How Does Your Credit Effect Your Ability To Gain Employment?

Would you want to hire an applicant for a CFO position that has a horrible credit report? Of course not, and neither would any employer. Clearly a company is well within their rights to secure a credit report on a person seeking a financial position. A CFO is the gatekeeper to the companys financials. How this applicant runs their own finances has direct impact on how they may run a companys financials. The credit report is germane to the position the person is seeking.

If you are in any financial position such as a cashier, accounts payable/receivable, accountant, CFO, trustee or fiduciary an employer has the right to secure the credit report, because whether you like it or not, it is germane to the position. However, an employer should take into consideration the circumstances which may have created the credit report. Maybe a divorce, health issues or a failed business is to blame. However, an employer should be very wary of asking the reason as not to discriminate, but rather try to put the pieces of the puzzle together by asking their background checks company to analyze the credit report for further details. A competent background check company should be able to provide this in depth analysis at no additional cost.
It takes a seasoned corporate investigator to provide analysis on a credit report to give you the information to help you make an informed decision while protecting the rights of the applicant. FICO scores never appear on a credit report being secured by a background check company, because the report is being pulled for employment purposes only and not an extension of credit. If your current background check company is providing you FICO scores, guess what? You are violating the civil rights of the applicant by using this FICO score to determine if they are better than the next applicant. A precedent setting case in the State of New York sided with an applicant who was denied a job, because her FICO score was less than the next candidate. The applicant, who was a minority in race and gender, lived in an undesirable zip code in New York whereby she was not offered the ability to obtain legitimate credit, but rather sub-prime credit. The courts decision was that the applicant was discriminated against because she had been disenfranchised by the credit card companies by the limited or sub-prime offers she had received, although she was far superior in education and past employment when compared with her co-applicants for the same position.

As an employer the rule of thumb when securing a credit report is, make sure it is germane, consider extenuating circumstances, get analysis from your background check company and never ask for a FICO score.

GObackgrounds.com has offices in Temecula, CA and Brookfield, WI and has been in business for 18 years as a licensed corporate investigations company specializing in employment background checks and due diligence for investment purposes. For further details please see www.GObackgrounds.com or contact GObackgrounds.com directly at 1-888-GOBACK-1 ext. 83 | service@GObackgrounds.com.