Proof that you now need good credit for a low paying job or any job.

Despite the massive loss of jobs, with Americans behind on their mortgages and the foreclosures crisis this country has faced, the practice of doing credit checks on prospective employees continues to climb sharply in popularity. The Society of Human Resources Management’s recent survey found that 60 percent of employers run credit checks on at least some job applicants. When the economy was considered healthy in 2006 the figure was 42 percent.. Employers in this weak labor market are becoming more selective about whom to hire. Credit checks are a fast and cheap way to screen out candidates. And one in 8 employers checks the credit of every applicant for every job–meaning that people like janitors and retail workers can suffer employment discrimination on the basis of their credit score.

Legislatures and Congress have expressed concern about the use of credit checks in the employment context. Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN) introduced the Equal Employment for All Act. And a recent AP article reported that lawmakers in at least 16 states have proposed outlawing most credit checks for employment. Most of those bills continue to languish (despite in the case of Rep. Cohen’s bill, 53 co-sponsors and support from organizations such as the National Organization for Women, the AFL-CIO, and the Lawyer’s Committee for Civil Rights under the Law.) But there is resistance to legislation of this type. In California, the country’s largest labor market, and the one hit the hardest in foreclosures, Gov. Schwarzenegger vetoed a bill to regulate employment credit checks, calling it a job killer. Do you believe that an employers or industries would relocate or spurn California on that basis? Moreover, the California Chamber of Commerce made the silly argument that this was a “costly workplace mandate.” This is crazy! The bill would stop employers from spending money on credit reports thus saving them the money; how can that be a costly mandate?

On the ground everyday, the real job-killing happens at the individual level, when a person trying to climb out of financial trouble is told that they are not hired because of their poor credit in the past.

While everyone is arguing about the pros and cons; consumers need to make sure that they stay on top of their credit or it can and usually will, cost them a job. If you have bad credit or no credit, we recommend you fix bad credit and get help soon.