The authors of the essay, “City’s New Credit Check Law Is Unnecessary” (Aug. 13, 2015), got one thing right—New York City’s law is the strongest in the country. But the argument that this law is unnecessary is naïve, at best, and dishonest, at worst. The law may seem unnecessary to those who fail to see the unfairness of worthy job applicants turned away merely because they have debts occasioned by uninsured medical crises, prolonged periods of unemployment, or subprime loans. However, those who work with low-income New Yorkers and have seen the havoc caused by this discriminatory practice, rightly see the law as a victory.
The false assumption behind the use of credit checks in employment is the kneejerk notion that somehow poor credit predicts job performance or a propensity to steal. In reality poor credit is linked most strongly to unemployment, lack of health insurance, and especially medical debt. It is also well established that people of color are disproportionately likely to possess poor credit due to years of discrimination in lending, housing, and employment.
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