Rocky credit history? A bill that would prevent potential employers from weighing a job applicant's credit history unanimously passed the Senate Commerce and Tourism Committee Tuesday.
Some say the bill (SB 100), sponsored by Sen. Nancy Detert, R-Venice, is an effort to ease the job search process for Floridians.
WFSU in Tallahassee quoted Detert as saying, “As we turn the corner on the economy and try to get people back to work, one of the stumbling blocks is that we have employers pulling credit reports and not hiring you because you have a bad credit score. And I think that’s, frankly, kind of dirty pool, unless you’re dealing with money or trade secrets or a whole list of exceptions."
However, the bill, now on its way to the Senate Judiciary Committee, would come with its share of exemptions. According to News Service of Florida, employers would still be able to use a credit check in deciding whether to hire someone in a management or supervisory role, or someone who has some authority over paying the company's bills.
A similar bill introduced January last year (SB 102) sought to ban insurance companies and employers from holding credit scores against both customers and potential employees.
According to The Miami Herald blog Naked Politics, Sen. Gary Siplin, D-Orlando, who sponsored last year’s measure, "pitched the proposal as a 'get back to work' bill, and said that about 6 percent of U.S. employers check credit before hiring." The bill, however, died in the Senate Banking and Insurance Committee.
