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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2023 - 2024
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | March 7, 2024 03:04 PM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Heather Boyd |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Protecting Workers from Unnecessary Credit Checks |
| Employers often check job applicants’ credit history during the hiring process, which can illegitimately obstruct access to employment for many people who need a job the most. Under current state law, an employer can reject an applicant or deny a promotion due to the worker’s credit report. However, an individual’s credit history has little relationship to their job performance, and credit scores have been shown to be discriminatory against women, people of color, individuals with disabilities, and those with lower incomes. Credit scores can be negatively impacted by a range of factors that serve no useful purpose in predicting job performance including divorce, layoff, childcare costs, medical debt, and other unexpected life events. Workers deserve a fair chance when applying for a job, and I will soon be introducing legislation that prohibits employers from using an individual’s credit report when making employment decisions. Eleven states have already enacted similar policies: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Nevada, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington. When an employer checks the credit history of an applicant, they are only getting part of the story and are potentially eliminating highly qualified candidates. Join me in supporting this legislation to help remove an unnecessary hurdle Pennsylvanians face when seeking employment. |
Introduced as HB2207