Idaho Law Blog
By Lane V. Erickson, Attorney
Credit checks related to hiring and other employment matters are generally referred to as employee credit checks or employment credit checks. Idaho does not currently have a “credit check law” that restrict or prohibit an employer from conducting a credit check on its prospective or current employees. As a result, employers have the right to conduct an employment credit check to make hiring or other employment related decisions. A potential or current employer is free to check a credit report as part of an employment background check.
The main reasons employers conduct credit checks on job candidates are to help prevent theft and embezzlement, and to reduce potential legal liability for negligent hiring. Credit checks are often used by employers. In fact, a 2012 survey by the Society of Human Resource Management showed that 47 percent of the employers surveyed conduct credit checks on job candidates. Of those employers, 34 percent conduct credit checks only on certain job candidates and 13 percent do so on all job candidates.
After hiring you, your employer generally has the right to conduct an employment credit check to make other decisions about you too, such as those regarding promotion, reassignment and retention. In the absence of a state law that restricts or prohibits it, an employer generally has the right to make such decisions about you primarily because there is no Federal law that specifically prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of a bad credit report.
Employers obtain job-applicant and employee credit reports through consumer-reporting, credit-reporting or employment background-check agencies. Generally, a credit report includes some or all of the following information:
· Year of birth
· Current and previous addresses
· Marital status and spouse’s name if applicable
· Current and former employers
· Social security number
· Bankruptcies, liens and judgments
· Child support obligations
· Loan and credit card accounts, and payment history
· Credit scores from the three credit-reporting bureaus
· Who has recently checked the credit report
Most employment credit checks typically focus on debt and don’t investigate credit scores. Because Idaho does not have a law that prohibits or otherwise regulates an employment credit check by employers, the employment provisions in the Federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) are applicable.
If you have any questions about whether your Employment Job Descriptions are adequate, call us toll free at 877-232-6101 or 208-232-6101 for a consultation with Lane Erickson and the Racine Olson team of Employment Law attorneys in Idaho. You can also email Lane Erickson directly at lve@racinelaw.net. We will answer your Idaho Employment Law questions and will help you solve your Idaho Employment Law problems.
This website includes general information about legal issues and developments in the law. Such materials are for informational purposes only and may not reflect the most current legal developments. These informational materials are not intended, and must not be taken, as legal advice on any particular set of facts or circumstances. You need to contact a lawyer for advice on specific legal issues.