Bad Credit, SA Rescinded? Forum

[Anonymous User]

https://www1.nyc.gov/site/cchr/media/cr ... oyees.page

I’ve been browsing around the forum and have noticed a lot of inconsistent answers regarding a person’s credit affecting their offer to join a firm as a SA. Some say really bad credit (barring past due amounts/ignoring debts) would not get your offer revoked. Others say it’s a definite concern. Then I found this information online saying NYC employers cannot use credit as a basis for employment decisions (above).

What’s the actual consensus? If it’s true that NYC employers cannot use it as a basis for employment decisions, then is the background check performed just done to weed out criminal and resume-related issues?

I have very poor credit due to consumer credit card usage, which is all being responsibly paid off and mostly on time/no bad marks while in school. Just trying to figure out if I should be worried.

I’m sure some of you will say it will be considered negatively for C&F purposes when I take the bar anyhow, but I fully expect to have it all or mostly paid off by the time I take the bar. This is purely a concern for maintaining the SA offer.

Thank you for your help!

[Ultramar vistas]

I honestly have no idea how it would be viewed, but regardless you won’t go through a background check until the summer after 3L, in my experience, so you have some time to sort it out.

[LaLiLuLeLo]

I’ve never even heard of getting your credit checked as part of employment.

[dabigchina]

I’ve never even heard of getting your credit checked as part of employment.

I think it comes up as part of your background check for full time employment.

Regardless, unless OP has some truly ridiculous stuff on his credit report, i doubt this would be a problem

[LaLiLuLeLo]

I’ve never even heard of getting your credit checked as part of employment.

I think it comes up as part of your background check for full time employment.

Regardless, unless OP has some truly ridiculous stuff on his credit report, i doubt this would be a problem

Huh, I always figured it was criminal, etc. never even considered it would include credit.

[Res Ipsa Loquitter]

a credit check is a routine part of employment background checks. It's so easy for the companies that run these checks to pull this info and sell it to their clients

for C&F purposes, it's not like a <700 or <650 score dings you. It's about whether you have a history of totally neglecting your financial obligations. credit card debt is fine if you are making on-time minimum payments.

[Anonymous User]

So firms still do this even though that law in New York pretty explicitly says it shouldn’t be part of any employment decision-making? I find that odd. Not that I’m personally worried given what everyone is saying.

[Res Ipsa Loquitter]

So firms still do this even though that law in New York pretty explicitly says it shouldn’t be part of any employment decision-making? I find that odd. Not that I’m personally worried given what everyone is saying.

They also aren't supposed to make hiring decisions based on disability. Yet in every thread about no offers, someone says "just don't be aspie"

[Anonymous User]

I feel like firing someone for a disability is generally couched in some other work issues the firm randomly uses to cover it up.

But an SA who hasn’t even started the job and has no other red flags? It even gets documented when someone pulls your credit. Just seems odd.

The law even states pulling the credit itself is an issue. Do firms still pull it or was that just the consensus pre-2015?

[4LTsPointingNorth]

I feel like firing someone for a disability is generally couched in some other work issues the firm randomly uses to cover it up.

But an SA who hasn’t even started the job and has no other red flags? It even gets documented when someone pulls your credit. Just seems odd.

The law even states pulling the credit itself is an issue. Do firms still pull it or was that just the consensus pre-2015?

I've never heard of firms checking credit or dinging people for bad credit. My only thought is that, if this practice does occur, then it's probably done with an eye toward whether a candidate's financial history is so troubling that it would be likely to prevent them from getting admitted to the bar.

[Anonymous User]

I signed a background check waiver a few months ago (just graduated, going to NYC biglaw)

it said they may look into credit history, among other things, but only to the extent legally permitted. so I would assume that they don't do it anymore for offices where it's outlawed.

[Anonymous User]

Spoke with an attorney for a consultation about this issue last week and they were pretty sure firms in NYC are not allowed to pull your credit for employment purposes anymore given the Credit Check Law from 2015.

[Vexed]

Spoke with an attorney for a consultation about this issue last week and they were pretty sure firms in NYC are not allowed to pull your credit for employment purposes anymore given the Credit Check Law from 2015.

Pretty sure biglaw attorneys fall in the exception for "a non-clerical position having regular access to trade secrets, intelligence information or national security information".

[Anonymous User]

While summer associates and attorneys are more than just clerical and are exposed to sensitive information, the law’s exemptions are not being interpreted broadly like that at all or at least not intended that way by the Commission, which issued an official interpretation guide to employers. In the first link below, it implies that only executive-level people at an employer would be exempt. I don’t think a first-year or SA would be interpreted as one.

https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/cchr/downlo ... ployer.pdf

https://www.brodyandassociates.com/blog ... ompliance/

Can any recent summer associate or BigLaw attorney based in NYC hired after 2015 confirm that the firm’s background check paperwork did or did not mention a credit check? The law indicates that the employer must both place the law in the paperwork and state the exemption you fall under.

Thank you for the help!

[Anonymous User]

Different poster, but similar question:

If they are being conducted, what exact credit check issues would keep a prospective employee from getting the job at the law firm? I have a very low credit score (under 600), over 20k in credit card debt, student loans, and high utilization, but I’ve never been late on a payment nor have I ever had anything in collections. Are these checks merely done to axe employees who don’t pay their debts/ignore collections or am I still in a bad spot?