[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 149 (Thursday, September 14, 2017)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1222]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      EQUAL EMPLOYMENT FOR ALL ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. STEVE COHEN

                              of tennessee

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 14, 2017

  Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of a bill I 
introduced earlier today: the Equal Employment for All Act. A companion 
bill was introduced in the Senate today by Senator Elizabeth Warren.
   According to a recent report, an increasing number of employers have 
been using credit reports, specifically consumer reports bearing on the 
consumer's creditworthiness, credit standing or credit capacity, as 
part of their hiring process. However, unless the job position involves 
significant financial responsibility, the use of a credit check for 
employment raises the obvious issue that a person's credit history has 
little to do with his or her qualifications for a job.
   Far too often, employers turn down ``credit challenged'' applicants 
because they have erroneously linked credit scores to potential job 
performance. Even worse, the ``credit challenged'' have fallen victim 
to deceptive marketing practices by credit report companies or credit 
counseling services that charge outlandish fees that supposedly 
rehabilitate credit scores to help with employment.
   The Equal Employment for All Act would right this wrong by amending 
the Fair Credit Reporting Act to prohibit the use of consumer credit 
checks by employers as part of the hiring or firing process unless the 
job involves national security, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation 
clearance, or significant financial responsibility.
   With the passage of the Equal Employment for All Act, some of our 
most vulnerable, ``credit challenge'' citizens including students, 
recent college graduates, low-income families, senior citizens, and 
minorities, would be given the opportunity to begin rebuilding their 
credit by obtaining a job.
   I also want to thank Senator Warren for her leadership and 
partnership on this important piece of legislation.
   I urge my colleagues to help pass this bill.

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