Author: Greg Fisher

Credit Scores Used by Employers: Believers

See Credit scores used by employers:  Believers and Nonbelievers.

Now, only categorized in the influence > government directory, this topic deserves its own section.  FICO, USA Today, the U.S. Treasury Department, Federal Reserve, EEOC and many others communicate a similar message:  Watch out— credit scores are used in employment screening.  But, when contacted, the various media, government agencies, associations and consumer advocates (they all look the same; on the Internet, nobody knows you’re a bureaucrat) come up short when asked for their sources.

So, what’s the big problem with that?  The credit bureaus say that they don’t sell scores to employers.

What is a credit score?

What is a credit score? gives consumer reporting industry and federal government definitions for the term credit score.

Experian:  15 definitions on 7 websites.  Takes the prize for the most shelf space and elegant variation.

Equifax:  Among others, gives the FICO score definition.  Discord with TransUnion over what period FICO predicts.

TransUnion:  Typographical error in FAQ.

FICO (the artist formerly known as Fair, Isaac and Fair Isaac), U.S. Treasury, HUD, FTC, FDIC and FCIC finish the set.

Credit score, employers, Citi

To: Vikram.Pandit@citi.com
From: “creditscoring.com” <greg@creditscoring.com>
Subject: credit score, employers
Cc: Alberto J. Verme (et al)
Date:  4/5/2009

Vikram Pandit
Citi

You wrote, “Lenders, insurers, landlords, employers and utility companies use your credit score to determine if you qualify for a loan, and at what interest rate and credit limit.”

Who is your source for the information regarding credit score use by employers?

Employers, credit score, Wall Street Journal II

See http://www.usnews.com/blogs/alpha-consumer/2009/2/26/why-credit-scores-matter-on-job-applications.html.

Date: Wed, 25 Mar 2009 12:14:49 -0400
To: Mary Pilon, Wall Street Journal
From: “creditscoring.com” <greg@creditscoring.com>
Subject: credit score, employer

See https://blog.creditscoring.com/?p=344.

This appears in a browser’s title bar for this story: “One in Six Employers Look at Your Credit Score – The Wallet – WSJ”

The description of the page that appears (in addition to the title, above) in search engine results is defined by this, found in the page code:

meta name=”description” content=”Many employers are checking job candidates’ credit scores, but how big of a factor are credit scores in a company’s eventual decision to hire?”

Recently, TransUnion claimed that they made an error in their survey: “The word ‘score’ was inadvertently used and the results based on that phrasing were communicated to you… TransUnion does not provide a credit score for employment screening purposes.”

Did you get that message from TransUnion? Will you make a correction?

Employers, credit score, Wall Street Journal

This appears as the #1 result in a search engine for the term credit score employers:

One in Six Employers Look at Your Credit Score – The Wallet – WSJ
Mar 11, 2009 … Many employers are checking job candidates’ credit scores, but how big of a factor are credit scores in a company’s eventual decision to …

See the comment on the story’s page asking for a correction.

Employers, credit score, USA TODAY

To: Kathy Chu, USA TODAY
From: “creditscoring.com” <greg@creditscoring.com>
Subject: credit score, employers
Date: 3/21/09

 

You wrote, “And if scores can drop even if consumers do nothing wrong, they say, it raises the question of whether there’s a flaw in the credit scoring formulas relied upon by the nation’s lenders, insurers, and increasingly employers and landlords.”

Who is your source for the information that, increasingly, employers rely upon credit scoring formulas?

6/18/2009 update:

See “USA Today on employers using credit scores, Part 1 – National newspaper will not identify its source“

Experian on credit scores and employers, 2006

In its November 1, 2006 advice column, Experian wrote: “An employer wouldn’t necessarily receive a credit score with the credit report. That would depend on its policies and procedures.”

In 2007, Experian said: “We do not score for employment reports… If you chose to do that, I think you would be breaking the law.”

In 2008, Experian said, “Experian’s business policy prevents the inclusion of credit scores with an employment report, at Experian called Employment Insight.”

See http://www.creditscoring.com/influence/government/employercreditscorebelievers.html.

Michigan legislator on credit scores in employment

See http://michiganmessenger.com/14511/switalski-wants-to-stop-use-of-credit-reports-in-hiring-process .

 

To: The Honorable Jon Switalski
From: “creditscoring.com” greg@creditscoring.com
Subject: credit score, employer
Cc: Michigan House Speaker Andy Dillon; Todd Heywood, The Michigan Messenger
Date:  March 17, 2009

You said, “If employers are allowed to continue using credit scores in hiring decisions, many hard-working people will be unfairly penalized.”

What evidence suggests that employers use credit scores in hiring decisions?