Should Your Medical Practice Use A Credit Report In Hiring?

Danielle Urban, a partner in the Denver office, was quoted in the March 19 American Medical News article "Should Your Medical Practice Use A Credit Report In Hiring?" The publication reported that looking at a prospective employee's credit history may be illegal in some circumstances and could expose an employer to a discrimination lawsuit. In addition to the possible legal hassles, there is increasing recognition that a credit report may not provide much help. Recent economic turmoil means some people with weak credit histories have had bad luck rather than mismanagement of personal finances. Danielle said: "A lot of companies are starting to back off. Because so many people have been affected by the recession, you cannot draw any conclusions anymore." Permission must be gained from job applicants to pull their credit reports. "You need to let them know. If they come back to you and say, ‘Yes, that's true. I didn't pay,' but they have an explanation that they were out of work, they couldn't sell their house, you need to take that into account. So many people are in that situation. But if they don't have a really good explanation, you need to give it some thought."