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 Dear
Debt Adviser,
My husband's boss is rumored to periodically view credit reports of his employees. Can a boss do this and how do we stop this from happening? Thanks!
-- Carol
 Dear
Carol,
The boss needs written permission to access your credit report.
From your letter it is hard to tell whether your husband has given his permission.
Chances are it was a part of his employment application or the terms of his employment.
You should be aware that many other employers do the same thing. If your husband
isn't sure he has given his permission, he can check with human resources to see
what company policy is.
Why is an employee's credit of interest
to a boss, you ask? In the case of prospective employers, how you handle your
finances may reflect how you handle other aspects of your life. Always being late
paying your bills might indicate a penchant for being late for work. A bankruptcy
or other public record may indicate a lack of sound judgment or the possibility
of work-distracting financial problems. For a current employer,
it might make a difference if two candidates were up for a promotion and there
was only one opening. It is a red flag. Dr. Tom Garman did some research a few
years back when he was at Virginia Tech that clearly showed bad credit is a distraction
from the job. Wage garnishment and creditor calls at work are just two ways that
bad credit can have an impact on an employee's productivity. This
is all part of the trend to use credit history outside of traditional lending.
Insurers and employers have found that credit behavior does not exist in a vacuum
and can be predictive of future behavior in other areas. I even know some love-smitten
couples who would not say "I do" without a gander at their sweetie's
credit profile. So, you can see the consequences of
bad credit are becoming more far-reaching every day. Recently, some troops were
denied deployment due to bad credit, and many can't get a job-required security
clearance because they can't seem to manage to pay their bills when they are due.
Of course, this is in addition to the usual pain and suffering
caused by high interest rates, excessive fees and the unpleasantness of having
to deal with progressively hungrier lenders as your credit history deteriorates. So,
what can you do if you are one of those conservative Americans who prefer the
government and employers not have access to your private life and records?
In some states, a credit freeze can keep your employer out
of your records. However, this is not the case in all states that allow a credit
freeze. Go to the Federal
Trade Commission Web site for details on your state. If you don't like what
you see there, I suggest you write your state senator and representative to change
the local law. My guess is that the boss is simply trying to
be prepared. My advice to you is that you check your reports yourself so that
you know what the boss is seeing. You can get a free copy of your credit reports
annually at www.annualcreditreport.com.
If you find mistakes, correct them. If you have had some
financial challenges, take charge right now. Set some financial goals, create
a budget, start saving regularly and pay your bills on time, every time. If the
boss is going to raise the ante on your credit, you might as well be holding all
the aces you can! Good luck! | 
