The New York City Council has proposed Int. #0857-2012 (the Proposal), which would amend the New York City Human Rights Law (NYCHRL) to prohibit discrimination against job applicants and employees based on their credit history, and provide expansive whistleblower/retaliation protections to employees. If the Proposal becomes law, it would join a growing number of laws and proposed laws to limit employment discrimination on the basis of credit history. Although the Proposal exempts employers required by law to run credit checks on their applicants and employees, its silence as to these other standard exceptions should give New York City employers particular pause should the Proposal become law. Given recent trends, employers across the country should brace for continued legislative efforts to curtail employer consideration of credit history in their hiring and personnel decisions.
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