Any one know anything about the Fair Credit Reporting Act?

[ceile]

I have a job interview on Monday and they want to sign an authorization form as part of my application. Can this really be used to not offer employment if I don't sign it? Do I have any rights in this at all?

[Horse with no Name]

1. It sucks

But an employer has the legal right to check your credit.
If you don't release it, they won't offer you the job.
And no, you have no rights.:(

[Midlodemocrat]

2. Yes. and No.

A lot of companies are checking credit reports these days. I guess it has to do with assessing whether or not a person is 'responsible'.

As if a responsible person doing their job couldn't have trouble due to a family member's illness. :eyes:

[larrysh]

4. Weak / bad credit alone probably won't disqualify you for the job.....

But these days, IRS Tax Liens show up on credit reports, as does back child support, along with unpaid student loans. Alot of companies don't want to hire people with those problems because at some point in time
they might be forced to garnish your wages ..and the paperwork is a real pain for human resources....

[Midlodemocrat]

5. And some creditors will garnish your wages as well

One of the credit card companies did it not that long ago, I remember someone saying here.

My company asks its employees to contact them if anyone is having trouble to avoid the whole garnishment issue. I think they would release some of an employee's profit sharing or 401K to avoid the hassle.

[Atman]

3. You have no rights. Sign it and pray.

Half of them don't actually do it, because it costs them money. Go to the interview in a million-dollar suit, speak your finest King's English, act like you have a stellar credit rating, and hopefully they won't bother to screen you.

But then...what are you hiding? LOL!

Really, you have no rights here. The potential employer can do anything it wants to screen you out, so long as it doesn't directly conflict with EOE guidelines.

[ceile]

7. That's what I was thinking.

I'm only past due on a few things, so I guess I'll keep my fingers crossed. Catch22-can't pay my bills, but can't get a new job to correct that. How the hell did the credit card companies get in a position where they could screw us like this? Oh, wait....nevermind.....

[bperci108]

8. When was the last time you pulled your own credit report?

If it's been a while, you might be in for a surprise: a whole bunch of things don't show up on most folks' reports. Not all creditors report to the bureaus.

If you've got credit card delinquencies or mortgage problems, that's likely to be on there.

Stiffed Columbia House on that "12 CD's for a penny" scam (What could possibly go wrong there....? :rofl: ) ?

Dont fret. :)

That kind of thing doesn't get reported.

It's basically a crapshoot.

It IS a good idea to check yourself out once a year and have any erroneous/incorrect data removed, though.

[mdmc]

6. you have no rights

they can use anything they want not to hire you. Just sign it and hope for the best.

And good luck in your search!

peace and low stress