Rep. Cohen, Sen. Warren Introduce Bill to Protect Job Seekers from Credit-Based Discrimination

[WASHINGTON, DC] – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) and Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) today introduced the Equal Employment for All Act in the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate to protect job seekers from unfair discrimination from employers based on credit ratings that are often inaccurate and bear little to no correlation to job performance or ability to succeed in the workplace. The legislation would protect prospective employees from being forced to disclose their credit history as part of an employer's application process.

"Using a job applicant's credit history to deny employment is not just unfair, it also makes no sense because credit scores are not accurate predictors of job performance,"said Congressman Cohen."We should be doing everything in our power to help people find jobs – not hinder them.I am pleased that a consumer champion like Senator Warren has joined this fight and I look forward to working with her to pass our EqualEmployment for All Act."

"This bill is about basic fairness -- let people compete on the merits, not on whether they already have enough money to pay all their bills. It makes no sense to make it harder for people to get jobs because of a system of credit reporting that has no correlation with job performance," Senator Warren said. "We also know that credit histories are riddled with errors and the recent Equifax breach makes that much more likely."

Extensive research has shown that a family's poor credit is more often the result of medical bills or unemployment than a mark of someone's character or ability to perform in the workplace. Following the 2008 financial crisis, millions of people confronted job loss, shrinking home prices, and depreciated savings. For too many people, the fallout from the crisis also damaged their credit. Today, credit reports are not always accurate, and poor credit disproportionately targets women, minorities, and those already struggling financially. Including credit checks as part of the hiring process bars qualified workers from entering the workforce. The Equal Employment for All Act would make sure that hiring decisions are made based on an individual's skill and experience rather than credit reports. Eleven states and the City of New York already have similar laws already in place, and legislation to protect job seekers has been introduced in another 19.

Congressman Cohen originally introduced the Equal Employment for All Act in 2009 to prohibit employers from using credit checks and bankruptcy filings in the hiring process unless the position sought requires national security clearance.