House Democrats on Tuesday introduced H.R. 3149, otherwise known as the “Equal Employment For All Act,” which aims to reduce the burden of unemployment on individuals with poor credit scores.
The bill would prohibit employers from using credit reports to guide hiring decisions and from asking applicants to voluntarily provide this information.
Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.), who wrote the legislation, said that 43% of employers use credit checks during the hiring process.
Rep. Luis Gutiérrez (D-Ill.), a co-sponsor of the bill, called such credit checks “unnecessary barriers to employment.” Rep. Cohen cited a study by the American Psychological Society, and said that unless the job “involves significant financial responsibility,” these credit reports have “no relevance to a person’s qualifications or ability to do jobs.”
Some employers would be exempt from the legislation, including financial institutions and some governmental agencies.
The congressmen argued that bad credit reports often result from factors that cannot be controlled by the individuals in question, including medical issues and job loss during troubled economic times. Rep. Cohen cited studies emphasizing that racial minorities often have worse credit report ratings than whites. “We shouldn’t allow for credit reports that don’t help employers, but only aggravate circumstances in parts of the communities most hurt,” he said.
Rep. Gutiérrez said that “too many Americans are caught in the preventible cycle of debt.” He said that “they’ve fallen into bad credit and as a result they cannot do the one thing that would enable them to climb out: get a job, work hard, and earn a better score.”
The bill has 31 cosponsors, most of whom are members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.
House Democrats Introduce “Equal Employment For All” Legislation
House Democrats on Tuesday introduced H.R. 3149, otherwise known as the “Equal Employment For All Act,” which aims to reduce the burden of unemployment on individuals with poor credit scores.
The bill would prohibit employers from using credit reports to guide hiring decisions and from asking applicants to voluntarily provide this information.
Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.), who wrote the legislation, said that 43% of employers use credit checks during the hiring process.
Rep. Luis Gutiérrez (D-Ill.), a co-sponsor of the bill, called such credit checks “unnecessary barriers to employment.” Rep. Cohen cited a study by the American Psychological Society, and said that unless the job “involves significant financial responsibility,” these credit reports have “no relevance to a person’s qualifications or ability to do jobs.”
Some employers would be exempt from the legislation, including financial institutions and some governmental agencies.
The congressmen argued that bad credit reports often result from factors that cannot be controlled by the individuals in question, including medical issues and job loss during troubled economic times. Rep. Cohen cited studies emphasizing that racial minorities often have worse credit report ratings than whites. “We shouldn’t allow for credit reports that don’t help employers, but only aggravate circumstances in parts of the communities most hurt,” he said.
Rep. Gutiérrez said that “too many Americans are caught in the preventible cycle of debt.” He said that “they’ve fallen into bad credit and as a result they cannot do the one thing that would enable them to climb out: get a job, work hard, and earn a better score.”
The bill has 31 cosponsors, most of whom are members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.