Colorado Bill Restricting Credit Report Checks of Job Applicants for Employment Screening Defeated

A State House committee in Colorado has voted to defeat legislation – SB-3, The ‘Employment Opportunity Act’ – that would have restricted the use of credit report checks of job applicants by employers for employment screening, The Denver Post reports, and the vote against SB-3 “ran along party lines with six Republicans voting against five Democrats on the committee.” The full Post story is at: http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_20208956/house-panel-kills-bill-stop-credit-check-job. Sponsored by Senator Morgan Carroll (D-Aurora), SB-3 originally aimed to limit the use of credit report checks in employment screening to jobs “such as financial positions that handle a lot of money or those workers in a position of trust over the elderly or vulnerable,” the Post reports, but ended up “taking on every form of employment.” If SB-3 had passed into law, Colorado would have become the eighth U.S. state to restrict credit report checks for employment purposes. As previously reported on the ESR News Blog, credit report checks of job applicants by employers has become increasingly regulated by state laws. In recent years, several U.S. states have passed laws restricting the use of credit report checks that have impacted the way employers conduct background checks. Seven U.S. states – California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Oregon, and Washington – currently have laws that limit the use of credit report checks by employers for employment purposes. Employment Screening Resources (ESR), a nationwide background check firm accredited by the National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS), offered the following tips for employers considering the use of credit report checks:

• Employers should not use credit checks unless there is a clear business justification related to the job in question.
• Employers should remember some credit reports contain errors and may contain incomplete information.
• Employers should use extreme caution with credit reports and be aware of both federal and state laws regarding credit report checks.
• Despite beliefs to the contrary, both employers and jobseekers should realize that employment credit reports do not contain three digit credit scores such as FICO.

ESR News will continue to monitor the laws regulating credit report use for employment purposes and post updates on the ‘States with Laws Regulating Credit Reports for Employment’ page at: https://www.esrcheck.com/States-with-Laws-Regulating-Credit-Reports-for-Employment.php. A complimentary whitepaper co-written by ESR – ‘The Use of Credit Reports in Employment Background Screening: An Overview for Job Applicants’ – is also available for download at https://www.esrcheck.com/Download/. For more information about background checks, visit Employment Screening Resources (ESR) – ‘The Background Check Authority’ – at https://www.esrcheck.com/ or call 415.898.0044. Related ESR News Blog: Colorado Employment Opportunity Act Restricting Credit Checks by Employers Passes First Vote Sources: http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_20208956/house-panel-kills-bill-stop-credit-check-job. http://www.leg.state.co.us/clics/clics2012a/csl.nsf/fsbillcont3/8D79274CA03CF03A87257981007E0C6C?open&file=003_ren.pdf. About Employment Screening Resources (ESR): Employment Screening Resources (ESR) – ‘The Background Check Authority^SM’ – provides accurate and actionable information, empowering employers to make informed safe hiring decisions for the benefit for our clients, their employees, and the public. ESR literally wrote the book on background screening with “The Safe Hiring Manual” by Founder and CEO Lester Rosen. ESR is accredited by The National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS), a distinction held by less than two percent of all screening firms. By choosing an accredited screening firm like ESR, employers know they have selected an agency that meets the highest industry standards. For more information about Employment Screening Resources (ESR), visit https://www.esrcheck.com/ or call 415.898.0044 or 888.999.4474. About ESR News: The Employment Screening Resources (ESR) News blog – ESR News – provides employment screening information for employers, recruiters, and jobseekers on a variety of topics including credit reports, criminal records, data privacy, discrimination, E-Verify, jobs reports, legal updates, negligent hiring, workplace violence, and use of search engines and social network sites for background checks. For more information about ESR News or to send comments or questions, please email ESR News Editor Thomas Ahearn at [email protected].]]>