Wednesday, August 23, 2006 7:37 AM
I had an interesting discussion over the last couple of days with some colleagues around whether businesses should be allowed to request a credit check of potential employees.
The one argument on the business side is that businesses need to know whether the people being hired are able to manage their own resources, which is an indicator of maturity and responsibility in managing the resources of the business. Fair enough.
But what about the situation where a poor credit rating is a result of extenuating circumstances (health issues where a spouse is unable to work, loss of previous employment for non-performance issues, or just youthful bliss about paying back your credit cards on time)? There would need to be a balance I would think between just hard data and investigation, but how many companies would take the time to investigate that deeply? Or maybe the idea of basing employment on a credit check is just wrong?
Curious to know what you all think. And no, this isn't a "me" situation. My credit is just fine thanks...and no...I don't want more...unless of course they come out with a line of Geek hero MasterCards!
D