The usual suspects will say that a bad credit report shows that a person has a poor sense of responsibility. These people have obviously never had a long term health problem or a long term layoff.
What was her credit score I wonder? 12?
I own a couple of rental units. When potential renters apply I have a credit check run on them. If they have a history of not paying their rent, I won't rent to them. I don't run a welfare office, I'm in it for the money. Not based on race, it's based on the ability/willingness to pay on time and meet their contractual promise to me.
Credit checks for a job are BS in my opinion, but they are BS for everyone, not just the minorities. If you're going to buy something, credit checks make sense. Again, my opinion.
End financial profiling now!
The auto insurance does the same thing. They figure that people with bad credit have higher accident rates.
I think it is very common in any industry or jobs that require processing money funds, to require credit checks. It is responsible for the employer to know if the person handling their customers' financial transactions has had credit problems. Bad credit issues can indicate a person who is more at risk of temptation in misappropriating the customers' funds. Banks, insurance companies, any firms that deal with stocks, mutual funds, etc., require the credit check process in evaluating applicants.
While I think employers have every right to ask whatever kinds of questions they want to ask, I also don't think that credit checks are reasonable requirements for most jobs. If she were handling a large amount of cash, or she were going to have the authority to spend significant company money without supervision, then it would make sense. But for a temp-to-hire data entry position, it seems utterly unnecessary.
Mind you, I don't think this is racism, just poor corporate policy.
Even worse, is how credit card companies are using "universal default" to jack up interest rates on existing debt balances to over 30 percent! (Chase is notorious for this - one of the worst.) They periodically check your credit, and even if you have never made a late payment, if there is a traffic ticket or a late payment on some other unrelated account, they jack up your interest to usurious rates. They got the green light to do that after Congress tightened up the bankruptcy laws recently. And, it's completely legal.
I told my current boss about my bad credit history before he hired me. His reply? "We like people with bad credit. They end up having to work a lot more."
"I owe my soul to the company stow" I have experienced that people with extreme debt are very conscientious and miss very little work as a result. On the other hand, people that are very secure are more likely to take an extra day off for whatever. Not scientific but generally true in my biz.
Persons with bad cradit are more likely to engage in illegal activities.
For insurance...persons with bad cradit are more likely to file fraudulent claims.
These are actuarial table proven but not PC.
Obviously where this is going is like the exams that have been called racist. Obviously the politically correct solution is to raise credit scores based on a person's race. So will we have race-norming and affirmative action in credit scores?
Democrat Zack Space used the credit history of his republican opponent Joy Padegett to win election in last year's election.
It worked for him, why not other jobs.
Interesting for Christian Science Monitor to take this angle. I think it's the only national newspaper that's worth more than the paper it's printed on.
OTOH, across the board credit checks are a bad idea. Sure, get one if you need the employee bonded or have a security clearance -- and do interviews that could possibly explain the bad credit. There's no real reason to do it for the average job.
Four years ago, I landed in the ER with a raging fever. The doctors almost gave up, but I made it through the night. I was told to forget about returning to work, the infection had damaged my left inner ear, and scarred my lungs. My medical insurance benefits were exhausted the first few days in the hospital. I had some savings, but by the time social security kicked in, after 7 months without income, my savings account was empty.
I have an almost perfect 50 year driving record. All of a sudden, my auto insurance premiums shot sky high. I finally got my agent to admit that the increase was due to my battered credit rating. I doubt I'll ever live long enough to pay off all those bills. I only drive 4 or 5 thousand miles a year, but the insurance premiums I would have to pay just simply make driving each mile a ridiculous expense. I bought a motorscooter, to hell with being robbed.