Category: Enough to be Dangerous

credit score, employers, Wall Street Journal

From: Greg Fisher [mailto:greg@creditscoring.com]
Sent: Sunday, May 22, 2011 4:33 PM
To: Emily Glazer, reporter, Wall Street Journal
Subject: credit score, employers, Wall Street Journal

See this message and your response at https://blog.creditscoring.com/?p=2114.  

You wrote, “A credit score also is used when you apply for an apartment lease and even for some jobs.”

Who is your source regarding credit score use by employers?

—
Greg Fisher
The Credit Scoring Site
creditscoring.com
PO Box 342
Dayton, Ohio  45409-0342

UPDATE, 2011-06-22

From: Greg Fisher [mailto:greg@creditscoring.com] 
Sent: Tuesday, May 24, 2011 12:57 PM
To: Glazer, Emily
Cc: Everett, Teri M. ( NewsCorp )
Subject: RE: credit score, employers, Wall Street Journal

Please reply.

From: Glazer, Emily 
Sent: Tuesday, May 24, 2011 5:52 PM
To: ‘greg@creditscoring.com‘
Cc: Everett, Teri M. ( NewsCorp )
Subject: RE: credit score, employers, Wall Street Journal

Hi Greg,

Thanks for reading the article and reaching out. I apologize for my delayed reply – I went through my inbox and I never received your original email.

A number of sources, including Alexa von Tobel from personal-finance website LearnVest.com, had mentioned that some employers check your credit score. This is most prevalent with various background searches during job interviews as a low score could put you at a hiring disadvantage.

Cheers,
Emily

From: Greg Fisher [mailto:greg@creditscoring.com] 
Sent: Thursday, June 02, 2011 12:29 AM
To: Glazer, Emily
Subject: RE: credit score, employers, Wall Street Journal, LearnVest

LearnVest.com states, “While employers cannot access credit scores, they are given a history of missed bill payments, debts, and bankruptcies.”

How did you obtain the information you attribute to Ms. von Tobel?

From: Glazer, Emily 
Sent: Thursday, June 02, 2011 10:15 AM
To: ‘greg@creditscoring.com‘
Subject: RE: credit score, employers, Wall Street Journal, LearnVest

Hi Greg,

The information was obtained through a phone interview. We wrote “and even for some jobs” because it depends on the company.

Thank you,
Emily

From: Greg Fisher [mailto:greg@creditscoring.com] 
Sent: Thursday, June 02, 2011 11:21 AM
To: Alexa von Tobel, CEO & founder, LearnVest
Cc: Emily Glazer, reporter, Wall Street Journal
Subject: FW: credit score, employers, Wall Street Journal, LearnVest

What indicates that employers use credit scores?

—
Greg Fisher
The Credit Scoring Site
creditscoring.com
PO Box 342
Dayton, Ohio  45409-0342

On Jun 3, 2011, at 11:54 AM, Greg Fisher wrote:

Please reply.

From: Maria Lin
Sent: Monday, June 06, 2011 10:19 AM
To: greg@creditscoring.com
Cc: Alexa von Tobel, CEO & founder, LearnVest; Ann Kaplan, chair of the board, LearnVest; Emily Glazer, reporter, Wall Street Journal
Subject:Re: credit score, employers, Wall Street Journal, LearnVest II

Hello Greg:

According to one source, the Society for Human Resource Management, 43% of their companies ran credit checks on some or all potential hires according to a poll they conducted a few years ago.

Links to a few of their reports are below.

http://www.shrm.org/Research/SurveyFindings/Articles/Pages/Backroundcheckingcomparative.aspx

http://www.shrm.org/Research/SurveyFindings/Articles/Pages/BackgroundCheckingImplications.aspx

Please feel free to reach out to them directly to confirm the answers to your questions.

Best regards,

Maria

~ 
Maria Lin
Editor in Chief
Learnvest, Inc.
740 Broadway, Suite 1002
New York, NY 10012
xxx.xxx.xxxx (office)
xxx.xxx.xxxx (cell)
xxx.xxx.xxxx (fax)

From: Greg Fisher [mailto:greg@creditscoring.com]
Sent: Monday, June 06, 2011 12:25 PM
To: Glazer, Emily
Cc: Alexa von Tobel, CEO & founder, LearnVest; Ann Kaplan, chair of the board, LearnVest; Maria Lin, editor in chief, Learnvest, Inc.
Subject:RE: credit score, employers, Wall Street Journal, LearnVest II

SHRM told me that its survey does not address credit scores.

What correction will you make?

From: Hughes, Jennifer 
Sent: Thursday, April 09, 2009 5:04 PM
To: creditscoring.com
Subject: RE: credit score, employers III

Hi Greg,

Neither survey discusses credit scores, only credit checks.

Sorry!

Thanks,
Jenny

Jennifer Hughes
Media Affairs Specialist
Society for Human Resource Management
1800 Duke Street
Alexandria, VA 22314-3499
Phone: xxx-xxx-xxxx

E-mail: xxxx@xxxx.xxx
www.shrm.org

 HR Leadership for the New Economy.  Only at the SHRM Annual Conference & Exposition.
June 28 – July 1, 2009 | New Orleans, La.
Find out more at www.shrm.org/conferences/annual.
—————————————-

From: creditscoring.com [mailto:greg@creditscoring.com]
Sent: Thursday, April 09, 2009 4:45 PM
To: Hughes, Jennifer
Subject: RE: credit score, employers III

Thank you.

What are the survey results regarding credit scores (a single number calculated from a person’s credit history), specifically?

Do any of the survey questions use the term “credit score”?
—————————————-

At 11:31 AM 4/9/2009, Hughes, Jennifer wrote:

Hi Greg,

According to SHRM’s 2006 Weapons in the Workplace Survey, 42% of surveyed employers run credit checks on potential employees as part of routine background checks. In SHRM’s 2004 Reference and Background Checking Survey, 19% of surveyed employers said they always used credit checks as a type of information in a background check, 24% sometimes used credit checks, and 18% rarely used credit checks.

If you have any other questions, let me know.

Thanks,
Jenny

Jennifer Hughes
Media Affairs Specialist
Society for Human Resource Management
1800 Duke Street
Alexandria, VA 22314-3499
Phone: xxx-xxx-xxxx
E-mail: xxxx@xxxx.xxx
www.shrm.org
 
HR Leadership for the New Economy.  Only at the SHRM Annual Conference & Exposition.
June 28 – July 1, 2009 | New Orleans, La.
Find out more at www.shrm.org/conferences/annual.
—————————————-

From: creditscoring.com [ mailto:greg@creditscoring.com]
Sent: Thursday, April 09, 2009 10:39 AM
To: Malveaux, Julie; Harris, Jeanene; Hughes, Jennifer
Subject: RE: credit score, employers III
 
Do you claim that employers use credit scores?

From: Glazer, Emily
Sent: Monday, June 06, 2011 12:54 PM
To: ‘greg@creditscoring.com’
Subject:RE: credit score, employers, Wall Street Journal, LearnVest II

Thanks for pointing this out, Greg. I’m going to talk with my editor and will get back to you.

Cheers,
Emily

From: Alexa von Tobel
Sent: Friday, June 03, 2011 8:42 PM
To: greg@creditscoring.com
Subject:Re: credit score, employers, Wall Street Journal, LearnVest II

Greg, I am currently traveling out of the country for work, but happy to get back to you as soon as I have better access to email. Hope you are having a great weekend!
-Alexa

From: Greg Fisher [mailto:greg@creditscoring.com]
Sent: Friday, June 10, 2011 12:51 PM
To: Alexa von Tobel, CEO & founder, LearnVest
Cc: Ann Kaplan, chair of the board, LearnVest; Maria Lin, editor in chief, Learnvest, Inc.; Emily Glazer, reporter, Wall Street Journal
Subject:RE: credit score, employers, Wall Street Journal, LearnVest II

When do you return?

Critique of Wikipedia – The silence is broken (for naught)

This has not happened in over a year.  Before Monday’s edit of the Wikipedia article Credit score (United States), 38 days had passed with no edits.  The last time that happened was November, 2009, when the span was 40 days.

Unfortunately, the new edits were of no substance.

The message board masquerading as an encyclopedia still misinforms anybody reading it. Its U.S. Credit score article falsely states that the so-called credit utilization ratio accounts for 30 percent of the FICO score, while the FICO company itself illustrates that that is not true.  The misinformation is now in its 7th year.  Ironically, the editor changed punctuation in that portion of the article, but failed to notice, indeed, the error of fact he was editing.  On the other hand, however, he makes no claims to credit score expertise in his profile: “Anime, manga, and science fiction fan; copy editor and wikifier—scourge of incorrect dashes and capitalization. ^_^.”

:(

Even the Federal Reserve appears to have used wiki-nonsense in federal testimony.  If that is true, then Wikipedia is the Fed’s source, while the Fed is Wikipedia’s source.  So, who’s in charge, here?

The Wikipedian has been wiki-decorated with the WikiMedal for Janitorial Services, and his wikipage is festooned with the official wikimedallion.

At least they don’t take themselves too seriously.

Nobody should.

Credit score, employers and Minyanville


From: Greg Fisher
Sent: Monday, May 09, 2011
To: Todd Harrison, founder and CEO, Minyanville Media, Inc.
Cc: Conor Sen, “Professor,” Minyanville
Subject: credit score, employers, Minyanville

See this message and your response at https://blog.creditscoring.com/?p=2077.

You published, “There was a time when we’d apply for a job or an apartment or a mortgage and not have to worry about a credit score.”

Who is your source regarding credit score use by employers?

—
Greg Fisher
The Credit Scoring Site
creditscoring.com
PO Box 342
Dayton, Ohio  45409-0342

Myth: Employers use credit scores (video) – National Financial Literacy Month

National Financial Literacy Month – Video illustrates myth that employers use credit scores

creditscoring.com video shows media, experts, central bank and legislators furthering the myth that employers use credit scores in hiring decisions.

Myth: Employers use credit scores
Myth video: Employers use credit scores

credit score, employers, Connecticut SB 361, CBIA

[PREVIOUS MESSAGE]

From: Greg Fisher 
Sent: Friday, April 15, 2011
To: Kia Murrell, assistant counsel, Connecticut Business & Industry Association
Cc: Martin Looney, state Senator, Majority Leader, Connecticut; Martin Looney, state Senator, Majority Leader, Connecticut (press aide email address); Matthew Lesser, state Representative, Connecticut; Robert Hiltonsmith, policy analyst, Demos; Timothy k. Rusch, director of Communications, Demos; Amelia Warren Tyagi, board chair, Demos; Miles Rapoport, president, Demos; Lori J. Pelletier, secretary-treasurer, Connecticut AFL-CIO; John Olsen, president, AFL-CIO, Connecticut; Sarah Poriss, attorney at law; Edith Prague, state Senator, chair, Labor & Public Employees, Connecticut; Edith Prague, state Senator, chair, Labor & Public Employees, Connecticut (press aide email address)
Subject: RE: credit score, employers, Connecticut SB 361, Connecticut Business & Industry Association (CBIA)

See this message and your response at https://blog.creditscoring.com/?tag=connecticut-sb-361.

In testifying, you engaged in this exchange:

SENATOR [Edith] PRAGUE: So, Kia, when somebody gets a background check on a prospective employee, if they ask for a criminal background check that’s all they get is a criminal background check, or they get the whole package, the criminal background check and the credit score.

KIA MURRELL: It depends on who that employer is and how that employer is conducting his background.

SENATOR PRAGUE: So it can vary.

KIA MURRELL: It can vary a lot.

What indicates that background checks on prospective employees include credit scores?

—
Greg Fisher
The Credit Scoring Site
creditscoring.com
PO Box 342
Dayton, Ohio  45409-0342

[attached: copy of previous messages]

[NEXT MESSAGE]

credit score, employers, Connecticut SB 361; Sarah Poriss, Attorney at Law, LLC

[PREVIOUS MESSAGE]

From: Greg Fisher 
Sent: Thursday, April 14, 2011
To: Sarah Poriss, attorney at law
Cc: Martin Looney, state Senator, Majority Leader, Connecticut; Martin Looney, state Senator, Majority Leader, Connecticut (press aide email address); Matthew Lesser, state Representative, Connecticut; Robert Hiltonsmith, policy analyst, Demos; Timothy k. Rusch, director of Communications, Demos; Amelia Warren Tyagi, board chair, Demos; Miles Rapoport, president, Demos; Lori J. Pelletier, secretary-treasurer, Connecticut AFL-CIO; John Olsen, president, AFL-CIO, Connecticut
Subject: RE: credit score, employers, Connecticut SB 361; Sarah Poriss, Attorney at Law, LLC

See this message and your response at https://blog.creditscoring.com/?tag=connecticut-sb-361.

You testified, “I support this bill because credit reports and credit scores are just not accurate indicators of work ethic, they frustrate the already financially challenged job seeker, and prevent employers from finding the right person for the job.”

What indicates that credit scores influence employers’ hiring decisions?

—
Greg Fisher
The Credit Scoring Site
creditscoring.com
PO Box 342
Dayton, Ohio  45409-0342

[attached: copy of previous messages]

[NEXT MESSAGE]

credit score, employers, Connecticut SB 361, AFL-CIO

[PREVIOUS MESSAGE]

From: Greg Fisher
Sent: Wednesday, April 13, 2011
To: Lori J. Pelletier, secretary-treasurer, Connecticut AFL-CIO
Cc: Martin Looney, state Senator, Majority Leader, Connecticut; Martin Looney, state Senator, Majority Leader, Connecticut (press aide email address); Matthew Lesser, state Representative, Connecticut; Robert Hiltonsmith, policy analyst, Demos; Timothy k. Rusch, director of Communications, Demos; Amelia Warren Tyagi, board chair, Demos
Subject: RE: credit score, employers, Connecticut SB 361, AFL-CIO

See this message and your response at https://blog.creditscoring.com/?tag=connecticut-sb-361.

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

What indicates that employers use credit scores?

—
Greg Fisher
The Credit Scoring Site
creditscoring.com
PO Box 342
Dayton, Ohio  45409-0342

[attached: copy of previous message]

[NEXT MESSAGE]

Connecticut SB 361 and the myth of credit scores, employers and hiring decisions

From: Greg Fisher
Sent: Tuesday, April 12, 2011
To: Robert Hiltonsmith, policy analyst, Demos
Cc: Martin Looney, state Senator, Majority Leader, Connecticut; Martin Looney, state Senator, Majority Leader, Connecticut (press aide email address); Matthew Lesser, state Representative, Connecticut
Subject: credit score, employers, Connecticut SB 361

See this message and your response at https://blog.creditscoring.com/?p=2017.

You testified: “And it really just depends on the method through which the employer gets their credit scores. A lot of times they come bundled with background checks, for example, and that’s part of the reason for the proliferation.”

What indicates that employers get credit scores?

—
Greg Fisher
The Credit Scoring Site
creditscoring.com
PO Box 342
Dayton, Ohio  45409-0342

[NEXT MESSAGE]

Credit score employers myth, channel 12, Providence

From: Greg Fisher 
Sent: Friday, April 08, 2011
To: Joshua Ruch, managing partner, Rho Capital Partners (via Courtney Guertin, media relations, Lin Media)
Cc: Susan Hogan, consumer reporter, Call 12 for Action team, WPRI
Subject: credit score employers myth, Eyewitness News, WPRI channel 12, Rho

See this message and your response at https://blog.creditscoring.com/?p=1967.

You broadcast: “So, do you think it’s fair for a potential employer to hold your credit score against you? Fair or not, it could be the deal breaker.”

Who is your source regarding credit score use by employers?

—
Greg Fisher
The Credit Scoring Site
creditscoring.com
PO Box 342
Dayton, Ohio  45409-0342

FreeScore.com spreads credit score/job myth II

[previous email]

From: Greg Fisher 
Sent: Friday, April 08, 2011
To: Gary Johnson, president & CEO, Vertrue Incorporated (FreeScore.com member support address); Rob Wyse, Media First Public Relations
Cc: Caitlin Senior, Media First Public Relations; Carrie Coghill, director of consumer education, FreeScore.com
Subject: RE: credit score, employers, FreeScore.com VIII

Please reply.