[tlhIn`toq]

Its hard to get out of under a bad credit score. No add on to that the inability to get a decent paying job and it becomes a vicious circle.

On the other hand - I've been seeing HUGE amounts of employee theft at a couple of client sites. Employees ripping out 600 feet of INSTALLED copper signal wire... 3 camera installations taken...

The employers are feeling the effects of the bad economy and are looking for measures to keep from hiring would-be thieves.

I think its one of those rare instances where both sides have right and valid reasons - and both sides are wrong. There is no single right answer.

You can just lump all employers together like that. 7-11 has a different standard and need than Northrup-Gruman. People with bad financial situations are open to being turned for industrial espionage, or swayed into contract awards for kickbacks.

[eclipsed4utoo]

tlhIn, on 19 September 2010 - 10:45 AM, said:

On the other hand - I've been seeing HUGE amounts of employee theft at a couple of client sites. Employees ripping out 600 feet of INSTALLED copper signal wire... 3 camera installations taken...

The employers are feeling the effects of the bad economy and are looking for measures to keep from hiring would-be thieves.

but that would deal more with the criminal background check...which companies should do. Just because my wife's credit score is in the tank because of medical bills, doesn't mean she is going to be a thief. So her credit history and credit score shouldn't matter to a perspective employer.

[Choscura]

I knew someone here who worked for <censored>, a distribution company. when the economy bit it the employees- good decent people for the most part, began 'losing' things. things would magically be out of stock or past expiration date and so on. Add to this the same thing with copper wire being stolen (although probably for scrap /boullion value, not to be sold as copper signal wire)... that company is doing bad right now because management is trying to cut costs by not paying employees. classic example of what not to do. [edit: I don't mean withholding wages, I mean they stopped bonuses, commissions on sales, and put a hold on all raises- so morale tanked even worse than it had in the first place]

Credit checks (and ratings) here are kind of a special occasion, but I think they have a major flaw- or at least, one stands out in my mind above the others mentioned already: when you have somebody with a poor credit rating, you have an easy scapegoat. The company I mentioned above had copper wire stolen: the employees were suspected but that was later dismissed, it's far more likely that some of the people around the company building stole the wire. If all the employees had had credit checks upon being considered for employment, a few- probably more than a few- of them would have been immediate suspects, and even if nothing is ever proven, suspicion is enough to shorten the time you spend with an employer.

This post has been edited by Choscura: 20 September 2010 - 11:50 AM

[rgfirefly24]

I think credit checks for jobs is a good thing. A persons credit can show how reliable that they are. What i mean by this is if you have a history of letting debts go to write off/ collections then what is to say that you wouldn't let a deadline pass and a project just sit? I've had my credit pulled for jobs in the past, and was asked to defend it on several occasions. I do think you should have the chance to defend your credit in writing, but I don't think we should remove the ability for employers to use this as a basis for how likely you are to be a good employee.

[calvinthedestroyer]

How can you meet a deadline or pay your bills if you are not giving the supplies or the money that you need to do those things?

With so many people becoming victims of high credit card and mortgage rates, I see a viscous circle.