Cook County, Illinois enacted a bill (No. 15-3088) that amends the Cook County Human Rights Ordinance to restrict employers from asking about or otherwise considering a prospective or current employee’s credit history in employment decisions. The new ordinance is nearly identical to laws in Illinois and Chicago that were enacted a few years ago, and falls in line with a growing trend around the country. The new ordinance applies to private employers that have a principal place of business, or “do business,” in Cook County, as well as prospective and current employees of such employers, whether for paid or unpaid employment. The new ordinance also expansively defines “credit history” as an individual’s record of past borrowing and repaying, including information about late payments and bankruptcy.
W. Barry Nixon is the COO, PreemploymentDirectory.com the leading background screening information portal and online worldwide directory of professional background screening firms and Suppliers to the background screening industry. He co-authored the landmark book, Background Screening & Investigations: Managing Hiring Risk from the HR and Security Perspective. He also is the publisher of award winning newsletters, The Background Buzz and The Global Background Screener, and the author of the Background Checks column in PI Magazine.
In addition, Barry is a past recipient of the elite ‘Top 25 Influential People in Security’ by Security Magazine and past Co-Chair, International Committee for the National Association for Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS). He currently serves as a Global Ambassador for NAPBS.
You can contact Barry at 1-949-770-5264 or online at wbnixon@preemploymentdirectory.com