On December 17, 2013, Senate Bill 1837, also known as, the “Equal Employment for All Act of 2013,” was introduced in the United States Senate. If enacted by Congress the Bill would amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act to prohibit employers from using a potential or a current employee’s consumer credit report against the employee for the purpose of making an adverse employment action. The legislation further promulgates that such prohibition would apply even in the event an employee consents or authorizes the procurement and/or use of their consumer credit report.
If passed, the Equal Employment for All Act would merely continue the recent trend by many state and city governments of passing laws which ban employers from running credit checks on prospective employees. As of 2013, ten states have passed laws which prohibit employers from using credit history to deny prospective employees employment (California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Oregon, Vermont, Nevada, and Washington). Moreover, Chicago and New York have passed laws prohibiting the use of credit history in hiring decisions.
McMahon Berger employs over 20 labor and employment attorneys who routinely keep track of employment law trends in order to affectively advise its clients. If interested in information regarding the use of credit checks in your hiring process, contact our St. Louis Labor Employment firm at 314-567-7350.
