Should employers be allowed to run credit checks on job applicants?

More and more states are passing laws against this practice

A recent study found no link between a person's credit score and what it called "deviant" behavior in the workplace.
(Image credit: Thinkstock)

The practice of employers running credit checks on job-seekers isn't new. But it is the target of some new blowback. Nine states — seven of them since 2010 — have passed laws restricting employers from running credit checks on job applicants before making a hiring decision, on the grounds that such checks discriminate against workers.

Credit agencies have been selling credit information to employers since the 1990s — and 47 percent of companies still use this data, often for hiring decisions surrounding low-paying jobs, says the New York Times. Why? Steven Burman, founder and president of Credit Advocates, a nonprofit in New York that helps consumers who have credit problems, acknowledges to the Times that even he uses these checks for every hire:

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Carmel Lobello is the business editor at TheWeek.com. Previously, she was an editor at DeathandTaxesMag.com.