Credit checks have become a routine part of the hiring process. Nearly half of all companies run them on potential employees, according to SHRM. One in four Americans say they have been told that they missed out on a job because of their credit history. And yet, as Richard Tonowski, chief psychologist for the EEOC testified, there is “very little evidence that credit history is indicative of who can do the job better.” Indeed, credit problems are more a symptom of bad luck than of bad character nowadays. Many people were propelled into unmanageable debt by the housing bubble, the subprime mortgage boom or the surging unemployment of the Great Recession. In short, when employers make hiring decisions based on credit checks, it’s an institutionalized form of kicking people who are already down. It’s also a practice that compounds the enormous damage already inflicted on millions of Americans by a reckless financial industry. In addition, despite their critical importance to the financial lives of Americans, credit reports contain unacceptable numbers of errors, which can be exhaustingly hard to correct. According to a 2013 study by the FTC, the reports of more than 20% of U.S. consumers include confirmed mistakes.

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