credit checks for employment??

I have two words for ANY employer, friend or foe, who asks for a credit check or legal background check before considering someone for employment; SUCK IT.

This started to become a random request a few years ago out here and I did agree to it once, but it was also after a 4 hour interview where it was quite clear we loved one another and the job was mine.  Today, I would make a difference choice, but they ran my credit with me right there to observe and make sure it was kosher, then we shredded it on the spot.  My credit was shaky then but it made no difference to them; they were looking more for warning signs like fraud issues, evictions, court cases, etc. I've never had anything even remotely resembling that, but I do generally have acts of civil disobedience.  When a mega corporation puts the screws to me because they figure they can and I can do fuck-all about it thanks to 2 year contracts and monopolies on certain services, I say to hell with them and toss my cell phone into the garbage.  Does this mean I am an untrustworthy employee? Far from it.  I have such a deep moral well I would rather trash my own credit than allow a corrupt organization to disregard contract terms and treat me like a slave.  When I see a person or a company behaving THAT far out of integrity, I take a stand, credit be damned.  But I pay my rent on time, keep my utilities going and protect privacy for anyone or anything, especially when it comes to work.

I have held positions that involved personal work to the degree that I still have my old bosses' house keys (at his insistence, just in case) and access to their social security numbers, credit card info, etc. Have I ever bought even so much as a cup of coffee without my boss saying to do so? Of course not!  How morally bankrupt have we become as a society that employers now feel completely justified in requesting legal background searches, drug tests and credit checks? NO ONE is entitled to this information, although I do admit that when working with children or other such sensitive positions I could see the need for a background search.  Still, it touches on basic privacy issues in my book and it bothers me to no end to see how commonplace it has become to see want ads for administrative assistants, secretaries, etc requiring this kind of hoop-jumping bullshit.  I will NEVER agree to this or even consider working for someone who views this as necessary.  This is why you check references people; you take the time to CALL the former employers, to VERIFY the information on the resume, to check with personal references as well and guess what....it works! Sure, some real shifty folks can slip through those cracks, but I'd rather risk that as an employer than ask every applicant to give up their personal privacy.  So what if I smoke pot on the weekends? So what if I defaulted on a student loan?  Incidentally, I did neither of those things, but you get my drift.

Whether your credit and background are sterling isn't the issue either.  You could be drug free with the world's best credit and I would urge you NOT to submit to this kind of fascist employment screening.  If our work histories are honest, accurate and laudatory, it is none of your business what we do on our own time.  Period.

Due diligence is one thing...invasion of privacy as common practice is something else entirely.  And to this I say NO WAY!!