More employers use credit checks to decide who gets the job

Ban on credit checks for job candidates has support

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By Randy Tucker, Staff Writer Updated 12:24 PM Friday, November 5, 2010

DAYTON — An increasing number of employers use credit checks to screen new hires.

According to a study by the Society of Human Resources Management, 60 percent of employers conducted credit checks on job applicants this year compared with just 19 percent in 1996. And third-party vendors who conduct background checks for area employers say the practice is on the rise locally. Richard Emmons of Dayton-based R.L. Emmons & Associates, which mainly screens recruits for police and fire departments, said, “I just cringe’’ when he hears an employer is basing a hiring decision on a credit report.

Credit reports “just aren’t that accurate,” Emmons said. “The information (gathering) is so sloppy that it’s very common to get mixed information on the same candidate from the different credit reporting agencies.”

Employers, especially those who screen workers who handle money or bookkeeping functions, defend credit checks as a way to guard against fraud and weed out workers in financial distress who might be tempted to steal.

KeyBank conducts credit checks on all potential employees. But the weight of a credit check in determining employment varies depending on other elements of the screening process, said spokesman Dan Davis.

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