Regardless of the rationale behind these credit checks, this practice can be discriminatory, say Daniel Garodnick and Amy Traub in the New York Daily News. For instance, "African-American and Latino households are disproportionately likely to report poor credit, a finding some attribute to the nation's deep racial wealth gap and to predatory lending that has targeted communities of color." Garodnick and Traub continue
Credit reports were never developed for hiring in the first place; these records of an individual's borrowing history were intended for lenders to make decisions about how likely someone is to pay back a loan. But when companies selling credit information saw a new customer base for their product, they began marketing reports to employers — even though credit checks have never been proven reliable for hiring. [Daily News]
