Governor Pat Quinn recently signed into law Public Act 096-1426, the Employee Credit Privacy Act, which prohibits Illinois employers from discriminating against job applicants or current employees based on their credit histories. “A jobseeker’s ability to earn a decent living should not depend on how well they are weathering the greatest economic recession since the 1930s,” said Governor Quinn. “This law will stop employers from denying a job or promotion based on information that is not an indicator of a person’s character or ability to do a job well.”

Under the law, employers are prohibited from basing employment decisions on credit history, asking current employees or job applicants about their credit histories, or obtaining copies of their credit reports.

The law provides exceptions for certain employers, including banks, insurers and surety firms, law enforcement, debt collectors, and government agencies that require use of credit reports. It also allows exceptions for positions for which a satisfactory credit history is “an established bona fide occupational requirement,” including positions that require bonding or security under state or federal law, or provide any of the following:

• Unsupervised access to more than $2,500
• Signatory power over business assets of more than $100
• Management and control of the business
• Access to personal, financial, or confidential information, trade secrets, or state or national security information

The governor noted that preemployment credit screenings are on the rise throughout the nation. Today, 60 percent of employers run a credit check on at least some applicants, an increase from 42 percent in 2006 and 25 percent in 1998, the Society for Human Resources Management recently reported.

Employers who violate the law face civil liability for damages or injunctive relief. The law takes effect January 1, 2011.