Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Job Creation Do's and Don'ts

Oh my Blog...how I have forsaken thee. Far too many months since I've written, not that I've been slackin' off you understand. There has been a lot of activity lately, some good and some not so good.

Good news...Super Bowl MVP Quarterback Aaron Rodger's hails from Chico. Now you KNOW that's got to be good for tourism. (No parade though. You asked for it and we tried our best but it isn't going to happen. Please stop asking...)

Not-so-good news...the State of California remains (seemingly) hopelessly deadlocked on budget negotiations. Too much finger-pointing and not enough compromise(things we all should have learned in grade school) are glaringly absent from the process. That's bad for everyone.

But even with the deadlock on the budget the legislature still seems hell-bent on writing bills that are truly bad for job creation and employers. Two you should know about are AB 10 and AB 22. The Chamber of Commerce is following these closely and lobbying our lawmakers to oppose them both.

AB 22 (Mendoza) negatively affects private employers by restricting their ability to utilize consumer credit reports when making employment decisions.

Employers utilize employee credit reports to assist in the overall evaluation of an applicant, just like they use college degree requirements, past employment references, etc. All these factors together provide objective information regarding an individuals past behavior or character as an indicator of their likely future behavior.

Employees in many industries (think in-home care, senior care facilities, hospitals, car retailers) have access to not only the employer's assets and financial information, but also the assets and financial information of customers. All of us should want employers to have access to all the data they need to help them make the best hiring decision possible. AB 22 needs to be killed.

Next post we'll report on AB 10 (Alejo), another job-killer bill that we're following. But now...back to work!

3 comments:

  1. There is not a thing wrong with my credit, but how I use it is nobody's business. Nobody needs to know how much I owe or to whom I owe it. The idea that this bill is a "job killer" is ludicrous. "Privacy killer" is a more appropriate label.

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  2. I agree Jolene. If applicants don't have discipline in one area of their life (like control of their financial life), it is usually a reflection on their discipline/responsibility in other areas of their life that are applicable to being the best candidate for a job. And if an applicant disagrees, then they don't have to apply/work there. Or perhaps they should start their own business?

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  3. Thanks for the comments! Important to note that employers don't (or certainly shouldn't) care WHY we use credit, but rather HOW we manage it. Whether we like it or not, how we manage what we owe to others is an indicator of our underlying character.

    It is absolutely true that some folks suffer from a poor credit history due to uncontrollable circumstances (unforeseen medical expenses, death of a spouse, etc.), and those circumstances shouldn't limit their ability to find work.

    But I'm also willing to bet that the criminals in our society who use access to the boss's/customer's financial or personal information to embezzle cash or steal identities, do not have excellent credit histories.

    Again, a credit report is just ONE of many tools that should be available for use in the overall evaluation of a job applicant.

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