Public Employee Press

City Council action ends practice
Job applicants now protected from credit checks

After a three-year battle, the Coalition to Stop Credit Checks in Employment gathered in front of City Hall on April 16 to celebrate a major victory.

In a couple of hours the City Council voted 47-3 in favor of bill that prohibited employers from using credit history checks as a condition of employment.

“This is a real breakthrough for fairness,” said Robert Martin, associate director of the DC 37 Municipal Employees Legal Services, which worked closely with the coalition. “Because the use of credit reports has a proven discriminatory effect, Intro 261 is also a great civil rights measure and a milestone that hopefully will have ramifi cations around the country.”

New York City will now have the strongest law banning credit history checks in the country. “No longer will missing a payment be a barrier to employment,” Martin said.

The Stop Credit Discrimination in Employment Act (Intro 261) had over 41 sponsors in the City Council; the bill was introduced by Council member Brad S. Lander, (D-Brooklyn). Mayor Bill de Blasio is expected to sign the bill into law.

“I’m proud that the council is passing the strongest bill of its kind to end discriminatory employment credit checks,” Lander said. “This week we heard from a recently laid-off single mom, worried about fi nding a new job because of her daughter’s college loans on her credit report. She said that this law gives her a new lease on life.”

The coalition brought together 79 community groups, made up of student organizations, civil rights groups and labor unions.

The coalition plans to continue monitoring the situation to make sure the new law is enforced.