Dan Denton is stuck in a vicious cycle: He's behind on his bills after losing his job. But lousy credit is spoiling his chances of finding new employment.
Recruiters from a St. Louis-based investment company recently rescinded an offer after looking at his credit history, which has been mauled by overdue card payments and an impending foreclosure on his Inland Empire house. He and his wife, Dana, filed for bankruptcy protection this month to try to hang on to their home.
"Of course your credit's going to look bad when you've been unemployed for months," said Denton, 60, a former fundraiser for the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove. "But what relevance does that have on your performance?"
The credit report is becoming the latest hurdle for unemployed workers in a dismal U.S. job market. Up to half of employers use credit screening to weed out potentially troublesome hires, though estimates vary, and the practice is on the rise.
Money woes could signal disorder in an individual's personal life that could translate into slipshod work habits, some staffing experts said. Companies lose billions annually to employee theft. A sterling credit history, they said, points to a worker who is more likely to be disciplined, trustworthy and reliable.
Trapped: It's hard to get a job if your credit is bad
Mary M. Massad, managing director of screening services for personnel management company Administaff Inc., said credit checks help companies hire "the highest-quality individuals."
"It's . . . about being proactive in order to avoid trouble down the line," she said. "Companies . . . want an insight into how an individual conducts their own life, because that's typically how they're going to conduct business inside your business."
Screening employment prospects this way is legal in California and most of the country as long as it is disclosed to applicants, who must give permission for a credit check to be run.
But some experts said that there's no clear link between credit history and job performance and that the reports don't paint a complete picture, omitting details about divorces, medical bills or even identity theft.
Nancy Novak said that when prospective employers check her credit history, they see a mountain of debts and late payments, including $30,000 in credit card bills. What's not evident, she said, is that she accumulated most of it in a failed effort to keep her small business afloat.
