Jones backs effort to bar credit checks in hiring decisions

Rich Jones, the director of policy and research at the Bell Policy Center, testified in favor of a bill that would prevent employers from using consumer credit information such as credit scores in making hiring decisions unless the information is directly relevant to a job.

The proposal, Senate Bill, 3, is sponsored by Sen. Morgan Carroll and Rep. Randy Fischer. Click here to sign up to support the bill.

Jones made these points in his testimony:

• There is scant evidence that credit history can predict an employee's job performance.
• Using credit information for hiring and other employment actions erects an unfair barrier that blocks many Coloradans from getting a good job or promotion.
• This practice disproportionately affects those who tend to have poor credit histories, such as low-wage workers, African-Americans and Latinos, victims of identity theft, unemployed workers and students.
• It creates a "Catch 22" situation for those who have poor credit histories because they are unemployed but cannot get a job to pay off debts and improve their credit.

The bill passed out of the Senate Judiciary Committee on a party-line vote.

Click here to read Jones' full testimony.