriminate with regards to offers of compensation or any term or privilege of employment. ###

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