credit check

[Asclepius]

The only credit issue in our state that can stop you from being certified is being delinquent in the payment of child support. They can actually yank your cert. but it takes a court order.

I think every state has a child support clause. However, I bet if they chose to, they could check your credit prior to hiring you. That is to say, there isn't any law prohibiting it. Of course, I don't live there, but that is my assumption.

 

[VentMedic]

ive never had my credit checked that i know of, but even if i have without me know it, ive neve been turned down for an ems job based on my credit(or any other reason). then again in the private sector in mass, you only need a pulse and a ticket.

i wouldnt worry about it.

I posted the AMR application earlier and it is similiar to almost every employment agreement out there now. Read what you are signing because, yes, you are probably signing for a credit check if the company wishes to include that in the background check. This is pretty standard across the country.

A missed payment or two is not going to affect your employment opportunities. Several credit cards maxed out to several thousands of dollars and/or a student loan with missed payments may put a caution flag on your application.

Some companies will ask if you want a copy of everything they research but many may not. It is up to you to see who is "checking" your credit by periodically reviewing your credit with the 3 major reporting agencies. Everyone should be aware of what is on those reports and should review them at least once a year and before and/or after changing jobs. One should also know what their credit score is since this is the basis for determining your credit worthiness for buying a car or just about anything. If the dealer sees that you are not informed about your own finances it would be very easy to charge you the higher interest rate while BSing you even though the dealer knows you have a great credit score. I also have a credit package with the 3 reporting agencies that informs me when someone is accessing my credit reports.

You can also ask to review your personnel file periodically to see what is in there including the background check.

Know you rights as a potential employee, an employee and as a consumer.

California right now is a confused EMS system since their Statewide flaws were made public 3 years ago. For the EMT, they allowed the individual counties to certify. You could be certified in several counties. If you committed and were convicted of a crime in one county, it did not necessarily get reported to the state or to any of the other counties. So you could remain certified in the other counties. This also gave the ambulance services a black eye that unfortunately hired individuals thinking that the county was the ultimate in oversight. Now, the ambulance services are being more proficient in background checks and not relying on the county. That is, until the state of California and the counties can pull their EMS situation into shape.

Not knowing what nihil's financial situation actually is or even if we did, it is hard to make a blanket statement. Rather, it is best to point nihil in a direction to obtaining information and see how it applies. Again a good credit counselor may also know about employment practices/career changes and can assist with some guidiance in that area. The credit counselor could even make telephone calls to a couple of ambulance services to see what their background check includes.

 

[BossyCow]

I think every state has a child support clause. However, I bet if they chose to, they could check your credit prior to hiring you. That is to say, there isn't any law prohibiting it. Of course, I don't live there, but that is my assumption.

There is a difference between a credit check done by a potential employer and an agency refusing to certify you. You can have a cert and be unemployable.

In order to check your credit history, an employer has to have your SS#. I have seen recently on job applications and resumes instead of SS# "Social Security number will be furnished upon hire". This is being done to avoid identity theft.

 

[Asclepius]

In order to check your credit history, an employer has to have your SS#. I have seen recently on job applications and resumes instead of SS# "Social Security number will be furnished upon hire". This is being done to avoid identity theft.

I haven't heard this yet, but it sounds like a good idea. I personally have not known anyone who has dealt with identity theft...has anybody here known someone that's been affected? Maybe that's a question for a separate thread?

 

[VentMedic]

I haven't heard this yet, but it sounds like a good idea. I personally have not known anyone who has dealt with identity theft...has anybody here known someone that's been affected? Maybe that's a question for a separate thread?

BossyCow is correct in that you NEVER put your SS# on your resume.
The company will ask for it if you are a hire candidate so that they can run a background and credit check prior to finalizing the job offer.

Identity theft is a nightmare. That is one of the reasons I went through the explanations earlier about checking your credit reports and putting the necessary safeguards on your credit. One needs to know if agencies you did not authorize are looking at your information or attempting to open up accounts with your data.

It's not just us older established credit worthy people that are getting hit. The 20 - 25 y/o are the easiest prey. They are also the easiest targets for credit card companies to take advantage of.

 

[MMiz]

There is a difference between a credit check done by a potential employer and an agency refusing to certify you. You can have a cert and be unemployable.

In order to check your credit history, an employer has to have your SS#. I have seen recently on job applications and resumes instead of SS# "Social Security number will be furnished upon hire". This is being done to avoid identity theft.

A Social Security number is not required for a credit check. A drivers license number or even an address will often suffice.

 

[BossyCow]

A Social Security number is not required for a credit check. A drivers license number or even an address will often suffice.

Then things have changed since I used to run credit checks. It has been a few years since I've done them. We used to have to have SS# in order to verify that the information was correct. Without the attached SS#, the information was very vague and general. It could show liens and legal judgments of a financial nature but not credit history or worthiness.