Employment Law: EEOC to Investigate Practice of Using Credit Checks in Job Screenings

October 18, 2010

Washington – The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) will be conducting an investigation about the use of credit history for employment screening.

The EEOC made the announcement today and will be holding a meeting on the subject on Wednesday, 9:30 in the morning on the first floor of their building in Washington, DC.

The investigation comes at a time when the House Financial Services Committee is conducting a hearing for the Equal Employment for All Act, which is a bill that is seeking to amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

The bill seeks to make it unlawful for employers to discriminate against applicants based on their consumer credit report.

This is the first time that the EEOC will tackle the issue of credit checks in three years.

The last time the agency conducted a meeting about the subject was in 2007 and no actions were taken at the time.