by Tracy Morrison

Created on: April 15, 2010

As of today in the United States, 10.4% of Americans are unemployed. Other than the loss of a loved one, losing your job can be one of the most devastating things that can happen to you. The shear despair one feels when their livelihood is ripped out from from underneath them is terrifying to say the least.

Unemployment payments are typically a pittance compared to a full time wage. Bills may begin to go unpaid in order for basic living expenses to be met. This, in turn begins to effect ones credit history. After prolonged stints of living on unemployment benefits, financial distress seems to be part of the ordeal. 

If employers check a potential employees credit history after having been on unemployment benefits, an employer may look past an excellent hire solely based on a credit report. This in turn keeps the applicant dependent on state tax dollars for their meager income until they are able to secure gainful employment. Its a vicious circle and extremely stressful on the person trying to regain a steady paycheck.

What is the benefit in shooting ourselves in the proverbial foot by rejecting well qualified applicants based on a credit score. Should someone, well qualified, with perhaps volumes of experience, be rejected for a job because they have fallen on hard times in seeking a new job? Possibly they just graduated from college, are surviving the after effects of a bad divorce, whatever the reason, I'm disgusted that an employer would "overlook" someone who is capable of executing the position offered because they were late paying their credit cards or car payment while trying to live on less than stellar unemployment benefits while trying to obtain a steady income.

Background checks are a whole other animal. I believe doing criminal background checks are necessary in certain career fields, but not to be used as a "blanket" practice in the US work force. Personal privacy is at an all time low with the Internet and social networking sites. More and more public access is being initiated every day for court records, phone and cellular phone information and property ownership records.

Its understandable that a day care owner would never hire a registered sex offender, but is it your potential employers business that you legally changed your name after divorcing the moron from hell? NO!  I fail to see where any of that kind of information will tell them much about how you will preform your job as a legal secretary or as a rep in medical sales field. I SAY NO.

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