A new Illinois law prohibits many employers from discriminating against employees or job applicants on the basis of credit history. The Employee Credit Privacy Act, which was signed by Governor Pat Quinn on August 10, 2010, and takes effect January 1, 2011, contains exceptions for the banking and insurance industries, among others, and for positions that involve certain levels of financial or other responsibility.
The Act protects the credit history and credit reports of both job applicants and current employees. Under the Act, credit history includes an individual’s borrowing and repaying behavior, such as whether they pay their bills on time or how they manage their debt. A credit report is a communication, written or otherwise, from a consumer reporting agency that relates to an individual’s creditworthiness, credit standing, credit capacity or credit history.
Please see full publication below for more information.