i was offered a job at the hospital and they said they wanted to run a credit check?
why do they do that ?
What are they looking for?
I have one bill in collections which has a duplicate- any one know what i can do?
the collection amt is $567.00 -which i just paid. i settled with the creditor and they said it will show up on my credit report i 30-90 days. its a AT&T bill long ago
Please review the dozens of other threads on this topic.
It is quite common for hospitals to do credit checks on applicants.
Agree, this is a common part of the hiring process in all industries, not just health care, not just hospitals.
The value of a credit check on a prospective employee lies not in the financial info but as a means to verify other information you have provided: previous employment, addresses, etc. I'm not defending the practice or criticizing it, just stating it is what it is.
I hate to quote myself from other threads ... but no one gives a whit what your balance is at Nordstrom. They do care if you have omitted jobs from your resume (if asked to provide a complete employment history) or have unexplainable gaps in the timeline you provide on your application. That is the value of a $7.50 credit check.
The good credit = responsible employee mentality is not accurate. Many people have bad credit for many reasons. Sometimes unexpected health, litigation, unforeseen circumstances, educational loans or unpaid medical bills are some legitimate reasons. Does that somehow suggest they are a bad employee to hire?
This is a problem for everyone. Credit scores are quickly becoming the new GPA rating and measure of your employable skills and abilities in the workplace. That is after all why you were educated at the college/university in the first place wasn't it? ...so you could have a good credit score for employment purposes? :)
Amen. If a credit score, or bad credit history, means that someone will be a "bad" nurse, then why don't we go back further, and pressure nursing schools to run background finanical checks on its applicants, and use the results as a factor for admission? Why should nursing schools accept anyone who owes money, if employers won't want to hire a nursing graduate who does? I really don't like the idea of employers to using things that are irrelevant to whether someone will be a good nurse or not, (bad credit history, or not hiring nurses who smoke outside of work), and using it to determine whether or not to hire someone. I'm sure it's perfectly legal, but it bothers me.
I think a lot depends on how badly you want this particular job, and how much they need you.
Personally, I refuse to allow a credit check for employment. As long as my job doesn't involve handling money (or other negotiable valuables) I don't feel that my credit rating is any of their business. I've consented to employment history, criminal background checks and urine drug screens, but this is where I personally draw the line.
This topic has come up repeatedly as a traveler,but Ihaven't been unemployed in the last 25 years. If they don't agree, I'm on to the next place.
As long as most people continue to tolerate this invasive behavior it will continue and worsen.
I totally agree with you. I won't allow a credit check done on me. If an employer wants to base your worthiness as a nurse based on your credit history, I won't work for them. I have deliberately crossed out the permission to do this on apps. They can do a criminal background check because everyone should have this done. Credit history, my business and no one else, PERIOD!
Agree, this is a common part of the hiring process in all industries, not just health care, not just hospitals.
The value of a credit check on a prospective employee lies not in the financial info but as a means to verify other information you have provided: previous employment, addresses, etc. I'm not defending the practice or criticizing it, just stating it is what it is.
I hate to quote myself from other threads ... but no one gives a whit what your balance is at Nordstrom. They do care if you have omitted jobs from your resume (if asked to provide a complete employment history) or have unexplainable gaps in the timeline you provide on your application. That is the value of a $7.50 credit check.
That's true. I forgot about the benefit of using a credit check to verify the accuracy of the applicant's version of his/her employment history.
While we may not like it, there are some benefits for the employer to run a credit check -- and some will choose to do so before giving you a job. If you don't like it, you can choose to work somewhere else.
The Employment history doesn't show up on a Credit report, It does however show up on a background check as well as all the previous addresses you have used. I totally agree that credit checks should not be used as a basis for future employmetn. everyone makes mistakes. But that does not mean they will steal, or cheat a company ( or however OP had said it). I believe the eployers should be able to access criminal background, general background and drug testing. But no one should be allowed to judge your reliabilty on wether your paid your CC bill on time. Im with the other OP's I don't need a job if they need a credit check on me.........
The Employment history doesn't show up on a Credit report, It does however show up on a background check as well as all the previous addresses you have used.
Some explanation: The term "background check" means fact-checking & verification of information provided by an applicant. This could take a number of forms and may include whatever information-gathering is allowed by law and agreed to by the job applicant. Some examples: verification of driving record by obtaining record from a state DMV; verification of previous employment by contacting the previous employers listed on the application; obtaining a criminal background check from the state police bureau, FBI, or other criminal justice agencies; verification of academic credentials & professional license(s); obtaining a credit report on the applicant from any one or all 3 of the major credit reporting agencies; etc. etc.
And yes, employment does show up on a credit report. So do previous addresses. As I stated in my previous post, that is the value, to a prospective employer, of a credit check - there's a lot of information in one place that's relatively inexpensive and easy to obtain.
Here's a link with some easy-to-understand explanations of the information contained on a credit report. Hope this helps.
It seems that our society is too carried away with our credit rating. Some people get into debt and have deliquencies on their credit report. However, this should not be assumption that the individual would be a bad employee.
Thank you for the infomation. Its good to learn something new each day. Last credit report I viewed didn't include it. But know I am aware that the info is on there.
And yes, employment does show up on a credit report. So do previous addresses.
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Wrong!!!!!!!!!!
I previously lived and was employed in Canada for most of my life. Do you think any US credit agency has this information available on file?
No. Because in Canada I used a Social Insurance Number. In the US I have a Social Security Number. Two completely different numbers.
Credit checks do not extend beyond borders. The information provided by US credit agencies are limited only to US boundaries in scope.
In addition, US employers never ask me for my SIN number. They only ask me to verify my SSI number for conducting these background checks. In fact they have no legal authority to ask me for my SIN number or to conduct a Canadian credit check. It's against the law even if I give them permission. The laws pertaining to this employer practice are quite different in Canada.
So I am a "ghost" with no previous credit or work history although in Canada, I had perfect credit, owned several homes, attended 4 colleges, have been employed for 30 years in the reality of things.
On the other hand according to my US credit history I have only lived at one address for my entire life, I have only been employed at one place for 2 years, I never went to any schools, I never owned a home and I have zero credit history. ...Neat huh?
Result?: Employers think I am lying about my previous addresses and employment history because it doesn't show up on any credit or background check report! You don't even have the opportunity to make it into the interview to explain the situation. Your so called "erroneous" application is automatically rejected and discarded into the round file because of these pre employment credit/background checks. Talk about frustrating!
Another reason why these credit/background checks are completely bogus, discriminatory and don't reflect accurate information.
Specializes in LTC/SNF, Psychiatric, Pharmaceutical.
My current job did not do a credit check on me. I work in a plasma center, which is part of the pharmaceutical industry, and is not a health care facility. They went entirely off of my work history. This is another reason I'm glad I've walked away from facility nursing for good. I have good credit, but I highly resent all the intrusions into my privacy these days for basic services. We have about the same privacy now that people in China do. The only difference is that it's private enterprise rather than the government doing it, but corporate oppression is oppression as surely as government oppression.
The argument that you can refuse to provide sensitive personal information, but they can refuse in turn to provide any service, is sickening. Again, how is that different from what goes on in an authoritarian regime? Why are Americans allowing this to happen? This isn't free market, this is corporate fascism! It should be highly illegal!
We, as nurses, need to refuse to bow to any corporate pressure to give up our personal information. And that would be good practice in daily life too.
I was previously employed in Canada. Do you think any US credit agency has this information available on file?
No, not wrong. As you state, your address and employment in the US are contained in your credit report. I was speaking (as was the OP) of a scenario involving a US resident who has previously been employed in the US.
No. Because in Canada I used a Social Insurance Number. In the US I have a Social Security Number. Two completely different numbers.
I would assume so, as they are issued by different agencies of different sovreign governments.
Credit checks do not extend beyond borders. The information provided by US credit agencies are limited only to US boundries in scope.
Appreciate the reminder, although I don't recall claiming that information contained in reports is universal. I assume that prospective employers have the means to check whatever they find it necessary to check on applicants who have lived/worked in other countries, just as I would expect an employer in Canada or elsewhere to verify my history if I applied for employment outside the US.
MLOS, I think you are completely missing the point.
You would "think" that it would be a simple process but the background check/ credit history practice is discriminatory in practice when it involves foreign nationals residing in the US.
For example, let's say you are a US foreign national living in Canada for a moment. What if a potential employer in Canada asked you to provide a Social Insurance Number as a means for verifying your past employment history. Do you even have one? OK let's say we get you one and the Canadian employer decides to use it as a means of conducting a background credit check on you. What do you suppose it will reveal about you? Nothing at all?
Probably.
This is why this practice is completely inaccurate because it doesn't reflect any previous employment history or even any previous credit history because it doesn't take into account any previous nationality status in the two different countries.
Not trying to say you are "wrong" per se, just trying to objectively expand the discussion into areas that are perhaps not previously considered when employers are conducting these background/credit checks.
In addition, let me make this abundantly clear. US employers do not in any way have the means to conduct a background or credit check on foreign citizens of another nation. Similarly, Canadian employers don't have any authority to conduct US background checks on American citizens. It just doesn't work that way and is no different than trying to find about the credit history of someone living in Russia. Unless your employer is the FBI or NSA it just isn't going to happen.
A potential employer may have the option of personally contacting previous employers as a form of verification of previous employment, however conducting a credit check is not going to reveal any information at all.
You have to consider whether the employer is going to go through all the trouble of doing this on your behalf or is the HR department just following a policy that relies on the "brain dead" system of using the background/credit check system as a matter and method of pre screening applicants instead? Are you merely a checklist of various criteria before you are even called in for an interview?
What if the Canadian credit report doesn't reveal your previous US addresses. Will the Canadian employer think you are lying and automatically discard your application based on this "erroneous" and inaccurate information you have provided your potential employer?
Altra, BSN, RN
6,255 Posts
Agree, this is a common part of the hiring process in all industries, not just health care, not just hospitals.
The value of a credit check on a prospective employee lies not in the financial info but as a means to verify other information you have provided: previous employment, addresses, etc. I'm not defending the practice or criticizing it, just stating it is what it is.
I hate to quote myself from other threads ... but no one gives a whit what your balance is at Nordstrom. They do care if you have omitted jobs from your resume (if asked to provide a complete employment history) or have unexplainable gaps in the timeline you provide on your application. That is the value of a $7.50 credit check.