EQUAL EMPLOYMENT ACT ! STEVE COHEN District#9~Tennessee

Equal Employment for All Act ~  Cong. Steve Cohen DISTRICT#9-TENN

This week several of my House colleagues including Congressman John Conyers joined me in sending a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi asking them to include my Equal Employment for All Act in any potential jobs legislation that is introduced before the end of the 112th Congress.  Credit reports have increasing importance in consumers’ lives because they are used as a way to screen job applicants. The Equal Employment for All Act would amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act to prohibit the use of consumer credit checks in relation to current and prospective employees for the purposes of making employment decisions.Too many Americans are caught in a cycle of debt. They have fallen into bad credit and when employers deny them jobs because of it they cannot do what is necessary to climb out: find a job, work hard, pay their bills, and earn a better credit score.  My Equal Employment for All Act would give some of our most vulnerable, “credit challenged” citizens (students, recent college graduates, low-income families, senior citizens, minorities, among others) the opportunity to begin rebuilding their credit history by obtaining a job. Far too often, employers turn down applicants because they erroneously link credit scores to potential job performance. Even worse, many people fall victim to deceptive marketing practices by credit report companies or credit counseling services. These companies charge outlandish fees for supposedly rehabilitating credit scores to help with employment but rarely succeed.  A person’s credit history has no bearing on their job performance and we should continue to do everything in our power to help people land jobs during these tough economic times and not hinder them.

"Democracy...is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch"!
Liberty...is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote.

Fiat Lux