There's a fine line between marketing savvy and outright misdirection.  Visa USA may have crossed it.

Earlier this month, Visa USA published a "report" titled "Americans Unaware That Employers Can Legally Refuse to Hire Job Applicants with Low Credit Scores". 

"Wow", I thought, "this would make an excellent blog topic."  And I started to write.  Only I couldn't shake the idea that this was marketing piece from Visa and not a true report.

So, like any other curious person, I turned to Google to dig a little deeper.  Here's what I found:

What Visa USA said originally in the press release:

Many employers have made checking a credit score a mandatory part of the job application process, just as drug testing and criminal background checks are now common requirements for jobs in many industries.

How Experian spokeswoman Maxine Sweet contradicts Visa USA:

"We do not score for employment reports.  If you chose to do that, I think you would be breaking the law."

How Fair Isaac spokesman Craig Watts contradicts Visa USA:

"Credit scores don't help employers make smarter employment decisions.  They are for judging credit risk."

How the Fair Credit Debt Reporting Act contradicts Visa USA:

The Fair Debt Credit Reporting Act restricts employers from using credit reports for hiring or employment decisions. If such a report is made, companies are required to advise the applicant or employee that the report is being ordered, together with the name and address of the credit agency supplying it. Finally, the report can be ordered only if it serves a legitimate business purpose.

How the EEOC's policies contradict Visa USA:

An applicant's poor credit rating has also been ruled by the courts to be an unlawful basis for refusal to hire unless a business necessity for such a policy can be established.  Inquiries about charge accounts and home or car ownership may be unlawful unless required because of business necessity.

What Visa USA said after being pressed by Detroit News columnist Brian O'Connor about all of the contradictions:

"We don't have figures on whether that's true or not, but anecdotally it seems that more and more employers are doing it."

Now, yes, it's technically true that an employer can legally not hire you because of low credit scores, but the types of jobs in which a person would be subject to credit scoring scrutiny is limited to those very few jobs in which a person's credit rating matters for their job's basic functions. 

One example I can think of is a position in which an employee is required to have a company credit card in his/her own name.  If a person can't qualify for a credit card, that person can't fulfill the job's basic requirements.  I am sure there are other examples, too, but the point is that the Visa USA headline is misleading to the average consumer.

And there you have it.  One more reason to read beyond the headlines.  Especially when the source of the information is a company with something to sell.

Sources
Americans Unaware That Employers Can Legally Refuse to Hire Job Applicants with Low Credit Scores
Visa USA
September 13, 2007
http://www.usa.visa.com/about_visa/press_resources/news/press_releases/nr429.html

Employers myth out on credit scores
Brian O'Connor
Detroit News, September 15, 2007
http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070915/OPINION03/709150334/1308

Discriminatory Interview Questions
Findlaw.com
http://earthlink.findlaw.com/employmentbook/HFCHP1_h.html

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Dan Green is an active loan officer. Email or call 513-443-2020. Dan is on Twitter at @mortgagereports.