Cahill Outlines Bill To Ban Credit Checks In Hiring

State Treasurer and Independent gubernatorial candidate Tim Cahill is proposing legislation that would make it illegal for employers to run credit checks on job applicants.

A poor credit rating should not prevent an applicant from getting a job, Cahill says.

"People haven't broken the law when they fall behind on their bills and I don't think it should be a crime or it should keep you from getting a job if you've missed a mortgage payment," Cahill said. "Because in a lot of cases the reason you've missed that payment is because you don't have a job.

"I think there's more to a person than their credit score," Cahill said, "and we just don't want that job not to be offered or given, or people not even get opportunities for interviews because they don't have a good credit score."

According to Cahill, 60 percent of employers now run credit checks, up from 40 percent four years ago.